Product Description

"The most bizarre financial mock-epic of our age. Read it open-mouthed; wonder and shudder." - "Independent". This is the story of the largest corporate take-over in American history. With a stake of $25 billion, the battle for the control of RJR Nabisco during October and November 1988 became a symbol of the greed and power-mongering of the eighties. This gripping narrative reveals the truth behind a Wall Street gamble that sent shock waves through the international business world. The rules were simple: never pay in cash - never tell the truth - never play by the rules. "All the suspense of a first-rate thriller - one of the finest, most compelling accounts of what happened to corporate America and Wall Street in the 1980s." - "New York Times Book Review". For their coverage of the RJR Nabisco take-over, Burrough and Helyar received the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2812 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 536 pages

Review
'The most bizarre financial mock-epic of our age. Read it open-mouthed; wonder and shudder.' Independent"

About the Author
Bryan Burrough is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York. In 1987 he won the John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business and Financial Journalism. John Helyar worked for the Wall Street Journal for nine years. He is now a senior editor of Southpoint, a business magazine based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

You get what you pay for
I didn't realise this when I bought it, though the price should have told me, but this is a ruthlessly abridged version which leaves out everything of interest and misses out any hint of detailed explanation. The result is like a children's fairy tale only less imaginative. I'm sure the original is fine because of the subject matter, but here the subject matter has been castrated. Buy a more expensive version.

Classic book
This is an excellent book, well written, easy to follow (even though the first time I read it I wasn't working in finance)and best of all - true. It gives a great insight into the human factors that go into a deal, the section dealing with arguments over which bank gets its name written at the top on the tombstone for the deal is marvellous and not the sort of thing you learn as a student. I agree with the reviewer below who says that this book should be read in addition to the standard corporate finance texts. Great stuff.

Very readable,thriller-like story of corp. takeovers of 80s
Excellent inside look into corporate America and Wall Street takeovers frenzy in the 80s. Book is written in a very readable manner that does not require any deep knowledge of economics or financial theories. Reader is led to astonishing discovery of how the power of networking and personal egos control the world of business and finances. It reveals the tremendous power and opportunities that the CEO of the big corporation is given, and leads to understanding of who the real "players" are.