Book Description
Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?
The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address:
• What is each of us giving back to our country?
• Do we truly love democracy?
• Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?
• Why is America addicted to oil?
• Do we really care about our children's futures?
• Who will save the middle class?
A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis -- such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else -- among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations -- and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.
Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously doesn't mince words and offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, and John Edwards.
Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.
Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.
Where have all the leaders gone?
Lee Iacocca has the answer.
Customer Reviews:
Answer: They've gone into hiding!.......2007-10-18
Review: "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?"
For the past several years, I have been wringing my hands about the growing dearth of leadership in our nation. I suspect this arises as education snobbery pushes common sense aside in favor of intellectualism. When I learned that Lee Iacocca, one of our greatest contemporary leaders, was similarly concerned and had authored a book on the subject, I was eager to read it. I was confident that he would have some good ideas and would offer some sound advice.
Discouragingly, I was wrong.
Where have all the leaders gone? I wonder if the author chose the title, since the book does not give us a direct answer. On the chance that was because he could not figure it out, here is my answer: They have gone into hiding, Lee, just like you!
According to his memoirs, as documented here, Lee Iacocca had at least three opportunities to serve his country in government and in positions as high as President. His reasons for passing on those solicitations were the same as usually uttered by other very capable people; they are not confident about their ability to participate effectively in the degradingly duplicitous and disingenuous management system that we currently call "politics." That, of course, has left leadership positions open to those who are comfortable in that paradigm. Hence today's situation.
As an alternative, he recommends that we all get more conscientious about voting, and evaluate candidates much more critically before going to the polls. Gee; thank's Lee. We never thought of that!
I'm sorry, but we're tired of rolling up our sleeves and donning our thinking caps to evaluate - as Jerry Brown cleverly put it over ten years ago - "the evil of two lessers." Since people of your caliber choose to excuse themselves, our role defaults to bottom-fishing. Carp, mud puppies and other scavengers; all junk fish with no fight in them, and never worthy of our table. Not worth fishing for! Why bother?
The last sentence in the book is, "Won't you join me?" My first take on that was surprise: 'join you in what?' However, on second thought, I guess my answer is, "Yes." We are all doing the same thing as you. We are bitching and complaining, but keeping far enough away from the mud-wrestling pit that we will not get splattered.
Harry Truman was a lot like Lee Iacocca in many ways - common, practical, decisive, responsible and plain talking. Wonder where we would be today had he felt the same way and let things default to lesser men.
The above notwithstanding, I give Lee's book high marks.
First, because the author is Lee Iacocca, a staunch, real life American icon - someone with a story every youngster should know about. Second, because there is so much more in the book that in conversations with family and friends, no matter what the topic, I currently find myself mentioning what Iacocca had to say. I guess that means I think what he had to say on those things is worth knowing about.
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O.K., we get it. You hate Bush. But, what about leadership???.......2007-10-10
This book isn't about leadership - it's a collection of hateful rants aimed at the Bush presidency. Touting the "success" of the Chrysler K car (!?!?!) was laughable and delivering a mean-spirited attack about the president's actions on 9/11 was churlish and really low. I'm glad my president had the good sense NOT to look panicked to the world (kids at school) and to assess his safety before heading back to D.C. This book masquerades as a book about leadership, but it is really an octogenarian's platform for spewing his political dogma and venom.
Thank Goodness I Got This From The Library.......2007-10-02
I thought Iacocca might have some interesting observations on leadership based on his years at Ford and Chrysler. After all, this is the man whose inspired leadership saved the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Instead, Iacocca has done a good job of impersonating a liberal version of Ann Coulter as he splashes his hatred (no other word describes it) of George Bush on page after page.
Iacocca lists his traits of a leader -- he calls them his Nine Cs of Leadership -- then pours out his bile on George Bush by describing the president's inadequacies in each. Here's an example under the "C" for CRISIS: "On September 11, 2001," Iacocca writes, "we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida."
