Amazon.com
Ron Chernow, whose previous books have taken on the Morgan and Warburg financial empires, now turns his attention to the patriarch of the Rockefeller dynasty. John D. was history's first recorded billionaire and one of the most controversial public figures in America at the turn of the 20th century. Standard Oil--which he always referred to as the result of financial "cooperation," never as a "cartel" or a "monopoly"--controlled at its peak nearly 90 percent of the United States oil industry. Rockefeller drew sharp criticism, as well as the attention of federal probes, for business practices like underpricing his competitors out of the market and bribing politicians to secure his dominant market share.
While Chernow amply catalogs Rockefeller's misdeeds, he also presents the tycoon's human side. Making use of voluminous business correspondence, as well as rare transcripts of interviews conducted when Rockefeller was in his late 70s and early 80s, Chernow is able to present his subject's perspective on his own past, re-creating a figure who has come down to us as cold and unfeeling as a shrewd, dryly humorous man who had no inner misgivings about reconciling his devout religious convictions with his fiscal acquisitiveness. The story of John D. Rockefeller Sr. is, in many ways, the story of America between the Civil War and the First World War, and Chernow has told that story in magnificently fascinating depth and style.
Book Description
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.--history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty--is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now Ron Chernow, the National Book Award-winning biographer of the Morgan and Warburg banking families, gives us a history of the mogul "etched with uncommon objectivity and literary grace . . . as detailed, balanced, and psychologically insightful a portrait of the tycoon as we may ever have" (Kirkus Reviews). Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book will indelibly alter our image of this most enigmatic capitalist.
Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world's richest man by creating America's most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
Rockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation's history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than thirty years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay.
While providing abundant new evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously--his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University--than anyone before him. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes that have never before come to light.
John D. Rockefeller's story captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the dramatic post-Civil War shift from small business to the rise of giant corporations that irrevocably transformed the nation. With cameos by Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Jung, J. Pierpont Morgan, William James, Henry Clay Frick, Mark Twain, and Will Rogers, Titan turns Rockefeller's life into a vivid tapestry of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is Ron Chernow's signal triumph that he narrates this monumental saga with all the sweep, drama, and insight that this giant subject deserves.
Customer Reviews:
Bigger than life personalities?.......2006-03-01
Rockefeller is reported to have searched endlessly for golf balls lost in an attempt to recover them, yet could nearly buy the world - why?
Objective biographies are important to show that it is rarely money or greed that inspires the mind of man; it is the pursuit of the solution to the particular problem that he has defined worthy of solution. Both great inventions and great works of art have been formed as a result of the tiny seeds of construction or of destruction that engage the human spirit.
Without it, are we not all merely reduced to automated machine status, the robots of today for the future of tomorrow?
Is the mind of man made for the pursuit of money, or for the pursuit of satisfaction of what he perceives is worthy of addressing, focusing his attention upon the manner and the object of his passion?
What makes people tick is a source of inspiration often overlooked in the attempt to idolize or endow humanity, and far too often, misconstrued by mistaken others who aim to profit from that misinterpretation.
Molded soles, like molded fingerprints, rarely sit anyone else. Why then do we not concentrate upon the perspective of what men aim for, and why, rather than what they accomplish, and its yield?
Lessons from a Self Made Billionaire.......2006-01-01
This book is the best biography I've read thus far.
Ron Chernow has a deep understanding of
economics and history. He uses this understanding to
paint an accurate, balanced and complete picture of
the Rockerfeller dynasty with J.D. Rockerfeller as the
center of their powerful universe.
To emphasise just how well this book was written,
consider the fact that I spent my whole
Christmas weekend reading it! I couldn't move from my
library or sleep until it was done. Though the book
weighs in at approximately seven hundred pages, it is
reads like a novel, a trait which makes it both
palatable and pithy.
Synopsis
Rockerfeller has all the traits of a classic self made hero. His
antecedents are not amazing. He grew up in a poor
family featuring a bigamist foot-lose father who was
hardly ever around. His father taught John painful
lessons in business and human behaviour. John's father
would regularly tell John to jump from his high chair
into his father's arms. Once, in order to teach John
never to trust anyone, he told John to jump. He then
walked away, leaving John to slam painfully into the ground.
John's mother was the backbone of the family; quiet,
anassuming and hardworking. He assumed the role of
surrogate father and dedicated his life to ensuring his
mother and the rest of his family were safe, secure
and happy.
When Rockerfeller got into the business world, he
began as a book keeper. It was from these early
beginnings that he showed the traits that would be the
core of his success. He was meticulous and diligent
when keeping financial records and accounts. He would
manage his own funds as well as the company's money down to the
decimal point! Like Warren Buffet after him,
J.D. Rockerfeller would emphasis that "numbers are
everything."
J.D also proved that discipline is more important than
intelligence. In school, he wasn't the sharpest blade
in the set but his slow, diligent, determined and
disciplined approach to study ensured his success. He
emphasised this in his business dealings as well. With
this method, he created the jaggernaut monopoly of
Standard Oil. He began by consolidating the mass of oil
refineries and wells in Cleveland under his umbrella.
Later, after recruiting his alter ego, Henry Flagler,
they would proceed to dominate the oil industry
thoughout the world.
