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Good Guys and Bad Guys: Behind the Scenes with the Saints and Scoundrels of American Business (and Everything in Between) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joe Nocera
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $16.36
You Save: $9.59 (37%)
New (2) Used (3) from $4.73
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 619582
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.092273
ASIN: B001IDZJUE
Publication Date: May 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A fascinating collection of profiles by one of Americas leading business journalists
For three decades, in major publications such as Texas Monthly, Esquire, Fortune, and now The New York Times, Joe Nocera has reported on the people who dominate the business world, for better or worse. Everyone from Warren Buffett to T. Boone Pickens to George Steinbrenner to Ken Lay has fallen under his microscope.
Now, in this collection of his best work, he explores how we define good guys and bad guys in business and concludes that things are often not what they seem.
It turns out that there are surprisingly good qualities in classic villains like junk bond king Michael Milken and notorious stock analyst Henry Blodget. And some business celebrities who are widely admired, such as Steve Jobs, are not quite the good guys they appear to be on the surface.
Good Guys and Bad Guys also offers a fresh perspective on some of todays biggest controversies, such as global warming, Apples iPhone, CEO compensation, the tobacco industry, short sellers, and much more.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Just a collection of articles - not really a book September 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book to be just a collection of Nocera's articles. True he has added a preface to each article to make it a chapter, but those small additions don't tie the separate pieces together for me. Reading this book also made me realize the difference between magazine articles and books. The magazine article typically has a point of view (so-and-so is a jerk or a good guy) and everything in the article supports that point of view. I expect a book to be more nuanced pointing out both sides of a person or issue.
 Poor title - Excellent stories August 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book consists of a nice compilation of Joe Nocera's business stories over the past 25 years or so. Readers interested in business histories and people connected to some of the corporations will not be disappointed. The title is simplistic and inaccurate. The characters are certainly a lot more complex and cannot be characterized as "good" or "bad". In all fairness coming up with a title that unifies all the stories is a challenge. Book consists of 14 main chapters:
1)Boone Pickens (the 1st and last chapters cover him)
2)Steve Jobs
3)"Ga-Ga Years" covers the stock market boom and October crash of 1987
4)Michael Milken
5)Charlie Merrill
6)Lawyers involved in silicon breast implants litigation
7)Bancrofts
8)Warren Buffett
9)Henry Blodget
10)Enron collapse
11)Clifford Asness (a hedge fund manager)
12)Steve Parrish of Philip Morris
13)One chapter dedicated to 6 short articles including Starbucks, Walmart, and Home Depot
Nocera is an excellent writer whose stories are engaging. The articles, which vary in length, explore the companies and more importantly the individuals connected to the companies. We learn that human nature is perhaps the biggest force that shapes businesses.
Highly recommended.
A great look at american business history July 27, 2008
I just finished reading this book today, and I am almost sad to be done with it. I consider myself a casual business reader, as I recently read "The Biography of the Dollar" by Craig Karmin as well as The Age of Turbulence by you know who. Both were great reads, but Nocera's work tops my list.
I studied economics in college, and work in the financial field now, so I stay up to date with the business world, but I never got a chance to learn about the big players of American business past. This collection of Nocera's previous articles/columns combined with his current reflections and insights is a perfect way to become familiar with the stories and personality characteristics of American business icons from Charles Merrill to Steve Jobs.
Nocera's writing style and his ability to become close with his interviewees is very engaging and provides for great storytelling. As he says in the beginning of his book, business stories can be some of the most drama filled and compelling tales to read, and he does a great job at doing just that.
If you enjoy reading gripping stories, opinions, and insights of American business icons, I recommend picking this up. I will now look forward to reading his columns and articles in the NY Times/Magazine.
 Good Guy, Bad Guys review June 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Enjoyed the book; however most of it are reprints of columns from over the years...old news, that is. The book is well written. Read it if you enjoy reading about insights into the personalities of the business world.
better than fiction June 17, 2008
While most of us end up working in business of some sort, little in the way of fiction gets published that's about business. Nocera, who could have been a really compelling sports writer, writes about business in a driven but succinctly intelligent way. His features read like fiction, because he's good at dramatizing and characterization. He gets very close to his subjects too - which is difficult when you're dealing with moguls. Nocera has never been far, the last quarter century, from major figures in business or the dramas that ensnare them, whether Microsoft, Apple or Enron. This is a very enjoyable book.
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