A book that stormed both the bestseller list and the public imagination, a book that created a genre of its own, and a book that gets at the heart of Wall Street and the '80s culture it helped define, Barbarians at the Gate has emerged twenty years after the tumultuous deal it so brilliantly recounts as a modern classic--a masterpiece of investigatory journalism and a rollicking book of corporate derring-do and financial swordsmanship.

The fight to control RJR Nabisco during October and November of 1988 was more than just the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Marked by brazen displays of ego not seen in American business for decades, it became the high point of a new gilded age and its repercussions are still being felt. The tale remains the ultimate story of greed and glory--a story and a cast of characters that determined the course of global business and redefined how deals would be done and fortunes made in the decades to come.

Barbarians at the Gate is the gripping account of these two frenzied months, of deal makers and publicity flaks, of an old-line industrial powerhouse (home of such familiar products a Oreos and Camels) that became the victim of the ruthless and rapacious style of finance in the 1980s. As reporters for The Wall Street Journal, Burrough and Helyar had extensive access to all the characters in this drama. They take the reader behind the scenes at strategy meetings and society dinners, into boardrooms and bedrooms, providing an unprecedentedly detailed look at how financial operations at the highest levels are conducted but also a richly textured social history of wealth at the twilight of the Reagan era.

At the center of the huge power struggle is RJR Nabisco's president, the high-living Ross Johnson. It's his secret plan to buy out the company that sets the frenzy in motion, attracting the country's leading takeover players: Henry Kravis, the legendary leveraged-buyout king whose entry into the fray sets off an acquisitive commotion; Peter Cohen, CEO of Shearson Lehman Hutton and Johnson's partner, who needs a victory to propel his company to an unchallenged leadership in the lucrative mergers and acquisitions field; the fiercely independent Ted Forstmann, motivated as much by honor as by his rage at the corruption he sees taking over the business he cherishes; Jim Maher and his ragtag team, struggling to regain credibility for the decimated ranks at First Boston; and an army of desperate bankers, lawyers, and accountants, all drawn inexorably to the greatest prize of their careers--and one of the greatest prizes in the history of American business.

Written with the bravado of a novel and researched with the diligence of a sweeping cultural history, Barbarians at the Gate is present at the front line of every battle of the campaign. Here is the unforgettable story of that takeover in all its brutality. In a new afterword specially commissioned for the story's 20th anniversary, Burrough and Helyar return to visit the heroes and villains of this epic story, tracing the fallout of the deal, charting the subsequent success and failure of those involved, and addressing the incredible impact this story--and the book itself--made on the world.

Smiths Group (formerly Smiths Industries), part of the UK FTSE 100 index, is a global engineering company with a market capitalisation over GBP5bn. Evolving from beginnings in the Victorian jewellery trade, to significant market presences in the twentieth century motor accessory, clock and watch industries, it has reinvented itself again as a diversified international company, operating in the medical, communications, security and engineered components sectors. Its narrative history, illuminating the reasons for its survival and adaptability, offers useful data and information to aid wider research into questions such as the legitimacy of conglomerates as a business model, the creation and maintenance of corporate culture, issues of succession, the effects of mergers and the questionable value placed upon targeted synergies-even the role of serendipity. The story begins with several generations of the Smith family amassing a fortune in retail, and then, following a 1914 stock-market flotation, describes the transition from family run business to the development of a professionally-run managerial enterprise. Since the 1970s it has had to face the decline of major markets and competitive pressures, leading to the adoption of new business lines, globalisation, and the internationalisation of its workforce. It now has 23,000 employees across more than 50 countries-along the way shocking the markets by abandoning core businesses and undergoing a controversial merger. Unfettered access to company records, and interviews with former staff members, provide insights into the strategy and management of the firm, illuminating the rich culture of Smiths, characterised by the frequent fostering of technical brilliance and a cast of larger than life characters.

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.

In 1962, Masahiro Shima founded Shima Seiki, with the aim of developing a fully automated seamless glove-knitting machine. Following this success, the company expanded into flat knitting machines. However, the age of the computer brought a whole new era for Shima Seiki. By committing to computerization in its mainstream products, Shima Seiki gradually began to stand apart from its competitors. Shima Seiki's focus on computer-aided knit design and programming, in fact led to a revolution in the fashion industry. Written by the inventor himself, this book looks at how Masahiro Shima developed both the technology and philosophy to enable his company to be market leaders in industrial knitting machines - and fundamentally change the fashion industry. This culminated in the launch of the company's Wholegarment knitting machine in 1995, which altered forever the way knitted garments are produced, and which today is used by fashion manufacturers across the world.