Rockerfeller also exemplified a reticence that would
inspire respect and fear in his enemies while planting
admiration and loyalty in his friends. At board
meetings, he was often known to lie back in a settee
with his eyes closed as he let his leiutenants debate.
Later, he would discuss these issues in great detail,
as though he had absorbed and understood everything
without skipping a beat. Within his company, he was a
ghost. Employees would never see him arrive or watch
him leave. However, they were made acutely aware of
his presence when he popped up at some underlings desk
and discussed their jobs and records in great detail. He
knew everything and everyone.
Later on, Standard Oil would become the focus of the
anti-trust movement. The Spellman Act was passed in
order to curb its power. In later years,
Rockerfeller's juggernaut would be split up with
unforseen results. Instead of destroying his wealth,
as his detractors and politicians had hoped, his
wealth and that of his shareholders trippled!
Rockerfeller's success was enduring and could not be
stopped or limited.
Rockerfeller dedicated the first half his life to becoming the
richest man on the planet. He then dedicated the
remaining half to becoming the greatest philanthropist
in the planet. His medical foundations brought
back the disciplined approach he applied to business to
the medical field that had erstwhile been dominated by
quacks and homeopaths. Were it not for Rockerfeller's
contributions to medicine, modern health might not be
as advanced as it is now.
After living to the ripe old age of ninety eight,
Rockerfeller had achieved more than most people achive in a
hundred lifetimes. He was one of those individuals so
powerful that he forever changed the destiny of
humanity forever.
Something in the nature of J.D. Rockerfeller had to
occur in America, and it is all to the good of the
world that he was tight-lipped, consistent and
amazingly free from vulgar vanity, sensuality and
quarrelsomeness. His cold prsistence and ruthlessness
may arouse something like horror, but for all that he
was a forward-moving force, a constructive power.
--H. G. Wells. The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind.
Conclusion
This book is mandatory reading for all students of
success. It teaches the nature of the monopolist, the
spirit of the leader, the hunger of the rich, the
ambition of the visionary, the structure of a dynasty
and the soul of the innovator.
I've idolized Rockerfeller my whole life. Reading this
biography gave me an understanding of both his faults
and his virtues. It humanised him. The fact that
Rockerfeller is so much like a next door neighbour
leads the reader to a very important conclusion:
success is not about nature, it's about nurture. It
is not about intelligence but of intent. It is not
about destiny but of decision. It is not about magic,
it is about method.
Each of us can make the decision to be successful. All
we have to do is practice the method by mimicking that
of the giants who have come before us. That is the
Billionaire Way.
Good Stuff In This One!.......2005-12-18
We do want to know what made John D tick, and about his family as well. Are we surprised to know it was mostly do-ray-me with some Calvinism thrown in? Perhaps not. At least we are glad to know that he could spare those dimes... And that he enjoyed his twilight years gofing in sunny Ormond Beach!
If we are from Southwestern Pennsylvania, we have heard the unsavory stories of how he consolidated his power and even if we aren't we have Miss Tarbell's journalism to fall back on.*
Chernow relates this part of the tale well. Would that there were a bit more about the surreptitious doings of Mr. R's agents and underlings. Ah well, the good people of Oil City and Titusville remember...
If we want to know what happens to the children of the rich and famous, Chernow has that too, and there is nothing quite like this book's sad account of John D's daughter's ill-treatment in the hands of a rather well-known psychoanalyst. The train, the Rolls and the waving handkerchief will remain long in the reader's memory.
*The History of the Standard Oil Company : Briefer Version by Ida M. Tarbell, David M. Chalmers (Editor) (Paperback)
Book Great, Quality Good, .......2005-09-01
The seller was on time and very quick. The book is exactly what I wanted, but it said "like new". The book was from a public library with all of the stamps and codes and stuff on it. Not a big deal, I just wish I had known that before. Otherwise the transaction went great.
Very Impressive.......2005-04-05
It is Ron Chernow's writing style and skill that impressed me the most; next was the level of detail offered about John D. That said, John D.'s life in itself, as pesented by Ron, offers an invaluable lesson or two.
Average customer rating:
- A home filled with curiosities and wonders.
- Amazing
- Inside Edward Gorey's house...
- Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have
- A specialty item for the true Gorey collector
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Elephant House: Or, The Home of Edward Gorey
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ASIN: 0764924958 |
Book Description
An intimate photographic journey through Edward Gorey's home.
Customer Reviews:
A home filled with curiosities and wonders........2007-08-09
This is a beautiful book of photographs and text that allows the reader an intriguing view of the home in which Edward Gorey lived and the collections of curious objects, books, and cats he filled it with.
The photographs are large and beautiful - haunting even - and there are lots of them. There is just the right amount of text to cast some light on the man behind the house and his elusive character - anecdotes about his life, his work, his friends and the things that inspired him.
If you are fan of Edward Gorey, or of eclectic interior decorating and design, and displaying collections of antiques, this book will be a treasure in your library.
Amazing.......2007-04-10
That's really all I can say. I have been waiting for this book for a long time, and it was the most incredible thing. Amazing photos. Read up on Gorey first, though. The details are some much better when you get the little visual jokes Gorey set up in his day-to-day life.
