Barbarians at the Gate

Additional Barbarians at the Gate Information

Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time -- the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's gripping account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 is the story of deal makers and publicity flaks, of strategy meetings and society dinners, of boardrooms and bedrooms -- giving us not only a 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.

Barbarians at the Gate -- a business narrative classic -- is must reading for everyone interested in the way today's world really works.

What Customers Say About Barbarians at the Gate:

Ted Forstmann, the holier-than-thou dealmaker who got humiliated by his arch-rival Kravis. And you deal with a memorable cast of characters. Hands down one of the best I have read in a very long time.I somewhat remember when the RJR Nabisco takeover went down. And what makes this even better is most readers know the outcome.

While many remember the October 1987 stock market collapse as the end of the go-go `80's, I think this deal was really the end of the era.The book itself recounts the deal itself as well as the history of the players involved. This is a fabulous book. Jim Maher, the ballsy First Boston merger manager who broke the bidding wide open. The suspense is in the events rather than in the outcome. Ross Johnson, the party-hearty CEO who (somewhat unfairly) became the icon of takeover greed due to his actions during the RJR battle.

The book also tells the story of RJ Reynolds and Nabisco themselves and those are interesting corporate histories.The story reads like a thriller with every page featuring a new twist or a new knife in the back. And it all works very well.I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I was in college at the time and not nearly as close a follower of business and economic issues as I am today. It is like watching APOLLO 13. Henry Kravis, the controlled, smart player who ultimately won control of RJR.

Peter Cohen, the Shearson Chairman who was so desperate to do a deal and make the big time that he did not know when he was way out of his league. You know how it ends and yet you stay with the moment and it is still gripping. I loved it and recommend it unconditionally.

Thorough research, including extensive interviews and notes. This book is fantastic. A compelling narrative. Sometimes you need to read the footnotes to learn that the authors' interpretation was disputed or controversial, but for the most part instances of this are very reasonable. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the 1980s, Wall Street, and how the world of investment bankers, financiers, and publicly traded companies work.

This is a review of the afterword of the 2008 edition of the book. Looks like the publishers were rushing, or maybe there aren't any good editors/proofers in their employ anymore, what with all the cost cuts and the crisis.On the upside, the new afterword makes this a great purchase, particularly if you don't have your own copy yet. (The original book itself gets 5 stars for smooth writing, great coverage, and being an entertaining read of a historical event).The downside first: It needs competent proofreading. Names are misspelled, sometimes appearing correctly and incorrectly spelled within the same paragraph, and there are numerous, jarring typos. It's great to know what's happened to the key players who haven't been in the news much the past decade, and what's happened to the companies in the past 20 years. Importantly, there are good insights to be gained on how the passage of time has shown who the real winners and losers of the saga are.For the upside, despite the downside, I'm giving this product five stars.

This book reads like a fast paced novel, except that all the events actually happened. Informative. In this, you find the much maligned private equity players are not the devil incarnate sometimes portrayed in the media (although their ego do reach cosmic and comical proportions), the management were as corrupt and unscrupulous as you think, and the board is probably too close to the management to be a real advocate for shareholders.

You won't find the details of deal structures, securities valuation or tax arbitrage. Entertaining. The story is about the largest takeover in history (i.e., until the late 90s), the KKR takeover of RJR Nabisco.

Ultimately, the winner of the bidding may not be so smart, as deal fever and empire building instincts take over good business judgment. So a budding M&A banker might be disappointed in the lack of technical details. However, the character studies are fascinating, Henry Kravis, Johnson, the various bankers and the board.

Absolutely. Depends on what you are looking for.

This is a story of a corporate takeover that reads like a thriller. The heart of the book documents the battle for RJR Nabisco by KKR and Shearson Lehman - the largest buyout at the time, coming in at over 20 billion dollars. I guarantee you, you won't put it down. The book strikes a great balance between educating the layman about the intricacies and details of a Leveraged Buyout (LBO) and communicating the personalities and timeline of one of the key deals of the late 80s on Wall Street. The authors follow the deal step by step, documenting each bid, the reactions of each party and the high testosterone environment in which it was conceived and executed. A captivating, educational, and a very rewarding read.