Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24495 in Books
• Published on: 1989-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
Reveals the stories behind the risk arbitrageurs and corporate takeover bond impresarios Michael Milken, Carl Icahn, Ronald Perelman, and Nelson Peltz.

Customer Reviews

Mike Milken tarnished himself, what a shame!
This is a first class book, outrageous incidents and low tech finance, and should particularly be read by those willing to concede that Milken was in fact extremely insightful. It walks you through the basics of how the business really works and the sort of power struggles that took place at the time. It highlights the destruction (both good and bad) of the cosy boardroom, and shows that Milken only had himself to blame. Power breeds excess, and corrupts, but that level of power is rarely achieved in the first instance without substance, and Milken had this. Whilst I hope that no-one feels sympathy for those he destroyed in his wake, it is good to read an account of just why he gained that power base. He re-financed huge swathes of America and unleashed far wider repurcussions in corporate life globally, generally at the expenses of those with previous vested interests in maintaining the status quo. This is no mean feat, and this book shows how white-toe investment banking firms treated (and often still do treat) their potential clients, allowing Milken the breadth of disenfranchised corporations to tap with his advice. It is a shame that the remainder of his reign was one of manipulating unfortunte S&L's, private investors and joe public, and creaming money in every direction!! This book is one of the less biassed and therefore useful accounts of that era. Shows all the excesses that money can bring.

Nice topic, weak author
The book gives good overview of Milken, leveraged finance and important players of the decade.
However, a bit too long for my taste, with too many unnecessary details, repeating in some parts as well. Ms Connie Bruck wanted to show all the angles, but went into excess.
The book is a recommended read for those who want to deepen they knowledge about Milken and takeovers of the 80's.

Very good but a bit difficult to follow
I liked this book but I found it difficult to follow the order of events at some points, especially when the author jumped back and forth between dates. Overall, highly recommendable.