I would agree that President Bush has shortcomings in terms of his leadership skill, especially as a communicator. But I believe Iacocca takes far too many cheap shots in his latest book for it to have any credibility as a learning tool. I'd like to suggest that Iacocca add one more "C" to his list to make it an even ten: CIVILITY. A good leader (and writer) understands the dangers of overkill.
Has some good points.......2007-09-29
I thought this was a very thought provoking book. As always Lee toots his horn pretty loudly but I expected that. His plans for how to get the country back on track and make the USA the world leader again has some good points and some that would never work. I would recommend reading it if you think the present administration is doing a good job but are open minded. If you do not want to hear anything negative about the present admin then by all means do not read it.
Contender For Worst Book of 07' .......2007-09-19
First impressions of the cover are baffling. I knew nothing of Lee Iacocca before reading this which raised so many questions beforehand- What direction will he take with all of his experience and knowledge? What is the book's subject, corporate management? Life motivation? Occurring somewhere in it's arduous chapters you realize it's that guy from the Snoop Dog TV ads. He's also no stranger to leadership; managing one of the largest corporations in the world is no easy onus, so why shouldn't he provide some edifying, invaluable knowledge to us readers?
Hopes of acquiring stimulating, Donald Trump-styled professional wisdom dissipate upon plunging into the first chapter. The bottom line is Lee Iacocca is artlessly fuming about the government. Essentially, the book has nothing at all to do with today's business environment or corporate management. By reading the cover we're led to believe Lee has some rare fresh, balanced views on our nation`s leadership. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Eat your heart out Andy Rooney, there's competition now for the role of mope eternally bitching about every worldly unjustness today.
Iacocca, a former Kerry booster, earnestly aims to capitalize off low presidential and congressional approval ratings compounded with colossal media and pop culture demonization campaigns of Bush's presidency in a platitude of flagrantly throwing every dubious cliché that emulates a run-of-the-mill, freshmen term paper imbued with senior citizen angst and insincerity; a real shame for someone his age. Our esteemed author offers nothing new to a reader but the same old repetitive juvenile fallacies fabricated by Michael Moore films and leftwing blog rants- Bush lied about Iraq, Bush is dumb, Cheney is evil, Iraq was for oil, Saddam wasn't a threat, "powerful neocon conspirators" get rich off of Iraq via Halliburton and other companies, Americans are fat, to we will all soon disintegrate from "Global warming."
Nevertheless, Lee is quick to remind us he is no partisan. His eulogy of officials he exalts definitively tails public opinion polls, kindling a true character of a modern day conformist, revealing a preoccupation with acceptance among mainstream haut monde, not to mention mantra-hungry book critics. Needless to say, he's immured in a prison of inanity. Lee's special affection with calling avid soldier-condemner John Murtha a "true patriot" is utterly joshing. Lee, intentionally or not, manages to fill his jeremiad with flourishing self-contradictions, naïve propositions, rampant pessimism, and groundless "statistics", such as: "Since 1777 there's only been 45 flag burnings."
Among the myriad ludicrousness includes:
-It's solely the US's fault the Cuban people are suffering due to economic embargos and callous diplomatic relations
-Castro is a kindly man who is often misunderstood. The only reason he is despised in the US is because of right-winged-defectors in Fl who will always support Batista. (Which is not only preposterous but downright repugnant)
-Consistently groans the US has "invaded countries which don't pose a threat" before suggesting we should invade our ally Saudi Arabia.
-Declaims the US cold-heartedly hinders illegals from entering America while dedicating a chapter to deploring how the Middle Class is getting screwed today- carrying the heaviest tax burden and losing jobs.
-Spends a great deal of the book deprecating Bush's presidency, which he attributes to an inability to lead; quite ironic for someone who was fired for his own ineptitude in leading Ford, which is seldom mentioned.
The final chapter takes an incongruous turn, as if the whole of the book wasn't anomalous enough. Iacocca further rambles on on everything from retirement, golf, the Pope, Frank Sinatra, to the upcoming election. Finally concluding with a pitch to join his foundation.
