Business Adventures

Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

De: John Brooks

Narrado por: Johnny Heller

From Wall Street to Main Street, John Brooks, longtime contributor to the New Yorker, brings to life in vivid fashion twelve classic and timeless tales of corporate and financial life in America.

What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety; these notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened. Stories about Wall Street are infused with drama and adventure and reveal the machinations and volatile nature of the world of finance. John Brooks's insightful reportage is so full of personality and critical detail that whether he is looking at the astounding market crash of 1962, the collapse of a well-known brokerage firm, or the bold attempt by American bankers to save the British pound, one gets the sense that history repeats itself. Five additional stories on equally fascinating subjects round out this wonderful collection that will both entertain and inform listeners. . . Business Adventures is truly financial journalism at its liveliest and best.

Buy the abridged version

The author went into a lot of detail and added some flare which only detracted from the valuable lessons and stories to be heard.

I think I might have given the abridged version 4 stars.

Bill gates favorite book

Great book for anyone in business or on Wall Street, or even those in engineering or law as it deals with precedent in those areas also. Not an easy book, but at the tip of my list

Here we go again, monetary crisis time. Read this

The world's monetaryi
systems are interwoven and bad news moves at light spéed. This book is how it all comes together for better or worse

One of my favorite business books!

This is a great read in the car, the narrator is lively and entertaining, keeping you interested as all of the stories unfold.

Very informative.

I like the stories. Would have loved an updated version. There are always new scandals.

Outdated and needlessly verbose

I heard this was one of Bill Gates favorite book recommendations that he got from Buffett, and I read a lot of business stories. These ones were all interesting in their quarks, but felt like they could have been told in a quarter the time. The author likes to sprinkle needless poetic-style descriptions everywhere, and get into nitty-gritty, play-by-play details that the average reader would only care about if you share an industry with that particular story.

Great stories but narration is difficult to follow

Great stories but narration is difficult to follow. It was written according to the style of the time and not well suited to today's storytelling.

Overall an interesting book

The book was well written and well performed. The 12 stories cover a wide range of topics, some that will inevitably be more interesting than others to any given person. Therefore, some parts of the book may seem boring, while others are gripping. All in all it is a good book and it gives a great overview of the inner workings of business, finance, and Wall Street.... at least as it was in the past.

It is the best business book

This is the most in depth, informative book about how the world of business and financial markets really works.

A bit uneven; jumps around; has gems

This works for me. I have a broad and deep interest in business and financial history, and I'm always snagging stories from here and there and fitting the parts together into deeper understandings. Sometimes the author nails it here -- as in, giving a great plain-language explanation of central banking and international currency markets (and some wild swings, say, in the pound sterling, presaging better-known recent ones, featuring the US and UK's coordinated battles with speculators, trying to reduce volatility in those markets). I always like a different but clarifying look at such things, from a bit different angle. But, this is a snapshot from the later-mid-1960s, so (like reading some older books or watching some older movies) it helps to have some bigger background and context. The earlier stories do fit well as prequels to more recent ones. This was written on the eve of the US dollar falling off the gold standard, and the emergence of the post-Bretton Woods world (things the author only guesses at, prospectively), so having more of the story helps.

Elsewhere there is a story about price-fixing among certain manufacturers in the 60s. These scofflaws got their knuckles rapped, somewhat, under the glare of public and governmental attention. Then there ensued the corporate game (also well known among politicians) in moments of scandal, of artfully evading responsibility. We have a ringside seat as this art is practiced by various execs under the hot spotlight. What a rhetorical dance! This is a fine tutorial (all done tongue in cheek) for anyone, I suppose, looking to glide through a public grilling in congressional hearings and parading before angry righteous citizens wielding pitchforks and torches, without breaking stride or losing that elite "teflon" panache (and somehow trying to sound ethical and even noble, or as a last resort, gullible, but no, not culpable!). I find plenty amusing and enlightening here. But the choice of topics is fairly random, and it does suffer from flat spots.