The narrative, written by a former Microsoft software developer and the estranged daughter of the company's top publicist, is to hit stores on May 20, just as the company's anti-trust battle with the justice department is likely to reignite.

The 304-page book, titled, `Barbarians led by Bill Gates: Microsoft from the inside,' paints a very different picture of Microsoft than the one normally sketched by Microsoft executives and followers of the company. Described alternately as a wellspring of marketing brilliance or an evil empire, Microsoft is undeniably the dominant force in the world of personal computing and universally seen as the master of its own destiny.

But such is not the case, according to `Barbarians led by Bill Gates,' written by 13-year Microsoft veteran Marlin Eller and Jennifer Edstorm, daughter of public relations executive Pam Edstrom,Microsoft is neither a business genius nor evil empire, and just as often, things happened by chance, the book says.

`Barbarians led by Bill Gates' explores 15 years of the company's business practices, and its research created hours of taped interview with software developers that could draw interest of government investigators.

Co-author Eller worked at Microsoft from 1982 to 1995 and is now chairman at Sundawk Corp, a Seattle digital music publisher. Eller was a lead developer of the initial version of windows, and the book follows his career and interactions with executives such as Gates and Steve Ballmer.

Eller did not return a call seeking comment. But William Patrick, senior executive editor at the book's publisher, Henry Holt Co called Eller a `Microsoft loyalist' who enjoyed the company's early days working `elbow to elbow' with Gates, but who left when the company grew too large.

The book is a `story told by the guys in the trenches,' Patrick said. It is not the story of Bill Gates' genius,but of a lot of smart people who often had to fight management to get things done, he said.

Jennifer Edstrom, also a co-author, grew up with the Microsoft culture. Her mother, who also didn't return a call seeking comment, runs Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's public-relations agency.