In addition to lacking defined objectives and structure, Lee's second book is erratic in subject and more importantly, omits a central theme. Everyone holds passionate opinions in a democracy but if you expect us to pay to hear yours, regardless of persuasion, they should be unique, factual, and ruminative. Simplicity is plenteous in Iacocca's elementary writing style, full of short sentences of puerile thoughts on intricate matters like bioethics, the political economy, and public policy issues. A well-educated scholar's work that exhibits skillful prose and authentic intellect on these subjects would unquestionably be more rewarding than 200 pages of time-consuming, clamorous tirades. In Lee's more familiar business world, if you present a poor, rancid, futile product you lose money and credibility, why should your book be any different?
Book Description
He’s an American legend, a straight-shooting businessman who brought Chrysler back from the brink and in the process became a media celebrity, newsmaker, and a man many had urged to run for president.
The son of Italian immigrants, Lee Iacocca rose spectacularly through the ranks of Ford Motor Company to become its president, only to be toppled eight years later in a power play that should have shattered him. But Lee Iacocca didn’t get mad, he got even. He led a battle for Chrysler’s survival that made his name a symbol of integrity, know-how, and guts for millions of Americans.
In his classic hard-hitting style, he tells us how he changed the automobile industry in the 1960s by creating the phenomenal Mustang. He goes behind the scenes for a look at Henry Ford’s reign of intimidation and manipulation. He recounts the miraculous rebirth of Chrysler from near bankruptcy to repayment of its $1.2 billion government loan so early that Washington didn’t know how to cash the check.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best biographies out there.......2006-12-19
Lee Iacocca is a genius (a little biased as I attend his alma mater). This book tells about the inside story of Ford and his work there. The turn around of Chrysler was a great story and one that bears further study. The downfall of the American automobile industry can be seen here. His extra chapters on how the US should handle foreign debt are practical and it is a shame no one listened when they first came out. While I feel we are in too deep to use them today this is a great book for any business/economics student. It is a great read and very well done.
A regular autobiography........2006-05-28
I read this book translated to portuguese, here in Brazil.Mr. Lee Iacocca tells his autobiography.There's many fun and usefull parts of this book, but there's many failures also.I'll show some of them:
1-He claims that health's spending are auto's companies enemies.He tells us that health is more than steel expending to auto's factories in USA.All correct, but Iacocca doesn't tells the answer for this problem.
2-He never tells us, why he never wrote about racist view from Henry Ford III, before he was out of Ford Motor Company.Well, he wanted the money(salary),at that time, but he doesn't tells us this reality.
3-He is against air bags, in this book.In some expensive cars air bags are now normal equipment today.
4-Steel is more expensive in USA than in Brazil, China, etc. Iacocca doesn't tell nothing about this basic fact to auto's industries in USA.
1965 Mustang.......2006-05-11
August 1946, Iacocca goes to work at Ford as a student engineer. A group of students were assigned too the River Rouge plant, the largest manufacturing complex in the world. Iacocca loses interest in Engineering and fails to complete his 18-month training. Iacocca switches to Sales and marketing and makes a connection with Frank Zimmerman. In 1949, Iacocca becomes a zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvannia and trains eighteen dealers. 1953, Iacocca becomes assistant sales manager of the Philadelphia district and he promotes padded dashboards as a safety feature. In 1956, Iacocca buys his first new car and creates the idea "56 for 56" meaning $56 a month for 56 monthes. McNamara takes notice and uses the idea to sale an additional 75,000 cars. Sept 29,1956, Iacocca marries Mary McCleary at St Robert's Catholic Church. 1960, Charlie Beacham bring Iacocca to Dearborn as his national truck marketing manager. Dec 1960, Iacocca becomes head of the Ford division.
