Year 2000 - by Nancy P James (Paperback)

About the Book

Year 2000 shares the untold story of the actors operating on the global stage responsible for managing computer hardware and software for Year 2000 compliance, thus keeping national infrastructures, finance, and commerce functioning.

Book Synopsis

Can you imagine Congress compromising, or a president signing a bill against their donors' interests? Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic and the Greatest Cooperative Effort Ever tells how the Y2K crisis--when date-sensitive software risked crashing vital systems--was averted through unprecedented cooperation. Author Nancy James describes how the crisis was exposed, analyzed, and resolved, offering a fascinating look at teamwork on every level, along with surprising blunders and near disasters. This compelling history shows a nation united to solve a universal challenge--a timely lesson for today.

The new millennium. The Year 2000. Beyond Mayan prophecies, a more immediate danger loomed: Two-digit year date fields had been used by software programmers for decades to conserve expensive computer storage space. As a consequence, legacy systems reading "00" on January 1, 2000 would most probably interpret the date as 1900. Infrastructures critical to civilization--including heat, electricity, water and sanitation--were at risk, all complete unknowns. There was fear of an accidental nuclear arms deployment. There was fear of monetary systems being jeopardized, infrastructure collapse, internet security failures, and interruption of government-provided social programs. Banks experienced massive cash withdrawals while law firms worked overtime to develop novel litigation plans. Insurance enterprises worried.

Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic shares the untold story of the actors operating on the global stage responsible for managing computer hardware and software for Year 2000 compliance, thus keeping national infrastructures, finance, and commerce functioning. It turned out that the world did not end January 1, 2000. In fact, most people rang in the new year with the perception that nothing happened at all. This positive outcome was not a stroke of luck, nor was it because people overestimated or exaggerated Y2K risk. It was only possible because people across industries, from legal clerks to programmers to President Bill Clinton himself, worked tirelessly to offset disaster. But the Millennium did not pass completely harmlessly: it turns out that the United States, for a brief period, lost all satellite reconnaissance at 7:00 PM EST, December 31, 1999 (midnight GMT 01/01/2000). As a leading consultant and speaker on the challenges of Y2K during the lead-up to the new millennium, author Nancy P. James was directly involved in preparation for Y2K on the local and global stage. Using first-person experience, primary source documents outlining Y2K issues, anxieties, and the actions, influences, opinions, and strategies of those involved, James reveals the untold story of the behind-the-scenes scramble that made Y2K - seemingly - come and go, and offers stark lessons on how the global community can unite to face problems that challenge our world at large. James tells the contemporaneous story of those national and international Y2K actors who at the time did not know the outcome of the Year 2000 computer problem.

Review Quotes

"A rich and fascinating account of the Y2K issue, which provides a unique window into how the technology and business ecosystem came together to address and resolve a problem of epic size and complexity. The book also references the little known but critical part played by the risk management and insurance community in raising attention and supporting a successful resolution.

Nancy's book is exhaustively researched and brings together a wealth of sources and information on this topic. Her approach makes the subject both accessible and compelling.

This book has profound implications today, as the world is far more technology-dependent now than it was at the threshold of Y2K - and there are likely comparable systemic problems out there for us to discover and resolve."

James's book is interesting and filled with information. Year 2000 is a useful reminder that computers control all major human activities: banking, business, defense, entertainment, travel, and even medicine. Anyone who cares about the history and future of computers could profit by reading it.

"Nancy James' Year 2000: The Inside Story of the Y2K Panic offers a comprehensive and detailed account of one of the most gripping global crises of the late 20th century... James, steeped in technology with deep expertise in risk analysis provides a powerful insight from both the technical and human perspectives on the issue; business leaders who were at the forefront of the Y2K remediation efforts the human side of these individuals who navigated a tangled web of uncertainty, technological limitations, and the looming deadline of January 1, 2000.

One of the strengths of Year 2000 is its ability to break down technical jargon into an easy-to-read digestible format highlighting the cultural and economic factors that exacerbated the panic. In the end, James offers a timely reflection on how technological fears, while sometimes exaggerated, have real-world consequences--and how they shape our future in a world increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure."

"Nancy James' new book, Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic, tells the inside story of all that went into the problem and its eventual solution. It is a must-read for all who want to understand the cautions of the information technology world we are fast entering."

About the Author

Nancy James has over 40 years of technology and risk analysis experience. She designed and created the first Internet Liability insurance policy in the country, and is a pioneering expert in exposure threats to data security and privacy. James has served as President of the Massachusetts Society of Licensed Insurance Advisors, and her work has been featured by the American Bar Association, in ComputerWorld, Boston Bar Journal, Boston Business Journal, Best's Review, Women's Business, and much more.