Is your investment in that new Internet stock a sign of stock market savvy or an act of peculiarly American speculative folly? How has the psychology of investing changed--and not changed--over the last five hundred years? Edward Chancellor examines the nature of speculation--from medieval Europe to the Tulip mania of the 1630s to today's Internet stock craze. A contributing writer to The Financial Times and The Economist, looks at both the psychological and economic forces that drive people to "bet" their money in markets; how markets are made, unmade, and manipulated; and who wins when speculation runs rampant. Drawing colorfully on the words of such speculators as Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel Defoe, Ivan Boesky, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Devil Take the Hindmost is part history, part social science, and purely illuminating: an erudite and hugely entertaining book that is more timely today than ever before.

Sneaker Wars is the fascinating true story of the enemy brothers behind Adidas and Puma, two of the biggest global brands of athletic footwear. Adi and Rudi Dassler started their shoe business in their mother's laundry room and achieved almost instantaneous success. But by the end of World War II a vicious feud had torn the Dasslers apart, dividing their company and their family and launching them down separate, often contentious paths. Out of the fires of their animosity, two rival sneaker brands were born, brands that would revolutionize the world of professional sports, sparking astonishing behind-the-scenes deals, fabulous ad campaigns, and multimillion-dollar contracts for pro athletes, from Joe Namath to Muhammad Ali to David Beckham.

While it was almost nonexistent at the beginning of the 1980s, the Swiss watch industry effortlessly dominates the global market today. This remarkable comeback is the topic of this book, which focuses on the development of the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch company, since its founding in 1983. This text offers a detailed and full analysis of the strategy which enabled the Swatch Group to establish itself on the world market.

The best-known and most important manufacturer of plastic model kits in the UK, Airfix has been at the forefront of the industry since 1955 when the first Airfix aircraft kit appeared in UK branches of Woolworth's. The kits were made to a constant scale and covered a wide variety of subjects, from aircraft to birds and from tanks to dinosaurs. In 1981 the famous London-based company closed down and only the kits survived intact. For the next twenty-five years Airfix was run by Palitoy and later Humbrol, but suffered from a lack of investment. In 2006, Hornby Hobbies Ltd, the train and Scalextric manufacturer, bought the ailing company and transformed it. Money and resources were ploughed into the range, and today Airfix releases around twenty new kits per year, designed to an incredibly high standard. The old kits of the 1950s and 1960s are gradually being replaced by new state-of-the-art tooling, all bearing that most prestigious name - Airfix. Published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the first Airfix aircraft kit, Sixty Years of Airfix Models, tells the full story, year by year, of the company and its products.

"An engrossing story of audacious entrepreneurism and big-industry disruption, [this] is a tale for our times." -- Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better An investigative look into a beloved, disruptive, notorious start-up This is the remarkable behind-the-scenes story of the creation and growth of Airbnb, the online lodging platform that is now the largest provider of accommodations in the world. At first just the wacky idea of cofounders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb has become indispensable to millions of hosts and travelers around the world. Fortune editor Leigh Gallagher presents the first nuanced, in-depth look at the Airbnb phenomenon -- the successes and controversies alike -- and takes us behind the scenes as the company's young CEO steers into increasingly uncharted waters. "A fast-paced, fun dive into one of the seminal firms of our time; through the tale of Airbnb, Leigh Gallagher shows us how the sharing economy can be a force for emotional connection -- as well as for social and business disruption." -- Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and CNN global economic analyst

In June 2017, Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, was ousted in a boardroom coup that capped a brutal year for the transportation giant. Uber had catapulted to the top of the tech world, yet for many came to symbolise everything wrong with Silicon Valley. In the tradition of Brad Stone's Everything Store and John Carreyrou's Bad Blood, award-winning investigative reporter Mike Isaac's Super Pumped delivers a gripping account of Uber's rapid rise, its pitched battles with taxi unions and drivers, the company's toxic internal culture and the bare-knuckle tactics it devised to overcome obstacles in its quest for dominance. Based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Uber employees, along with previously unpublished documents, Super Pumped is a page-turning story of ambition and deception, obscene wealth and bad behaviour, that explores how blistering technological and financial innovation culminated in one of the most catastrophic twelve-month periods in American corporate history.