Inside Edward Gorey's house..........2006-02-01
If you are an Ogdred Weary fan...this is a truly wonderful book. Photographs of the exterior (peeling paint and kind of saggy porch) and the interior rooms of the house on Cape Cod in Gorey lived and worked, along with his cats and figbashes, piles of thousands of books, assorted rocks and oddish things, and the expected miriad of curiosities. Alas, or delightfully...just the environment one would expect of the eccentric Edward. A cabinet of curiosities...a delight!
Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have.......2005-09-10
This book wouldn't mean much to anyone who isn't already a Gorey fan. I own (and love) the compilations 'Amphigorey', 'Amphigorey Too' & 'Amphogorey Also', so have a head start. I also have the auto(?) biography 'Ascending Peculiarity', which is almost a necessary co-requisite to this book - it helps explain the cats, and many other Gorey details. Now that the individual books are available again, I'm tempted to get them too, because they are such nice objects - but only if the kids promise to share with me!
A specialty item for the true Gorey collector.......2004-04-05
Even dedicated fans of Edward Gorey will probably know very little about his personal life: he was an enigmatic recluse and few were permitted past his front door. Photographer Kevin McDermott's Elephant House will delight students of architecture and photography, providing rich duotone works of Gorey's intriguing home and its contents. A specialty item for the true Gorey collector, Elephant House is an impressive photographic showcase and a welcome addition to both architectural studies and photographic studies reference collections.
Amazon.com
Our contact with great architecture tends to be indirect, through representations. Few of us have seen the Taj Mahal, yet we all know exactly what it looks like. The useful act of photographing buildings can be an art, particularly when the photographer's presence seems to recede, and a great architectural shot suggests that you're seeing things as they are rather than through someone else's prism.
Julius Shulman has documented buildings in that seemingly transparent way for more than six decades. This meticulous and prolific craftsman was in the right place, California, at the right time, the golden age of West Coast modern residential architecture that spanned the 1930s to the 1960s. Richard Neutra helped him get his start, and he recorded early modernists such as Wright, Schindler, Soriano, Harris, Frey, Ain, Stone, Gropius, Kahn, and Neutra, as well as younger ones such as Goff, Lautner, Ellwood, Koenig, Drake, Killingsworth, Eames, Greene, Legoretta, and even early Frank Gehry. His view camera captured the glamour of hillside steel-and-glass houses cantilevered above the city lights, the serenity of desert vacation homes at dusk, and the clean-lined ingenuity of young architects working on modest budgets.
Shulman's text is a knotty quasi biography, but some good stories lurk there. This is a physically impressive book: its 300 large-format pages contain 500 superbly reproduced color and black-and-white photos that are worth more than the proverbial thousand words each. --John Pastier
Customer Reviews:
Brillant Book.......2006-01-11
This book has been my bible. From the pure joy of looking at the visuals to the wealth of knowledge perched on it pages. For anyone interested in architecture and photography this is a must read.
Buy this book.......2002-01-10
If one is ever to purchase a book concerning mid-century modernism, purchase this book. The photography is amazing, and inspiring. The text is informative without being verbose. This is definitely one of the top ten favourites in my collection.
Mr. Shulman is absolutely brilliant.
Shulman - A great Photographer of Architecture.......1999-07-26
A terrific insight into the professional career of Julius Shulman. His work, his thoughts on Architects and their work and a cross section of some of the most beautifully crafted Photographs of Architecture from his files.
precise and remarkable; shape and form is astounding.......1999-04-25
an amazing book; the photography is superb in capturing the essence of architecture
Stunning design, beautiful photography, entertaining memoir.......1998-12-21
An extraordinary and rare book. Master architectural photographer Julius Shulman showcases the stunning modern designs of Neutra, Koenig, Eames, and others with extraordinary talent and craft. The photographs literally glow. Many of them bowl you over with their beauty. Others have the camp value of '50s advertising: housewives in modern kitchens, families lounging at poolside, couples entertaining in open living spaces. Shulman adds considerable depth by recalling his relationships with the architects, his encounters with the homeowners, his notes on making the photographs. If you admire modern design, appreciate fine photography, and like a good story, this is a book you will cherish.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Download Description
I gave kicks followed by hugs. That's the basic philosophy of how Jack ran the vast and extraordinarily profitable General Electric company for more than two decades. During his tenure, GE was recognized annually as the best company in the world by Fortune magazine. And in JACK: Straight from the Gut, Welch reveals how his unusual management techniques propelled GE to become one of the most successful corporations of all time. Welch got the job done by constantly pushing his employees to be Number One. That mission statement, along with a keen attention to detail, allowed Welch to refine his management workforce each year so that only the best employees keep progressing. Others were asked to leave. "Yes, I was tough," says Welch, "but for those who produced, the rewards were extraordinary." In this candid business memoir, Welch runs through the entire ascent of his amazing career, including a retelling of all of his own career miscues, and reveals how he still managed to get to the top.
Customer Reviews:
I loved this book.......2007-05-11
I could not put it down, and I recommend it to many people. I read it in paperback, but am buying a hardcover copy. This book is a keeper.
Jack's own story - POWERFULLY WRITTEN!!!.......2007-02-28
As corporate biographies go, this one is absolutely terrific. Jack Welch is considered by many to be the finest corporate CEO of his generation. Keep in mind that the same words have been said about each of the last three CEO's of General Electric. Chuck Knight who ran Emerson Electric at age 37, and then produced 27 consecutive years of earnings growth going from $1 billion to $15 billion in sales during that period would also be in the running. Knight's book "Performance without Compromise" is superb and well worth reading.