Manager Qualities: The qualities that make a good manager are decisiveness. "You have to bring all the information together, setup a time table, and act." "Life is about timing." "When you speak to a group have a prepared text" and deviate from the prepared text whenever you feel the need. The best way to develop ideas is through interacting with your fellow managers. "I'm a believer in executives spending time together talking - not always in formal meeting but simply shooting the breeze, helping each other out, and solving problems." "The biggest problem facing American business today is that most managers have too much information. It dazzles them, and they don't know what to do with it all. The key too success is not information. It's people."
Mustang: Jan 1964, the decision was made to hold the price of the Mustang under $2,500. The Mustang sold for $2,368. The price was reasonable. The first quarter of 1964 hit the highest sales in Ford history. The Mustang was a hit and during the first week, four million visited Ford dealerships. The Mustang resembled the European racing that American car buffs found appealing with its Ferrari flair and openmouthed air scoop. "When the product is right, you don't have to be a great marketer." The Mustang sold 75,000 units in the first year. Customers were spending a $1,000 additional on options: white sidewall tires, radios, eight-cylinder engines, and automatic transmissions. In the first two years the Mustang had generated $1.1 billion in profits.
Very disappointing - bitter egomaniac who sounds like a pretty average leader.......2006-05-07
This book was read while I was in the mood of reading about great business autobiographies and trying to figure what leadership qualities you need to make a great company. Other books were the Gerstner book on IBM, Sam Walton's book on WalMart, Welch's book 'Winning', Jim Collin's book 'Good to Great' and 'Built to Last', Tom Peter's 'In search of excellence', etc.
This was just a terrible book in the middle of the above list. When I finished the book I was left confused as to how a guy like Iacocca could have been an inspirational leader. He's really pompous and takes credit for just about everything done by Ford and Chrysler (in retrospect they are still producing very average stuff compared to the Toyota's of the world and Chrysler died soon afterwards to be taken over by Daimler showing that he didn't achieve anything of lasting effect). Completely the opposite of the Level 5 leader that Collins talks about.
Next I think it's amazing that he could spend so much time just dissing his ex boss (no matter how terrible his boss was). It's not that I think Ford was any good but it seems immature to let someone else effect you to such a level that you are almost obsessive about harming him and his reputation. Iacocca claims that it's because Ford hurt his wife and kids but I think that's just Iacocca trying to make himself look like a good guy for fighting for his family's honour. Actually he's just bitter about the fact that he got sacked.
Finally I think the book has remarkably few insights about the auto industry. Iacocca seems to be a bit of an entitlist himself as he disses the Japanese for unfair trading practices without acknowledging just how superior their quality processes are. Compare this to Gerstner's book on IBM and this comes of distinctly second best. Gerstner's book gives a detailed description of the factors shaping the complex IT industry and why they made the choices they made and in particular how he went about turning the company around. As far as I can see Iacocca did not turn Chrysler around, he just begged convincingly for a loan from the government to stop his company going bankrupt and giving it a lease of life before the company was taken over eventually because of it's poor performance.
In fact after reading his autobiography (which has Iacocca on the cover looking remarkably smug and superior) I'm not surprised that Chrysler hasn't achieved much. Really surprising that he's regarded with such veneration.
An innovator at the top.......2006-05-04
Iacocca tells the story of his rise to being one of the major business people in the United States. In it he reveals his own innovative way of thinking, and how that enabled him to provide new answers for industrial problems. He is a tough customer who knows what he is talking about.
Average customer rating:
- Priorities were Work ,Family
- A good read
- A lot of no-nonsense talk and a whole lot more about values
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Talking Straight
Lee Iacocca
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ASIN: 0553052705
Release Date: 1988-06-01 |
Customer Reviews:
Priorities were Work ,Family.......2004-10-24
10/24/04 Iaococca's book which included much regarding his feeling toward his family, also gave no dissappointment to one like myself who purchased the book based not only due to curiosity about a book by a CEO legend but its index which contained many names with pertainent info when used 'for trivia'instead of being read like 'a fictious novel' which has a "plot".
A good read.......2004-09-18
Lee Iacocca is obviously successful and also a touch more arrogant in this second book of his. He is full of advice on how to live and writes about political and economic issues of the world with firm convictions to back his theories.
