Chat

In the days before Facebook, Skype, and Twitter…

Two strangers begin a conversation online. It’s 1995, and the Internet is new and uncharted territory. No status updates, no photos, no tweets, no video chats. All they have to share with one another are their words.

Max, a restless advertising copywriter who’s new to the online world, boldly strikes up an email conversation with Bev, a tough-minded book editor who’s been online since the ’80s. With charm, wit, and persistence, Max chips away at Bev’s reluctant façade until the two are sharing secrets they wouldn’t dream of telling anyone in “real life.”

Hailed as “Silicon Valley’s Story of O,” the story of Bev and Max’s relationship gradually becomes more intense, unfolding entirely through their online messages. Since Chat’s first publication in 1995, readers have found themselves unable to resist the temptation to “eavesdrop” on Bev and Max’s increasingly intimate correspondence as she slowly opens up to him and he becomes more fascinated by her. 

This newest edition of the acclaimed Chat, Connect, and Crash series offers a snapshot of the emerging technology and online culture of the 1990s, but the story of Bev and Max is—above all else—timeless.