You do want to read Welch's book because it can act as a template for how to run a vast organization. This book should be required reading at Harvard Business School,or any MBA Program for that matter. What comes through the book, and Welch may not even realize it is that he didn't have to become successful. He didn't have to make it. There's a huge amount of luck involved in who comes through the funnel to be CEO of any cutting edge corporation. There's as much politics involved as skill, maybe more.
Welch talks about the two years immediately preceding becoming Chairman as among the most miserable in his life. There were players in GE that did not want him to make it. This was also true throughout Welch's career with the giant GE. He talks about a human resources man named Johnson standing in his way for years, early on in his career (p77). It wasn't until several years later that another man succeeded Johnson that Welch was able to move up again.
You also get the intimate details of how the new Chairman of General Electric is selected, which is an absolutely compelling section to read. Apparently there are usually 3 men in the running for the slot. Each of them is usually a Vice-Chairman of the Board at the time the race starts. They each know they are in the race for the top slot, and each has their own backers. What's interesting is how the backers try to kill off the other horses in the race. Once again there's a lot of politics involved.
What I never realized, and Jack is a neighbor in my town is that whoever wins, the other players always wind up leaving General Electric fairly quickly. When you think about it, this seems reasonable. However to management professors, they would tell you what a loss of great, well-trained talent to let out the door. GE's feelings are that the people that don't make Chairman could be bitter, (they are), and therefore it is better they leave to pursue other endeavors.
You might have read Larry Bossidy's great bestseller on business called "Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done". Before doing an absolutely fantastic job for Allied Signal which was absorbed into Honeywell, Bossidy was a Vice Chairman of GE, and in the running to become GE Chairman. As you know, there can only be one Chairman, and when Bossidy was passed over, he went on to great fame at Honeywell.
More recently, Jeff Immelt became Chairman of GE when Welch retired. One of the horses in that race which Immelt won was Robert Nardelli, who when passed over, was furious with Welch and went on to take $400 million in income from Home Depot before being dismissed by the Board of Directors at the end of 2005. Apparently, the famous GE template for doing business doesn't necessarily transfer into every business. Home Depot being an example of the failure of the GE system.
Outstanding Explanation of Corporate Transformation
Peter Drucker the renowned management guru of the 20th century always wrote about the corporation as a living, breathing organism - very much alive. It requires constant nourishment to keep it from dying a slow death. GE is no different than any other corporation in this realm. What Welch would tell you, which is what he says in lectures, is that each successive GE Chairman must transform the corporation in his own image. This takes a couple of years upon assuming the position, to pull off.
Welch did it with his immediate predecessor Reg Jones, and Welch says that his successor Immelt is doing it as we speak. Divisions are sold off, and new companies are bought. Certain strategies, which were emphasized by one Chairman, are discarded and relegated to the ash heap by the next. This is what a corporation in the constant process of renewal has to do, and Welch spends considerable time going though each of the major business segments of GE, and how he transformed them.
He also went through several marriages, which tells you about the price of corporate success. What isn't clear because Chairman Welch chooses not to make clear is whether the personal costs for his business success were worth it. What is the cost of a failed marriage, and all the time and energy invested in it.
When Welch divorced his second wife here in Fairfield County he offered the lady a million dollar settlement at a time when he was worth some $900 million. This is after she made a 20-year investment in time to the legendary CEO. The question becomes one of what kind of logic was he using in the decision making process in this instance. This is especially true for someone of his vast intellect, and legal resources. The storm of embarrassment, and furor that ensued was totally expected, public, and preventable.
It is also amazing to consider that this man was able to create a 1 handicap at golf for himself while running General Electric. The amount of effort and time that is necessary to achieve such a ranking is considerable, and yet Welch pulled it off. This is a very special man.
There was one business segment that General Electric completely failed at, and the Chairman is remarkably candid in discussing it. This was General Electric's acquisition, and subsequent divestiture of Kidder Peabody the Wall Street investment banking firm. Welch saw great value in the acquisition, and indeed there was.
The failure was in the understanding of RISK. To a businessman, risk is risk. It doesn't matter what kind of risk it happens to be. It is always quantifiable, and controllable - SURE. This certainly is not true in the case of a Wall Street firm, but as Welch puts it, GE had to learn that lesson by LIVING IT. General Electric approaches risk the way bankers approach risk. It is reasonable, and logical.
In the case of a Wall Street firm, that is not how risk works. This is why with very rare exceptions, no bank or insurance company or industrial concern for that matter is able to acquire, and successfully run a Wall Street brokerage firm. Prudential Insurance certainly failed with Bache, which subsequently was divested. Ross Perot lost a hundred million (over a billion dollars in today's purchasing power) trying to save Francis DuPont and Company in the early 1970's.
Now there was GE's attempt to integrate Kidder Peabody into the GE template for doing business. Welch wound up pulling what little hair he had out of his head. As he puts it, your assets ride up the elevator in the morning, and ride down at night, namely the employees in a brokerage firm.
What's more if you have a good year, they get bonuses so lavish you would never pay that much in an industrial concern. What's even worse, if you have a bad year, they still want bonuses to keep them from walking out the door, and working somewhere else. The GE experiment in Wall Street lasted about a year, and then Kidder Peabody was jettisoned.