However the best thing about his book is that he is consistent in his outlook and is rock-solid in endorsing the basic values which are as timeless as they are true.
One sore point that sticks out is his constant complaining against the Japanese who, in his opinion, flooded the US markets with cheaply produced products (that's way back in time in the 1980s).
A lot of no-nonsense talk and a whole lot more about values.......2004-05-14
What impressed me most about Iacocca is his incredible frankness. He doesn't beat about the bush. Also, the book clearly depicts his clinging on to crucial values which allowed him to be successful in both fields: at work AND at home. How many businessmen working or even overworking manage to achieve what he has accomplished in the commercial world and yet keep a designated amount of time for his wife and kids consistently? Goes a long way to show how important it is set your priorities right.
As for the style of the book itself, it is fluent and comfortable to read.
True that the book is written in 1987 and the background is two decades old but it still provides interesting insight into both corporate and political America since he's one of those who has 'been there, done that!'. Try it out, it's much fun.
Average customer rating:
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"I Gotta Tell You": Speeches of Lee Iacocca
Lee A. Iacocca
Manufacturer: Wayne State University Press
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ASIN: 081432522X |
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- Hilarious and Well Written
- Insipid, childish and boring
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Livingston's Field Guide to North American Males
Julia Runk Jones , and
Milo Trump
Manufacturer: Doubleday
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ASIN: 0385191278 |
Customer Reviews:
Hilarious and Well Written.......2007-03-09
This little book was painstakingly created and is hilarious. There are about 30 types of men described, each with the perfect photo, and each (surprisingly) different. Each one receives an exclamation of "Oh, yeah! Him!" The analogy to bird watching is made consistently and convincingly and "works" extremely well. Even if the idea for the analogy is not original, this work is a hilarious and expert execution of it.
Insipid, childish and boring.......2000-01-08
An attempt to rip off the old "Preppie Handbook" in style, this silly little book describes "Machoman" vs. "Ths Boggle Brain" (and a whole bunch of other "species") as if they were birds in an attempt at humor. It looks like more effort was made at trying to plug different types of guys into pigeon holes (no pun intended) than at coming up with some real wit. I'll use my old copy to line our hamster cage.
Average customer rating:
- Liberty for All -- A book for all who love liberty
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Liberty for All
Lee Iacocca , and
Barbara Grazzini
Manufacturer: Miller Pub Inc
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ASIN: 0966333713 |
Book Description
Liberty for All celebrates America's most beloved symbol- the Statue of Liberty- through the eyes of photographer Peter B. Kaplan, and the words of Lee Iacocca. This handsome volume, resplendent with magnificent photographs and lively text, brings to life the world-famous monument, from its humble birth in France, where it was conceived as a gift to America, to its role as a welcoming beacon for immigrants and as a symbol of freedom for people everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Liberty for All -- A book for all who love liberty.......2003-03-11
In a time when patriotic feelings run deep, the Statue of Liberty represents our history and hopes for the future. This book blends the past and present into a work that creates a connection between you and Lady Liberty. The photography is exceptional. The photographer uses vistas and angles that few have ever seen. His use of color and light paint the Statue in unique combinations.
While the photography alone makes the book a treasure, the story of the restoration is captivating. The personal perspectives and dedication of those involved in the restoration, give the reader a whole new appreciaiton for this massive undertaking.
I'm proud to keep this book on my coffee table. Friends who pick it up, don't just comment about the incredible photography, they sit and read the stories and history. I've developed a great new respect for the Great Lady Liberty.
Book Description
A Detroit Free Press reporter demythologizes Lee Iacocca’s leadership of Chrysler, demonstrating how salesmanship and self-promotion invariably trumped innovation and investment. “Everyone who cares about american industry should read [this book]” (New York Times Book Review). Index.
