Goldman Sachs, the nation's leading investment firm, with a solid-gold reputation and a first-class list of clients, began as a family business in a lower Manhattan basement in 1869. The secrets behind the remarkable success of Goldman Sachs since then are revealed in unprecedented depth in this fascinating and authoritative narrative history of the firm.

Former Goldman Sachs vice president Lisa Endlich draws on her insider's knowledge and access to all levels of management to bring to life a unique company that has long held its mystique intact. The most stunning accomplishments in modern American finance are explored through the story of how Goldman Sachs reached its summit.

Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success provides a rare and revealing look inside an institution -- until recently the last private partnership on Wall Street -- and inside the financial world at its highest levels. Included here, in a new chapter, is a first look at the history behind the firm's landmark initial public offering.

Goldman Sachs, the premier investment bank in the world, was until recently Wall Street’s last major private partnership, and significantly more profitable than any of its publicly owned competitors. How it sustained this success for most of its 129 years has for decades mystified financial players and pundits. Now, in this fascinating and authoritative study, the Goldman Sachs history and mystique are examined in unprecedented depth. Endlich, a former Goldman Sachs vice president with access to all levels of management, traces the rise and development of the firm in the context of its prevailing concept, ‘People and Culture.’ She documents how close client-contact, teamwork, and focus on long-term profitability over short-term goals brought the firm to a pinnacle of $3 billion pretax profits in 1997. In June 1998 the partners of Goldman Sachs voted to go public, and it made international front-page news. The story of the transformation will continue to attract extensive coverage.