GE Capital was Another Story
GE Capital under Jack Welch became the crown jewel of GE, and also Welch's major legacy to the corporation. These guys are among the smartest people on the planet. Everybody complains about what a lousy business the airplane business is. GE Capital doesn't complain. They probably make more money leasing planes, and other aviation related goods, than the entire airline industry put together makes. This is no joke, that's how smart these guys are.
They lend money to companies that potentially are going bankrupt, yet the indentures they draft allow GE to come away whole, even if there's a bankruptcy. GE Capital is the ultimate money machine. Just to give you an idea, in my 35 years of money management, the most profitable business I have ever seen is modular office units for construction sites.
Have you ever gone onto a construction site, you will always see these trailer like rectangular facilities where the foreman, architects, and assorted other individuals might be working when they are not out on the construction site. These facilities cost a thousand or two to make, and they get rented out for 400, 500, 600 a month. The enclosures pay for themselves in a couple of months, and then its pure gravy for years.
Years ago, GE Capital figured out the business, and now dominates it for themselves. These fellows are on top of every major profitable business on the planet. There was a used car leasing deal in Asia that was fabulously profitable, and available. GE Capital found that one too, bought it right up, and dominates the industry today. This division is so big and so profitable, that one could argue that GE is no longer a manufacturing concern. They are a capital employment firm, and GE Capital is the driving force of the corporation. As the years go by, this is becoming more and more true.
Read this book. You will love it. It is written in Jack's voice, although he has a ghostwriter working with him named John Byrne. Anything this man has to say is worthwhile. It's almost 450 pages of pure business joy waiting to be discovered, and explored. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in business and how to manage the modern industrial corporation.
Richard Stoyeck
A great book by a great business leader.......2006-12-20
Jack Welch is of course a business genius and has written many books. This is the only one that recounts what he did at GE to make it a successful company. I think it is the most interesting of all of his books and by far the most fun to read. No matter what type of business you own or are interested in there is something in here for everyone. You get a great sense of what running a conglomerate looks like. Highly recommend.
Jack, Straight from the Gut.......2006-11-25
Jack Welch boils down his philosophy and GE's success to a few key principles. For this the book does an outstanding job, and provides the reader with some best-practice guidelines for his or her own company. It's a much more interesting read than many management books, yet stills happens to continually reinforce GE's and Jack Welch's key concepts.
Some of the other reviews seem to reflect opinions of readers that simply don't get it. While there is some fluff in the book you will get a lot out of it if you stay focused on the few key messages. These you can take to your own company or job and have a very positive impact.
A Must Read For Managers.......2006-11-11
If you are a manager or aspiring to be one, go ahead and read this one. Need not follow all what jack is telling you in the book but i am sure you would want to follow some of them. Who else is a better person to tell those other than Jack who has gone through all of that. Another great read is his Winning.
Average customer rating:
- A Good Book But I Prefer Jack's Own
- Disappointing
- Author Paid By The Word
- Absurd
- Obsolete
|
Jack Welch & The G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO
Robert Slater
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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ASIN: 0070581045 |
Amazon.com
A recent Fortune poll cited General Electric Company as America's most admired company. Much of the credit went to Jack Welch, GE's chief executive for the past 17 years. During his tenure, GE's revenues and profits have grown enormously. Its share price has soared, making GE the world's most valuable company. And the key to GE's success, according to Jack Welch and the GE Way, is Welch's fanatical devotion to a personal philosophy of leadership. Author Robert Slater has made a growth industry of his own out of Welch, penning two previous books on him, The New GE in 1992 and Get Better or Get Beaten! two years later. The same territory was plowed in 1993 by Noel M. Tichy and Stratford Sherman in Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will.
In this book, Slater draws extensively on Welch's own words to deliver his now familiar message: keep it simple; face reality; embrace change; fight bureaucracy. Bromides these may be, but Slater's account of Welch's fierce efforts to lead a global, multifarious organization of 270,000 people does inspire admiration, even if it does not enable emulation. The book provides fresh insights into GE's shift toward service businesses, as with its takeover and transformation of NBC. Most timely are Welch's closing thoughts on trends in the global economy. Jack Welch and the GE Way is a must for the legions of "Welch-heads" out there and for anyone else interested in this brilliant leader's perspective on the future of business. --Barry Mitzman
Book Description
Behind the scenes with the legendary CEO
Jack Welch’s innovative leadership strategies revived a lagging GE, transforming it into a powerhouse with a staggering $300 billion-plus market capitalization. In writing Jack Welch and the GE Way, author Robert Slater was given unprecedented access to Welch and other prominent GE insiders. What emerged is a brilliant portrait that tells you what makes Jack Welch tick. Learn how to work the Welch magic on your own company as you find out how he dismantled the boundaries between management layers, between engineers and marketers, between GE and its customers to streamline the process of getting products and services to market.
Get details on Welch’s far-reaching Six Sigma quality initiative, and discover how its principles and standards can save billions of dollars...how and why he has made GE a truly global company (and why you must think global as well)...and all the other Welch "midas touch" strategies you can put to work in your organization, at every level!