In 1982, the Dow hovered below 1000. Then, the market rose and rapidly gained speed until it peaked above 11,000. Noted journalist and financial reporter Maggie Mahar has written the first book on the remarkable bull market that began in 1982 and ended just in the early 2000s. For almost two decades, a colorful cast of characters such as Abby Joseph Cohen, Mary Meeker, Henry Blodget, and Alan Greenspan came to dominate the market news.

This inside look at that 17-year cycle of growth, built upon interviews and unparalleled access to the most important analysts, market observers, and fund managers who eagerly tell the tales of excesses, presents the period with a historical perspective and explains what really happened and why.

A larger-than-life account of family, greed, and a courtroom showdown between Big Oil rivals from the New York Times-bestselling author of Private Empire. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Coll is renowned for "his ability to take complicated, significant business stories and turn them into quick-reading engaging narratives" (Chicago Tribune). Coll is at the height of his talents in this "riveting" tale of one of the most spectacular-and catastrophic-corporate takeovers of all time (Newsday). As the head of a sprawling oil empire, J. Paul Getty was once the world's richest man. But by 1984, eight years after his death, Getty's legacy was in tatters: His children were locked in a bitter feud over the family trust and the company he founded was riven by boardroom turmoil. Then Pennzoil made an agreement with Getty's son, Gordon, to purchase Getty Oil. It was a done deal-until Texaco swooped in to claim the $10 billion prize. What followed was an epic legal battle that pit "good ole boy" J. Hugh Liedtke of Pennzoil against the Wall Street brokers behind Texaco's offer. The scandalous details of the case would shock the business world and change the landscape of the oil industry forever. With a large cast of colorful characters and the dramatic pacing of a novel, The Taking of Getty Oil is a "suspenseful" and "always intriguing" chronicle of one of the most fascinating chapters in American corporate history (Publishers Weekly).

Sweating Together: How Peloton Built a Billion Dollar Venture and Created Community in a Digital World by David J. Miller, PhD (#ChicagoBorn) The ultimate front row look at the meteoric rise of Peloton, one of the hottest consumer and fitness brands in the world. In Sweating Together Miller brings readers directly into the center of the sweat soaked, adrenaline fueled, NYC phenomena that is Peloton and provides a first-hand account of the rise of one of the most important ventures of tomorrow's economy. In 2012 John Foley and a group of co-founders launched Peloton, an interactive fitness and media company. In less than 10 years the company would be worth billions, disrupt the fitness industry and create a rabid, life changing community of members using sweat to span the digital and physical worlds. Join Peloton fanatic and George Mason University entrepreneurship professor David J. Miller (#ChicagoBorn on the Peloton platform) as he dives deep into the people, business models and stories behind the ascent of Peloton. From well-being, social media and gamification to the role of physical space in a digital world, talent retention and community building, there is no better venture for understanding our ever-expanding innovation fueled, well-being economy than Peloton. Miller unwittingly became a Peloton addict and spent thousands of hours sweating and growing relationships with Peloton members; he interviewed founders John Foley and Tom Cortese as well as other senior Peloton leaders, and Peloton celebrity instructors Robin Arzon, Matt Wilpers, Jenn Sherman and Jess King. Join Miller and race into the future with Peloton

Drawing on a unique study of Australian advertising agencies at the dawn of the digital era, this book provides a hitherto unexplored study of the advertising industry at a point of its disruption. By exploring the dynamic interaction between this established but complacent industry, and a radically new communication medium, this book reveals how advertising agencies were forced to change fundamentally, yet as an industry helped shape the digital economy, and the platforms that dominate it. Based on contemporary reports, company archives, personal archives, and over 50 interviews with past and current advertising practitioners across the range of agency departments, this unique historical narrative reveals how power shifts between agencies, advertisers, and other media platforms forged the current models of advertiser-funded digital media. For scholars of marketing, media, communication, and contemporary history, this is an illuminating perspective on the early impact of the digital revolution and its relevance to the media landscape today.

In an age where even the best products are quickly imitated, businesses must constantly find new ways to outpace competitors. Successful companies differentiate themselves not just with superior products, but also by how they behave toward their customers at every touchpoint: service, product development, marketing, branding, bids and proposals, presentations, negotiations, and more. Behavioral Differentiation is emerging as the ""final frontier"" in competitive strategy, and "Winning Behavior" shows how leading companies use it to exceed expectations and outperform competitors. This eye-opening book offers case histories and examples from companies like GE, Volvo, EMC, Ritz-Carlton, Wal-Mart, and Harley-Davidson, plus interviews with executives like George Zimmer (Men's Wearhouse), Colleen Barrett (Southwest Airlines), and Gerry Roche (Heidrick & Struggles). In today's ultracompetitive business landscape, product quality and competitive pricing are prerequisites for staying afloat. Winning Behavior reveals the secrets the best companies use -- and any business can use -- to stay at the pinnacle of success in their industry.

