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Mine's Bigger: The Extraordinary Tale of the World's Greatest Sailboat and the Silicon Valley Tycoon Who Built It | 
 enlarge | Author: David A. Kaplan
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $5.50
You Save: $10.45 (66%)
New (44) Used (15) from $5.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 147317
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0061374024
Dewey Decimal Number: 797
EAN: 9780061374029
ASIN: 0061374024
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
As the dominant venture capitalist of Silicon Valley, Tom Perkins had seemingly done it all—from amassing a billion-dollar fortune to getting himself convicted of manslaughter in France. But his ultimate dream was to create the biggest, fastest, riskiest, highest-tech, most self-indulgent sailboat ever built. With keen storytelling and biting wit, bestselling author David A. Kaplan takes us inside the mind of an American genius and behind the scenes of an extraordinary venture: the birth of Perkins's $130 million marvel The Maltese Falcon. This modern clipper ship is as long as a football field and forty-two feet wide, with three rotating masts, each twenty stories high, and a bridge straight out of Star Trek. The riveting biography of a remarkable ship and the remarkable man who built it, Mine's Bigger is an unforgettable profile of ambition, hubris, audacity, and the imagination of a legendary entrepreneur.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Past and Present November 17, 2007
Hi Tom,
It was a pleasure to work with you on the car book and I look forward to reading the boat book.
Marshall
 liar liar pants on fire November 3, 2007
1 out of 17 found this review helpful
Sadly, Mr. Perkins tries to compensate for his apparent 'shortcomings' in other areas by building an enormous ship. David Kaplan correctly characterizes him as narcissist who lacks the fundamental human trait of compassion for his fellow man (or woman). Like a eunuch, Mr. Perkins deserves more pity than scorn.
Mine's Bigger October 1, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A great read about a fascinting and innovative yacht which merges old and new technology very gracefully. In addition, the author gives the reader great insight into Tom Perkins personality and how he earned his way into owning the Maltese Falcon.
Smooth sailing (at least for the reader) August 11, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
"Mine's Bigger" reacquaints us with Tom Perkins, to whom author David A. Kaplan had previously introduced us as one of the leading venture capitalists behind "The Silicon Boys". What follows is the story the "Maltese Falcon", the greatest sailing vessel ever built, a tale in which Perkins is no less driven (and, some might say, no more sane) than the seafaring protagonists of Melville and Hemingway. Along the way, readers will learn more about sailing and nautical engineering than they could ever have imagined caring to know. Although Kaplan literally fell down on the jibe in researching this book, his occupancy of one of the four guest staterooms on the Falcon's maiden voyage is testimony to his ability to go places that few of his readers ever will and come back with details, anecdotes and insight.
A Breezy Read July 31, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have been reading David Kaplan's books for over 20 years, and happily recommend his latest: "Mine's Bigger". It tells the story of the world's largest privately-owned sailing vessel and how it was conceived of and designed by its owner, Tom Perkins. Perkins is a legendary venture capitalist (known for his insight, power, and damn good luck in Silicon Valley), and Kaplan peeled a few layers of the SV onion back in "Silicon Boys". As a result, this book is much more than "here's how I built this big boat". Expect a few snarky stories (all in good fun) , helpful exposition on what exactly all those sails are called and why, and some wonderment over how much, er, stuff somebody with more money than God can acquire. Buy it. You will not regret it.
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