Download Description
Jack Welch is indisputably the most effective CEO in America today and has been for the past two decades. Robert Slater concentrates on Welch's present-day business strategies and his vision for the future in Jack Welch and the G.E. Way.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Book But I Prefer Jack's Own.......2005-12-24
I bought this book before reading Jack's "Straight from the Gut". When I read this book I thought it was 5 stars and I re-read this book at least once looking for clues to help my own business. Then I read Jack's book and realized his was better. In any case this covers all the basic aspects of Jack's methods including the educational meetings at the GE "university", cleaning house, picking winning companies, eliminating small market share companies, and promoting top performers and eliminating underperformers. It shows how he is hands on.
Good if you want to read two books on Jack Welch.
Disappointing.......2005-06-07
When I read a book I expect to learn something I don't already know or at least revisit something I already know from a new perspective or explain it in a uniquely articulate way. This book fails on all three measures. Walsh shares no secret insights -- he only discusses his introduction of a number of standard business practices to GE. This include 6-Sigma, downsizing, A-B-C rating of managers, etc. -- The usual mix of management science, art and business fad typical in pop management books. And even the discussions of how these management tools were implemented at GE is filled with extrainious details about the meetings at which these policies were introduced and other non-value added story telling. This only leads me to believe that it was added as filler to get the page count up to the size required for a book.
For all of Jack Welsh's insistence that his business units be 1st or 2nd in a market it is pure hypocrisy for him to be publishing this book. Your time and money is better spent reading Peter Drucker.
Author Paid By The Word.......2004-04-06
Good overview of the Jack Welch way, including a variety of innovative business ideas that brought GE forward.
However, as a book goes, it would appear the author was paid by the word. Each of the "secrets" is presented, reviewed, repeated, and presented again in a 300+ page book that would better be summarized in about 20. I kept reading after the first two chapters thinking I would learn somthing new, but honestly, save your money, read chapter one at the library, and go home with just as much insight.
To the publisher, I'd recommed an "executive summary" version for the next edition.
Absurd.......2003-10-06
I've worked as an engineer for GE under Jack Welch and I have also worked as a (civilian) naval engineer.
GE's bureaucracy makes the government look like a paradigm of efficiency. GE is probably the most politicized, bureaucratic, inefficient and bloated organization on the planet.
Jack Welch is incompetent. Read a comic book instead: You'll find more truth in one.
Obsolete.......2003-02-21
This book has some nuggets but you do have to overcome some meandering. The author jumps from format to format sometimes turning the book into a Jack Welch biography and at other times acting as if the book were a serious business analysis of GE and the changes Welch brought. It fails as a biography and the business analysis is lightweight at best. It's not clear what this book is trying to deliver but what I got out of it were a cursory understanding of the challenges that GE faced and some sense of why Jack Welch succeeded. Now that Jack Welch is retired and has an autobiography "Straight from the Gut" this book is almost obsolete.
Average customer rating:
- can't stop reading!
- Fantastic Book!
- Mover of Men & Mountains
- What an incredible life story!
- Great Read
|
Mover Of Men & Mountains
R.G. Le Tourneau
Manufacturer: Moody Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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LeTourneau Earthmovers
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ASIN: 0802438180 |
Book Description
Despite early failures, R. G. LeTourneau rose to eminence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction. Although his competitors thought him insane, history has proved that his inventive genius was decades ahead of its time. His combination of enterprise and Christian commitment led to his sponsoring many works involving missions and education, including LeTourneau College, a Christian liberal arts and technical school in Longview, Texas. Through a lifetime of business ventures, this engineering genius put faith into action and reaped big rewards. (More than 100,000 in print)
Customer Reviews:
can't stop reading!.......2007-03-11
I could not put this book down. What a great book! One reviewer said to buy a second book to give away. I did, but I should have bought several extras! Now I'm buying more. This book has helped me to recognize God's purpose for my life and the incredible gifts He has given to each of us. A great gift for anyone, especially for someone who has ever been in the construction industry.
Fantastic Book!.......2007-01-22
This was one fantastic book that I could hardly put down. It is a great story of a man with dreams that were larger then life. He always said there are no big jobs, only small machines. Mr. LeTourneau had the capacity to envision larger and larger machines to make man more productive.
This book is 290 pages short with 26 untitled chapters which cover most of Mr. LeTourneau's life. From his childhood and quiting school in the 7th grade to his struggles and almost bankruptcy, he does a great job at unfolding his life the way it happened. He tells of how his business grew during the depression and of the great success he had in creating machines to do a job that none had done before. He was laughed at by people who couldn't see the value in some of his gigantic creations which were ahead of their time. But he didn't allow other people's negativity stop him from accomplishing his goal of benefiting man by making him far more productive then he would have been otherwise.
He talks about his relationship with God and how he believed that God was with him to protect him and help him to succeed. LeTourneau lived his beliefs by helping others and starting a school called LeTourneau Collage. He had given 90% of his stock in his business to a foundation he started for the benefit of others. He is not overpowering with this but just lets his beliefs take a natural course through the book.
Overall I think anyone would really enjoy this book. It really was one of the more interesting biographies I have read. His life again proves that it doesn't matter what kind of education you have or where you are financially, the only thing that can stop you from fulfilling your dreams is yourself!
Mover of Men & Mountains.......2007-01-09
A must-read for every Christian, and a great tool for ministry.
Blessings to Amazon!