Customer Reviews:
Apparently, Mr Levin has an axe go grind........2002-11-07
He takes many liberties in trashing Chrysler products of the early 80's. For instance, he states that chrysler's 2.2 engine was based on "twenty year old technology" yet he offers no evidence to back up this claim. Mr. Levin also carps about the lack of technology in Chrysler's cars such as using a "beam axle" while conveniently overlooking the fact that other cars of this time frame used solid rear axles quite frequently. Nor does he give much coverage to Chryslers lowest cost per unit, the VNT technology used in its turbo cars, the fact it had OHC engines on the market LONG before GM and Ford, the first domestic auto company to use airbags in its cars, the firs electronically adaptive transmission.
Mr Levin admitted he got little in the way of cooperation from Iacocca and it appears he wrote this tome to vent against a good yet flawed man and a great company.
Not the Book It Could Have Been..........2002-08-21
I really wanted to like this book, but was disappointed with the end result. When the author sticks to the facts of the story, it is a revealing look at the politics of running a struggling auto company. The biographical information of the main players in upper echelons was quite interesting, also.
However, there is a sense of the author's bias lurking throughout the pages. He manages to imply that somehow, once Toyota introduced the Corona in 1966, there wasn't a marketing misstep to be made by the Japanese, particularly Toyota. Do the nameplates "Crown", "Cressida" and "Echo" ring a bell? I won't even mention some of the other sad cars that other manufacturers have coughed up in the ensuing years, and still do occasionally, from both sides of the Pacific.
Every now and again factual errors will appear, but they're so glaring that somebody with even a moderate interest in the car industry will pick up on. For instance, Honda earned customer loyalty because they "never dropped a nameplate." Really? Where did one go in 1987 to purchase a new Honda 600 GT or Sports 800?
More troubling was a hint of elitism that came up a couple of times. Was there (is there) really anything wrong with selling new cars to the blue-collar crowd? I know that some people are consumed by image, but most of us don't care what anybody else is driving, as long as they know HOW to drive it. People without a stratospheric income should be able to make a fully warranted purchase and get "that new car smell", too.
Finally, too little of the book is spent explaining exactly what was wrong, quality-wise, with Chrysler vehicles. Aside from the Aspen / Volaré twins, there was precious little time given to specific examples of lax quality control or design deficiencies. Even the A/V cars were a major problem only in their first year. More detail would have been revealing as to why buyers were steering clear of Chrysler's showrooms in the late 70's, when the whole mess started.
I've always had an avid interest in the auto industry, and have been waiting for somebody to write a book on the true Lee Iacocca to show the savior / charlatan that he really was. Unfortunately, somebody else is going to have to write it. This one falls short.
In case anybody's wondering, I have owned several cars from both American and Japanese manufacturers, including an 80's era Chrylser product. I have enjoyed the majority of them, and the only lemon I ever picked was from a European make.
An Interesting Read for Car Enthusiasts.......2000-04-20
I found this book provided a quite interesting history of not only Chrysler, but the entire auto industry between the years of '70-'80. I particularly enjoyed the author's insights in to Chrysler's main player Iacocca. The book did however seem to jump around from subject to subject with no clear tie-ins. I found it difficult during some portions of the book to figure out what time frame the author was speaking of, as he tended to bounce back and forth. All in all I found the book to provide some excellent information on Chrysler and the prevailing personalities and values that has kept the organization alive for so many years through so many triumphs and tragedies.
Good book for those interested in recent Chrysler history.......1998-02-07
An interesting book that looks at the Iacocca era at Chyrsler. The book reads more like a series of articles (the author is also a journalist) than a novel, but is nevertheless an effective portrayal of Chyrsler, Iacocca and the American and Japanese auto industry of the late 70s thru the early 90s. Lots of background information on the auto industry with interesting historical tidbits as well. The book's only "flaw" is its tendency to tear apart the Iacocca legacy with nasty (but apparently true) stories that topple the former auto industry icon, thus providing a counterweight to Iacocca's own biographical portrayals. While not a tightly woven "can't put it down" book, it is nevertheless worth adding to your collection if you are an automotive buff or Chrysler buff.
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