No Better Time is a biography, written by Molly Knight Raskin, of a math/tech genius named Danny Lewin who, as a graduate student at MIT, developed a computer algorithm that kept websites experiencing a high amount of traffic from crashing. He, along with one of his professors at MIT created a company called Akamai Technologies that made a ton of money in the "Dotcom" bubble of the mid-1990s and barely managed to survive the bust that occurred at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. The company's technology helped transform the internet from its early dial-up modem days to what it is today.
Even if that was all he was known for Lewin's story would be impressive, but he was also unique in that he was born and grew up for a time in America, then moved to Isreal in the mid-1980s (against his will) and managed to flourish not only in school but becoming a member of the elite military unit (Isreal's version of special forces) that is usually reserved for people who were born and raised in Isreal. He also had the misfortune to have booked a trip from Boston to Los Angeles on September 11, 2001, onboard American Airlines flight 11 which, of course, was the first plane hijacked and the first to fly into the World Trade Center. It would also turn out that he was most certainly the first passenger killed on any of the airplanes but was very likely the first person overall to be killed on 9/11 as he tried to intervene to stop the hijacking.
The book does a good job of portraying the good and the bad of Lewin's personality and work ethic. It does not paint a completely rosy picture as it details how he was prone to outbursts of anger, was a workaholic who often put work above family, and had a management style that definitely chaffed some of the people he worked with. On the other hand, he never asked anyone to do something he was not willing to do himself, and his force of personality got the company contracts with entities like Yahoo, Apple, CNN, and more, when most of the time the people he was making pitches to had no idea what he was talking about.
The book is mostly focused on Lewin's life. Only one chapter at the very end of the book discusses the events of his death. In that chapter the author does not speculate as to what happened on the plane, just giving general details that resulted from the investigation which was based on what the flight attendants on flight 11 who managed to reach people on the ground were reporting. What is known is that Danny was seated across the aisle from two of the terrorists on the plane (including the pilot hijacker) and directly in front of the 5th hijacker sitting in business class. He likely knew immediately what was happening because he understood Arabic and because of his anti-terrorism training. It is not known exactly how the hijacking played out and if Danny was stabbed simply because of where he was sitting (on United 93, the passenger seated in front of the hijacker who was farthest back in first-class was stabbed basically as a warning to the other passengers) or if he actually started to fight the hijackers in front of him. There are some reports online that he managed to tackle one of the hijackers but all the author says is that it is likely that Lewin tried to thwart the hijacking and had his throat slashed by the hijacker who was sitting behind him. He was certainly the person most equipped to stop the hijacking but he would have been in a three, four, or five-on-one situation with one of the hijackers directly behind him. The fact that Danny could not stop the hijacking makes Mark Whalberg's insinuation that if he had been on the plane (he was originally booked on Flight 11 until he changed his travel plans) things would have turned out differently. Once the hijackers got on the plane, Danny was probably the only person who could have stopped them.
The book is definitely more interesting the better you understand computers. The author admits that it is hard to understand and describe exactly what Lewin figured out and what Akamai as a company does. She does a fairly good job of putting a very complex subject into layman's terms and not focusing on the overly technical aspects. As I said above, this is not a detailed look at all into the 9/11 attacks, so if that is what you are after, this is not the book for you. Chances are, had he lived, Lewin may have been up there in the pantheon of tech giants like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates because what he did for the internet was certainly worthy of that company. For years, the only way most people (aside from those who met him or knew him personally) would have ever heard of him was by reading the 9/11 Commission report. Otherwise, the only reference to him for years was a line in the National Geographic Inside 9/11 documentary in which an unnamed passenger is mentioned as trying to intervene in the hijacking but is stabbed. While the book can be a bit dry and will not appeal to everyone, I think it is an interesting read and if you are a fan of biographies this is worth checking out.
Even if that was all he was known for Lewin's story would be impressive, but he was also unique in that he was born and grew up for a time in America, then moved to Isreal in the mid-1980s (against his will) and managed to flourish not only in school but becoming a member of the elite military unit (Isreal's version of special forces) that is usually reserved for people who were born and raised in Isreal. He also had the misfortune to have booked a trip from Boston to Los Angeles on September 11, 2001, onboard American Airlines flight 11 which, of course, was the first plane hijacked and the first to fly into the World Trade Center. It would also turn out that he was most certainly the first passenger killed on any of the airplanes but was very likely the first person overall to be killed on 9/11 as he tried to intervene to stop the hijacking.
The book does a good job of portraying the good and the bad of Lewin's personality and work ethic. It does not paint a completely rosy picture as it details how he was prone to outbursts of anger, was a workaholic who often put work above family, and had a management style that definitely chaffed some of the people he worked with. On the other hand, he never asked anyone to do something he was not willing to do himself, and his force of personality got the company contracts with entities like Yahoo, Apple, CNN, and more, when most of the time the people he was making pitches to had no idea what he was talking about.
The book is mostly focused on Lewin's life. Only one chapter at the very end of the book discusses the events of his death. In that chapter the author does not speculate as to what happened on the plane, just giving general details that resulted from the investigation which was based on what the flight attendants on flight 11 who managed to reach people on the ground were reporting. What is known is that Danny was seated across the aisle from two of the terrorists on the plane (including the pilot hijacker) and directly in front of the 5th hijacker sitting in business class. He likely knew immediately what was happening because he understood Arabic and because of his anti-terrorism training. It is not known exactly how the hijacking played out and if Danny was stabbed simply because of where he was sitting (on United 93, the passenger seated in front of the hijacker who was farthest back in first-class was stabbed basically as a warning to the other passengers) or if he actually started to fight the hijackers in front of him. There are some reports online that he managed to tackle one of the hijackers but all the author says is that it is likely that Lewin tried to thwart the hijacking and had his throat slashed by the hijacker who was sitting behind him. He was certainly the person most equipped to stop the hijacking but he would have been in a three, four, or five-on-one situation with one of the hijackers directly behind him. The fact that Danny could not stop the hijacking makes Mark Whalberg's insinuation that if he had been on the plane (he was originally booked on Flight 11 until he changed his travel plans) things would have turned out differently. Once the hijackers got on the plane, Danny was probably the only person who could have stopped them.
The book is definitely more interesting the better you understand computers. The author admits that it is hard to understand and describe exactly what Lewin figured out and what Akamai as a company does. She does a fairly good job of putting a very complex subject into layman's terms and not focusing on the overly technical aspects. As I said above, this is not a detailed look at all into the 9/11 attacks, so if that is what you are after, this is not the book for you. Chances are, had he lived, Lewin may have been up there in the pantheon of tech giants like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates because what he did for the internet was certainly worthy of that company. For years, the only way most people (aside from those who met him or knew him personally) would have ever heard of him was by reading the 9/11 Commission report. Otherwise, the only reference to him for years was a line in the National Geographic Inside 9/11 documentary in which an unnamed passenger is mentioned as trying to intervene in the hijacking but is stabbed. While the book can be a bit dry and will not appeal to everyone, I think it is an interesting read and if you are a fan of biographies this is worth checking out.
No comments:
Post a Comment