What an incredible life story!.......2006-05-23
The first time I read Movers of Men and Mountains was when I started my undergrad work at LeTourneau University. I have since purchased probably ten copies because mine keep getting "borrowed". Go ahead and order two while you're ordering so you'll always have one to keep while sharing!
Everyone should read this book. Mr. LeTourneau is such an incredible inspiration to us all. The story is fantastic, the book is witty and interesting, and the message is life-changing.
Great Read.......2005-06-13
As a LeTourneau University Graduate, I felt compelled to read this book so I could learn more about the man who founded my school. I was impressed by the things he accomplished, witnessed, and experienced in his life. The flow of the book was great and I had trouble putting it down. Truly this man is an inspiration to all men of faith who feel they should do more for God in the workplace.
Average customer rating:
- Hearst better understood now
- Precious Gift
- ONE MAN'S CASTLE
- The Biography of a country House
- Hearst Castle Fans Should Not Miss This!
|
Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House
Victoria Kastner
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
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The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
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ASIN: 0810934159 |
Book Description
Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and his legendary California estate occupy a place in the public imagination through Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, but Kane's brooding Xanadu was merely a caricature of Hearst's exuberant castle at San Simeon. This new book sets the record straight and proves that, for once, truth is better than fiction.
Here for the first time is the real story of Hearst Castle, and of the productive 28-year relationship between Hearst and his architect, Julia Morgan, who collaborated on the magnificent 165-room estate set on 250,000 breathtaking acres near the remote seaside hamlet of San Simeon, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Drawing on previously unpublished correspondence, and illustrated with never-before-seen historic photographs as well as more than 150 stunning color pictures, Victoria Kastner chronicles the evolution of this extraordinary hilltop, with its two spectacular pools and its astounding collections of fine art and antiques. Sprinkled throughout with stories of the famous parties hosted by Hearst and his companion, movie star Marion Davies, and their celebrated guests, this book brings to life America's most glamorous country house.
259 photographs, 157 in full color, 9 x 113/4"
Customer Reviews:
Hearst better understood now.......2007-01-29
I enjoyed this book, and the details of his life relating to the building of this wonderful American treasure. I wish there had been more photos showing the details of the fine art and antiques collected from Europe early in this past century. Also it would have been worthwhile to show much more and better photos of the architectural elements of stone moulding, stucco detail, doors, tiles, ceilings, floor designs and iron work.
Precious Gift.......2007-01-11
I actually bought this for a gift for my neighbor,she had been looking for it for a while and she was very excited and said the pictures inside were fantastic.
ONE MAN'S CASTLE.......2006-09-23
Hearst castle is just an amazing tribute to one man's enormous ego. I am glad that it is preserved as a set piece for Hearst, for that is what he intended all along. This book captures the signifigance of the estate, the images are well concieved, though not as crisp as expected, and the text is informative. This certainly is not the definitive book on Hearst Castle, but it is well worth the purchace none the less. If you have any interest in Hearst Castle, or gilded age extravagance in general, then i cant imagine you being disappointed in this book.
The Biography of a country House.......2006-06-25
Fantastic book exceptional pictures and loaded with written details. Usually in a book like this you get one or the other here you get both! A must read and viewed book,a bit spendy but worth every cent!
Hearst Castle Fans Should Not Miss This!.......2003-02-19
A first rate account of the building of "La Cuesta Encantada" with new information I have not found in other Hearst Castle books or by taking the castle tours many, many times since I was a little girl. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to visit the castle again with this new knowledge.
Average customer rating:
- New York Rises.
- Beautiful and historically relevant book
- Pretty good, not great
- New York Rises
- A 'must' for art libraries strong in design history
|
New York Rises: Photographs by Eugene de Salignac
Michael Lorenzini , and
Kevin Moore
Manufacturer: Aperture
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Koudelka
ASIN: 1597110132
Release Date: 2007-04-01 |
Book Description
From 1906 to 1934, Eugene de Salignac shot over 20,000 stunning 8x10-inch glass-plate negatives of New York City. As sole photographer at the Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures during that period of dizzying growth, he documented the creation of the city's modern infrastructure--including bridges, major municipal buildings, roads and subways. For years, de Salignac's remarkably lyrical photographs have been featured in books and films, but never credited to their author. New York Rises, which will accompany a traveling exhibition, is the first monograph to present this unprecedented work as an aesthetically coherent oeuvre by a photographer with a unique vision. As meticulous in his record keeping as he was creative in his photography, de Salignac left five handwritten logs that identify each negative by place and exact date. This information is complemented throughout the book by narrative captions expanding on themes such as accidents, bridges, workers and the Depression. Essayist Michael Lorenzini unearths primary sources to reconstruct de Salignac's biography and Kevin Moore explores the photographer's work in the context of other masters of the period, including Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott. Copublished with the New York City Department of Records/Municipal Archives.
Customer Reviews:
New York Rises........2007-10-10
This is a wonderful book showcasing the beautiful work of an unknown city photographer. It documents an early New York City that few would have been able to see.
Beautiful and historically relevant book.......2007-09-02
I purchased this book after seeing the Museum of the City of New York exhibit of this unknown photographer's work and I find it as interesting and aesthetically pleasing as viewing the actual photos in person. Well written, designed and organized, New York Rises is a must-have for anyone who loves photography, architecture, history, New York City or all of the above.
