Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a hard review for a guy to write, because I expect knee-jerk reactions, but here goes. Yes, Ms Wiener clearly had a bad time during her venture into the male-dominated tech world, and she clearly encountered an unpleasant selection of the worst misogynists/sexists that Silicon Valley (and the tech industry in general) has to offer. But, but, but: she tried to break into the tech business with absolutely no valid experience, constantly admits that she is out of her depth and doesn't understand what she is doing, and so on and on... and on. One of the most frustrating things about this book is that it is so badly written. Ms Wiener writes in excruciating detail about every (mostly dull and irrelevant) detail of her life, and never uses a short word when she can find a long or arcane one. (Note to author: most readers don't enjoy reaching for the dictionary every few pages.) Her turgid prose eventually had me beaten: I gave up about halfway through the book (although others have told me how the remainder pans out). What most infuriates me, however, is that Ms Wiener has no real idea of the true depth of misogyny in the tech industry. During 16 years at what we'll call "a very large software company" I saw time and time again how far better-qualified women lost out to less-qualified male contenders for jobs. I saw brilliant women passed over for promotion year after year until they either gave up and accepted the unacceptable, or quit the company. A highly accomplished female friend has had both happen to her three or four times now. Yet she stays at the company, because she's experienced exactly the same at other tech firms. Ms Wiener has only seen the tip of the tech misogyny iceberg, and it clearly isn't pretty. But many women have had to put up with far worse for decades, because unlike Ms Wiener, this is the industry they took multiple degrees in order to join. And most are stuck with it.