"Remember the Cola Wars, with Coke and Pepsi battling it out year after year for supremacy in the soft drink market? Or what about the Burger Wars, the legendary slugfests between McDonald's and Burger King? Then of course, there were the Sports Drink Wars. If you blinked, you might have missed them, because Gatorade has swiftly and decisively fended off every would-be rival. Although a few other brands hold slim market shares, the fact is that Gatorade single-handedly created the sports drink industry 40 years ago and has absolutely ruled it ever since. But Gatorade is more than just a triumph of branding. First, it's a trusted product that has been scientifically proven to do what it claims to do. Second, Gatorade is an enthralling story, brought to life in bright color and sharp detail in First in Thirst. Author Darren Rovell, a skilled, objective, and passionate journalist, chronicles every astonishing milestone of the company's history. With unprecedented access to the inventors, the marketers, the analysts and observers, and key company figures past and present, Rovell recounts the sweat-drenched University of Florida football practices, the first (unpalatable) prototypes, and the commercial and financial interest that quickly took hold following the drink's first on-field successes. Then came the advertising, sponsorships, product placements (many of them fortuitous), and finally the two milestones that cemented Gatorade's iconic status once and for all -- the ubiquitous Gatorade bath and the Michael Jordan ""Be Like Mike"" endorsement deal. With refreshing candor, First in Thirst also offers an inside look at the negotiations, battles, lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions, product strategies, lucky breaks, and even the missteps (there have not been many) that have attended Gatorade's reign as the 800-pound gorilla of the sports-drink scene. Rovell places the reader inside labs and brainstorming sessions, at board meetings and ad shoots, on the sidelines and in the dugouts, even in the winner's circle at NASCAR events -- where Gatorade manages maximum exposure even at tracks whose official sponsors include chief rival POWERade. The book identifies the nine Gatorade Rules, business principles that have helped Gatorade become one of the most dominant brands ever. By adhering to these principles, businesses in other industries may achieve greater brand recognition and market share. Long before America knew what ""deep-down body thirst"" was, a team of university scientists had already invented something to quench it. First in Thirst is the story of the product and the company, and of America's fascination with the one and only Gatorade."

"When Wilbur and Orville Wright executed the first successful manned flight on December 17th, 1903, they stunned the world. Man could fly Where had these two brothers come from? The impact was astonishing. (Imagine if Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon in a craft he built himself and paid for with a part-time job )

In ushering in the age of flight, the Wright brothers got past numerous obstacles the world's other scientists hadn't even begun to tackle. " The Wright Way" defines seven essential problem-solving principles the brothers used in accomplishing this enormous feat, and shows readers how to apply them to common business problems. The book presents practical, inspirational principles for achievement, including:

* Hammering out problems through constructive conflict

* Addressing the toughest issues -- or ""worst things"" -- first

* Achieving perfection through ""inveterate tinkering""

* Pursuing useful knowledge through ""forever learning""

The book gives business leaders and managers constructive tips they can use to tackle their most difficult -- and rewarding -- challenges and opportunities. A perfect combination of savvy management guidance and historical adventure story, "The Wright Way" shows readers how to make their business soar when others can't even get off the ground."

"Featuring a foreword by George Gilder

If you're a Qualcomm customer or stockholder, or in fact if you have a stake in almost any cellular service or even just use a mobile phone, you're no doubt aware of the enormous impact on the development of cellular technology by actress and sex symbol Hedy LaMarr.

All right, perhaps you're surprised. The telecom industry has never been short on surprises, and the above example is no exception. Nor is it an exaggeration. Read the book.

Similarly, it is not an exaggeration to say that Qualcomm, through a combination of technological superiority, cunning business acumen, and sheer tenacity, has become the undisputed standard by which telecom companies now measure themselves. In short order, they have also become a model of substantial and sustained growth that businesses in all industries should emulate.

