Barbarians At The Gate

Oct 3, 2024 7:18 AM

Author:Bryan Burrough,John Helyar

The battle for the control of RJR Nabisco in the Autumn of 1988, which became the largest and most dramatic corporate takeover in American history, sent shock-waves through the international business world and became a symbol of the greed, excess and egotism of the eighties.

Barbarians at the Gate recounts this two-month battle with breathtaking pace and flair, and transports back to the Wall Street empire before it crumbled, through the boardroom doors, into the midnight meetings, the betrayals, the deal makers and publicity flaks, into a world where - as Nabisco CEO Ross Johnson put it - 'a few million dollars are lost in the sands of time'.

Twenty years on, the world is once again recovering from a period of financial extravagance and irresponsibility. This revised edition brings the ultimate business thriller up to date for a new generation of readers.

Reviews

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

One of the greatest business books ever written

—— New York Times

It's hard to imagine a better story

—— Chicago Tribune

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

—— Independent

The result of Delves Broughton's time there is this funny and revealing insider's view, revealing precisely because he is genuinely fascinated by the world of business, and his fascination is infectious

—— The Sunday Times

He sets the scene brilliantly, capturing an essence of HBS that is part cult, part psychological morass, part hothouse... For anyone planning to attend this remarkable institution, Delves Broughton's book is invaluable... A quite brilliant book

—— Simon Heffer , Literary Review

Delves Broughton sketches out the Harvard curriculum and his fellow travellers with skill and wit... His work is a handy introduction for those who crave the mega-bucks and mega-power that HBS brings many of its graduates. But while it is not the kind of book that non-business readers will naturally reach for, it deserves a broader audience

—— The Times

A useful primer for anyone considering a similar path, or just curious as to how Harvard churns out all those gleaming little masters of the universe

—— Washington Post

A particularly absorbing and entertaining read

—— Financial Times

A cautionary tale for those who believe that the grass - and their future paycheck - would be greener if only they could jump the fence into the rarefied world of the Masters of Business Administration

—— New York Times

Original, clever, funny - and full of insights into one of the most influential insitutions in the world

—— George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

What They Teach You...' is a hilarious, perceptive and unflinching account of the strange world of Harvard Business School, its students and the wider world of business which they are set to dominate. It is the Liar's Poker of the MBA set. Destined to become a classic

—— Albert Read, General Manager of Conde Nast

Informative, wry, and well-written, this book will make rewarding and pleasurable reading for anybody wishing to understand why business is the way it is.

—— John Cassidy, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Dot.Con

Kirkpatrick's amazing reporting details what happens when a hacker culture turns into a multi-billion-dollar firm. Mark Zuckerberg sought to maintain that hacker energy, and it's fascinating to hear what resulted

—— Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired and author of The Long Tail

Engrossing. . . . A detailed and scrupulously fair history of [Facebook]

—— Rich Jaroslovsky , Bloomberg Businessweek

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