Barbarians at the Gate cover art

Barbarians at the Gate

The Fall of RJR Nabisco

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Barbarians at the Gate

By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
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About this listen

 Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 is the story of dealmakers and publicity flaks, of strategy meetings and society dinners, of boardrooms and balls. It gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.©2003 Bryan Burrough and John Helyar (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers 20th Century Americas Management Management & Leadership Modern United States Business Wall Street Leadership Banking

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Critic reviews

"A superlative book...steadily builds suspense until the very end." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)
All stars
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Just wish it was longer, and there were more books on m&a, it's such an interesting topic.

Great Book

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Great example showings the danger of higher and higher biding. Proves the points that an LBO might not be worth it!

Scintillating read

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Hell of a corporate takeover story. Massive amounts of cash, Wall Street shitbags, unscrupulous corporate overlords and a monster deal. Interesting and cleverly told with lots of action.

Corporate greed at its most auspicious

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This book was superbly narrated, brought the RJR Nabisco LBO story to life! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its the kind of book that you listen to/read over and over again and learn new lessons everytime.

A must read for anyone in business!

Awesome read/listen!

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What did you like best about Barbarians at the Gate? What did you like least?

Anyone interested in the machinations of corporate excess, skulduggery and the financial world should benefit from this. A classic illustration of how the business world has changed from emphasising producing goods of quality and looking after their employees and the communities in which they operate into rapacious profit machines which care only about enriching directors and large shareholders.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The authors are far from being natural or accomplished narrators. Dull and monotonous - although care would need to be taken to ensure that another narrator did not attempt to be too dramatic!

Do you think Barbarians at the Gate needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. The story has been told. No doubt there are many similar cautionary tales - but it was the sheer size of the deal and the place Nabisco held in American consumer culture which made this tale worth telling.

Any additional comments?

Buy the book instead!

Fascinating subject - poorly served.

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I really enjoyed the film, and I enjoyed the book as well. A vivid and colorful account of the men and the maneuverings that symbolized the revolution in the culture of American business of the 1980s, whose strengths and weaknesses still resonate for better and for worse today.

At times the book, with it's larger than life characters driven by personal rivalries as much as by business logic at the height of the LBO boom: reads more like a novel than history. And you has to remind yourself that this is actually true.

Author is fine.

Entertaining account of a crazy time.

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Reads more like a fiction novel than a business book.

A case of history repeating itself. A good general cautionary tale for the business world!

Relevant Today

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Audio book format is not well suited for a story that involves ca. 30 characters briefly introduced at different points throughout the book

Narrating voice is very fast and not easily understandable by an international audience

Altogether, great book which I'd suggest to read on paper/kindle

Gripping book, not suited for audiobook format

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This is one of the most interesting stories to come out of Wall Street. it is also a great work of investigative journalism. This abridgment, though, truncates the story to such a degree that it's just a skeleton. You get the overall story, but none of the detail that makes this such a rich story.

Definitely abridged

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I loved the story it was truly thrilling.
I did not like the alternating narrations.

Thrilling story

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