Pretty good, not great.......2007-08-26
I agree that this book is relatively workmanlike and not in the same league as the really great books of photography. The photos are usually more intriguing than gripping in showing how buildings and bridges were actually built in those days. Prospective purchasers should leaf through it before buying, if possible.
New York Rises.......2007-08-23
Beautiful work as expected from Aperture. Fascinating and technically magnificent shots of New York as it was being designed and built
A 'must' for art libraries strong in design history.......2007-07-27
NEW YORK RISES accompanies an exhibition in New York and offers the photos of the first official photographer of the City's Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures, from 1906 to 1934. These black and white shots capture a bygone era of New York architecture, culls a choice selection from over twenty thousand glass-plate negative and ten thousand prints, and brings to the limelight a previously little-known photographer. A 'must' for art libraries strong in design history, and for those featuring New York in particular.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Average customer rating:
- Nice Old-Fashioned, Humorous Book
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- So Enjoyable! Good Family Read
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Cheaper by the Dozen
|
Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)
Frank B. Gilbreth , and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
ASIN: 006008460X
Release Date: 2002-05-28 |
Book Description
What do you get when you put twelve lively kids together with a father -- a famous efficiency expert -- who believes families can run like factories, and a mother who is his partner in everything except discipline? You get a hilarious tale of growing up that has made generations of kids and adults alike laugh along with the Gilbreths in Cheaper by the Dozen.
Translated into more than fifty-three languages and made into a classic film starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, Cheaper by the Dozen is a delightfully enduring story of family life at the turn of the 20th century.
Customer Reviews:
Nice Old-Fashioned, Humorous Book.......2007-07-16
When Frank and Lillian Gilbreth married, he said he wanted to have an even dozen children and Lillian was happy to oblige, having six boys and six girls. Frank and Lillian worked as efficiency experts and Frank employed efficiency techniques at home including figuring out how to shave in the quickest amount of time; how to dress as quickly as possible; having everyone in the family get their tonsils removed at the same time; and holding an Assembly Call in which he whistled and timed how long it took the family to gather together. Frank was the disciplinarian while Lillian was willing to look the other way when the children acted up. Together they had all kinds of adventures, some on land, some at sea, many of them hilarious.
Written by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey about their childhood, "Cheaper by the Dozen" is a very funny, old-fashioned read. The father stands out among all the characters, with his strict ideas about discipline and efficiency, yet having a nice sense of humor. Some of his ideas were a bit much, like having his children skip grades to get through school faster. While Frank is larger than life (literally), his wife Lillian is a more quiet character, seemingly in the background until you realize how much control she has over her husband. With twelve children, it's hard to keep them all straight, but a few of them stand out. Bill stands out most notably, with his penchant for playing practical jokes. He has some of the funniest moments in the book - like when he turns the table on his father who liked to scare them with his car horn; almost knocking the cook in the oven; or terrorizing his Aunt Anne. The other children who stand out are oldest daughters Anne and Ernestine who have the unenviable task of dealing with their father as they start to date. The book is more stream of consciousness than chronological and it can be hard to keep track of how old the children are. The book is full of humorous events including family trips in the car which always caused people to stare; family council meetings; a visit from a woman representing birth control who had no idea how large the family was; boat trips; and a visit from a psychologist. The book also has brief biographical sketches of both Frank and Lillian, although Frank's service during World War One is barely touched on. Although the book is humorous, it still touches on the difficulties of raising a large family, notably when Lillian had to travel by train from Boston to California with seven children who were sick for much of the trip. Some parts of the book made me cringe, especially when Martha had her tonsils removed after eating a heavy meal and when Lillian, tired of waiting at the hospital for her baby to be born, walked home while in labor. Still, most of the book was very funny.
"Cheaper by the Dozen" is a nice, humorous read.
Cheaper by the Dozen.......2007-04-25
by:breanna
Cheaper by the Dozen is about twelve kids, the mom, and the dad.
The main character is the dad who is offered the job of a life time in a different city. No one else in the family wants to move except the parents.
They say it will make them a stronger family but it really doesn't. They actually loose their family bond because the parents are always gone.
Mark one of the younger kids felt that he didn't belong in the family so he ran away. The whole family joins together and goes out looking for Mark.
His dad figures he would go to his old house (the midland house) and I'm not telling you the rest because it would be the end of the story!
Why I liked the book
& who I would recommend it to.
I like the book because it is very funny and I can relate to it.
Even though I have 5 people in my family and they have 14!!!!
I would recommend this wonderful book to someone that has a big family and is happy about it.
So Enjoyable! Good Family Read.......2007-01-24
We started listening to this on tape first. Enjoyed it so much we bought the book to finish reading it out loud. 10 year old son couldn't wait and read it himself. My husband read it out loud and did the voices. What a treat! We all laughed so hard. There is some light cursing which you can skip over if reading aloud. My kids quote from this book all the time.
Cheaper by the Dozen.......2007-01-21
This book was a gift for my daughter. She is reading parts of it to her children. They love it.
Cheaper by the Dozen.......2007-01-04
Excellent reprint of the 1940's classic with an interesting new foreword by Ernestine that brings us up to date wrt the main characters (particularly siblings.) Highly recommended!
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Morgan: American Financier
The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family
Carnegie
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
