Much of Kara Swisher's lively chronicle of the biggest media merger in history is focused on two visionary company leaders: AOL's Steve Case, who made the company into the 800-pound gorilla of cyberspace but could never seem to turn that power into genuine respect; and Time Warner's Gerald Levin, whose efforts to take the venerable media company into a Net-based future met with one failure after another (FSN, Pathfinder)

This along with its predecessor, AOL.com, are fun, information-packed, chronicles of the original 1990's dot com era and its aftermath.

Nevertheless, this book is overall an excellent and easy read.

It would be a great read if you are interested in any of the following topics - the internet bubble, corporate egos, corporate finance, the new versus the old media or if you simply want to read a very entertaining book.

So, given that the AOL executives had the upper hand, and that AOL was doing great before the merger, what triggered the demise of the company post merger?The author makes a well detailed and successful case that the unraveling of AOL was associated with the bitterness of the Time Warner executives as the result of not being treated as equals.

Synergy was AOL-Time Warner's Holy Grail, all-important but ever-elusive, and when the company failed to get it, the stock price tumbled

Kara Swisher has access to the right folks, these pioneers and tells a great story

Kara Swisher has access to the right folks, these pioneers and tells a great story

it is well-written with an irreverent, breezy style and an eye to the clever phrase or interesting anecdote

it is well-written with an irreverent, breezy style and an eye to the clever phrase or interesting anecdote

The book has value in that the author lived through this period, understood the genesis of the acquiring company, AOL, and importantly, was a keen observer of Time Warner (including its key players, Jerry Levin and Ted Turner among others) and the transaction that took place

She had extraordinary access to them over time and they were comfortable enough with her to provide their own perspectives in something other than a self serving manner

The book is interesting in places and seems at least somewhat well researched, but the style is simply too cute, and distracts the reader with irrelevant (often autobiographical) side stories that seem to be written for people who would rather not be reading a book on this topic in the first place.

I would like to think that, buried in her writing, there must be a pony somewhere, but I don't think it's worth the trouble of digging it up.

The author repeats things over and over to gain word content, but says very little of substance.

Time Warner head Jerry Levin, who took most of the blame for the disastrous merger, was himself a study in what happens when leaders insulate themselves from feedback.

This merger is unusual, because it is the acquirer (AOL) that got weakened much more than the acquired (Time Warner).

She is able to capture the personalities, hubris, technological hype, and all the other elements that went into one of the worst merger deals in history.

This book chronicles the saga of the much maligned merger between AOL and Time Warner.