Qualcomm's rise mirrors that of the cell phone itself. Both are ubiquitous, both continue to evolve rapidly, and both turned the status quo on its head. The Qualcomm Equation reveals crucial but little-known information on the history of cellular and wireless technology -- some of which dates back to World War II -- and shows how the company grabbed the wave just as it began to rise.

How did they do it?

Even while most competitors were using an essential technology, Qualcomm believed in an alternative they had developed, and continued to refine and promote it until at last it caught on. The Qualcomm Equation details how the fledgling company, while their rivals simply duked it out for more customers, made a killing not only by offering great service, but also by leasing their superior standard technology to other telecom companies. While Qualcomm grew its own customer base, they had also, in essence, found a way to make more money the bigger their competitors got.

How can you apply the Qualcomm model in your industry, and in your company?

Following Qualcomm's example, your company can:

* attract investors by presenting even complex products and technologies in customer- and market-focused language

* prove that its product is essential not only to customers but also to competitors -- so that they come to depend on you rather than trying to defeat you

* make its product and its operations compatible with those competitors, turning rivalries into profitable strategic alliances

* learn from setbacks, and leverage the knowledge and strengths of your partners to overcome obstacles

You'll also learn crucial strategies to help you define and develop your core business; identify and maximize your company's role and position in the value chain for customers and shareholders; strike a balance between sharing and protecting proprietary information; and handle regulatory and political concerns both domestically and globally.

In the last decade, Qualcomm has come to define dominance not only in the telecommunications industry, but throughout the global business landscape. The Qualcomm Equation presents their story, and the keys to their unparalleled success.

Not to mention the most important role of Hedy LaMarr's career..."

Sales theories come and sales theories go, but nothing beats learning from the original masters. "The Giants of Sales "introduces readers to the techniques developed by four legendary sales giants, and offers concrete examples of how they still work in the 21st century. The book reveals how:

* In his quest to sell a brand new product known as the cash register, John Henry Patterson came up with a repeatable sales process tailor-made for his own sales force

* Dale Carnegie taught people how to win friends and influence customers with powerful methods that still work

* Joe Girard, listed by Guinness as the world's greatest salesman, didn't just sell cars, he sold relationships...and developed a successful referral business

* Elmer Wheeler discovered fundamental truths about persuasion by testing thousands of sales pitches on millions of people, and achieved great success in the middle of the Great Depression

Part history and part how-to, "The Giants of Sales" gives readers practical, real-world techniques based on the time-tested wisdom of true sales masters.

A family owned business specializing in light duty horse-drawn carriages, buggies, and wagons, the McFarlan Company, like many manufacturers of its era, entered the automobile industry soon after the turn of the twentieth century. Instead of trying to outproduce and outsell its competition, McFarlan catered to the individual desires of an affluent clientele. For nearly 20 years, McFarlan automobiles were recognized for their quality, custom features, powerful engines, and enormous size. This full history covers the company from start to finish, with emphasis on its prestigious cars.

'The ultimate takedown' New York Times 'The problem of Facebook is Zuckerberg. And the question posed by this splendid book is: what are we going to do about him?' Observer 'A comprehensive account . . . drawn from first-hand testimonies. Thoroughly engaging' The Times 'What marks this book out is how it gets under the corporate bonnet . . . to build a picture of astounding corporate arrogance and irresponsibility' Sunday Times 'An explosive new book' Daily Mail __________________________________________ Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting, behind-the-scenes expose that offers the definitive account of Facebook's fall from grace. Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories, for the past five years, Facebook has been under constant fire, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users' data, allowing the spread of fake news, and the amplification of dangerous, polarising hate speech. Critics framed the narrative as the irreconcilable conflict between the platform's lofty mission to advance society by bringing people together while also profiting off of them. The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Drawing on their unrivalled sources, Frenkel and Kang take readers inside the complex court politics, alliances and rivalries within the company, its growing political influence as well as its skirmishes with privacy groups and the FTC, to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth. Their explosive, exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability - this is how the platform was built to perform. In a period of great upheaval, growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Each has stood by as their technology is co-opted by hate-mongers, criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe, with devastating consequences. In An Ugly Truth, they are at last held accountable.

This book provides a collective view of the five major English chartered trading companies which were active during the period 1688-1763: The East India Company, the Royal African Company, the Hudson's Bay Company, The Levant Company, and the Russia Company. Using both archival and secondary sources, this monograph fills in some of the knowledge gaps concerning the less well-studied companies, and examines the interconnections between international rivalry, the financial operations of the companies, and politics which have not featured prominently in the historiography.