The Paypal Wars is a great behind the scenes look at the founding and management of Paypal, an internet money transfer site. Eric Jackson gives an exciting account of the trials and tribulations through which the young company went to warrant its $1.5 billion acquisition by Ebay. Jackson ’s detailed description of Paypal’s constantly changing marketing strategies gives the reader a sense of the crazy day-to-day highs and lows of working for a top pedigree internet startup. Jackson also describes the sparing, strategic positioning, and out right confrontations that Paypal’s brilliant entrepreneurs endured to combat attacks from rival services, fraudsters, and Ebay.

The excitement starts for Jackson with a meeting with PayPal’s founder, who immediately tells him he must quit his comfy consulting job and begin work within the next few days. Jackson replies that he cannot possibly change his life that quickly, to which the entrepreneur replies that he will miss out on thousands in options if he does not make the change. This encounter gives a true sense of the real excitement and hysteria of the Internet Boom, where creative individuals made fortunes in months as new economy companies strove for an opportunity to IPO.

One extremely enjoyable aspect of The PayPal Wars is the description of the over the top atmosphere during the internet boom. Eric Jackson got to enjoy some of the most cutting edge marketing of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s due to the yet unparalleled nature of the emerging market that PayPal was both capitalizing on and creating. Jackson ’s description of the lightning fast strategic decisions was also very enjoyable. Jackson was perhaps the benefactor, as a young marketing analyst, of a burn rate of several million dollars per month, which led to obstacles in what Paypal’s marketing department could consider.

Jackson ’s description of PayPal’s professional atmosphere was also very interesting. Strategists regularly made important decisions in minutes, and they would change their tactics often to beat competitors. These descriptions highlight the benefits for Jackson of working for a startup company where young people were given great responsibilities. This is one underlying message in Jackson ’s work. The PayPal Wars is a story of the triumph of the young entrepreneur in the face of huge behemoth corporate competitors. Executives at PayPal were able to use the flexibility of their work environment to innovate and gain market share while taking advantage of the inherent inefficiencies of rivals.

Jackson also gives insight into one of the main challenges of Paypal’s business model: fraud. Paypal’s Anti-Fraud Group went to war with international fraudsters by developing cutting edge software. Jackson gives an account of the various harrowing interactions Pay- Pal had with such fraudsters, eventually leading to the arrest of some criminals and the final containment of fraud. Pay- pal then had the ability to gain profit margins and thrive as a company.

Jackson allows the reader to connect with the content of his story through his descriptions of the emotions connected to the ups and downs of the company. He shows that there were times when many were not sure if Pay- Pal would even succeed. These lows are complimented, however, by the pure exhilaration the founders experienced when PayPal scored victories against the opposition.

The PayPal Wars earned the Writers Notes Book Award, gaining national visibility. Eric Jackson has also made numerous radio appearances. He is often quoted in national publications on the internet boom, marketing, and conservative publishing