This fascinating book is not only a look at Lew Wasserman and the MCA Hollywood empire he created, but a stunning and incisively written piece of business history -- indeed, a look at U.S. commerce, politics, and entertainment in the modern era. Bruck has the great ability to write about complex business issues and deals in a lucid and readable way. This is a must-read book for those interested in business stories, in modern American politics (Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan play key roles in the book), in Hollywood history (the break of the studio system, the movie stars, the move into TV). Bruck's canvas is so wide, yet she manages to combine all these various elements in a dramatic and compelling narrative. It's a brilliant book.

One would assume that the subject matter alone of a book with such a title as this one would condemn it to the same low-echelon level as your typical run-of-the-mill Peter Bart/ Border's Hollywood bookshelf fanfare; but what winds up being the most revolutionary aspect about "Hollywood" is the intelligence brought to a definitively intelligence-proof world. With such a powerful approach, Connie Bruck unlocks more doors than she would ever need, but does not simply stop at that. Her vicious appetite for the unadulturated truth tempers each of the six chapters in this book, cultivating a work of non-fiction as true to the multifaceted layers of its subject as Virginia Woolf is to human consciousness. As a result, Bruck's focused undertaking charts nothing less than the complete history of Hollywood as a simeultaneous force of awe and kitsch in American history.
Whether one considers Wasserman's odyssey relevant (which, in today's phenomenally globalizing era it most urgently is) needs not even be questioned; a book as scintillating as Bruck's clearly holds its own, regardless of its artistic content.

Long ago, I recall someone suggesting that diplomacy is "letting others have it your way." (I forget who said it.) As I read Bruck's holograph (it's more than a portrait) of Lew Wasserman, I was reminded of that observation. According to her account, Wasserman had a special talent for achieving his objectives while preserving cordial relationships with a wide and diverse range of potential antagonists. For example, with the heads of various studios with whom he aggressively negotiated on behalf of MCA's clients; with James Hoffa from whose union Wasserman hired 15,000 members; and with other talent agents after MCA became a major producer of films and television programs. As I completed reading this book, I felt gratitude for the brilliant presentation of the material about Wasserman but I was also favorably impressed by Bruck's demonstration of skills which we normally associate with a cultural anthropologist. As we all know, "Hollywood" is far less significant (if significant at all) as a place than it is as a state-of-mind. Bruck appropriately establishes Wasserman as the gravitational center of her book but she also probes deeply into basic sources of power and influence within the evolving culture of the entertainment industry, sources which remain long after Wasserman was no longer actively involved. For me, the entertainment value of Bruck's book is derived much less from the glitz and glamor of stardom of "Tinseltown" than it does from her examination of all manner of business issues, relationships, and conflicts. It is impossible to understand who Wasserman was and to appreciate what he achieved without correlating his personality and career with the history, economics, art, politics, and psychology of the empire over which he reigned for so many years. Bruck makes such correlations with consummate precision while preserving, throughout her examination of Wasserman ("a shark you almost had to admire as he circled you") the nuances of his multi-dimensional humanity.

If you love Milken and Boesky and inspired to be one,this book is for you. In this book God had give us the answer why you and and me cannot be billioinaires.Look at page 10."Breakfast was served at 6 A.M., a concession to popular tastes by Milken, who was at his desk each day by 4.30 A.M."

For those interested in the Wall Street culture of the '80s, where Michael Milken was "King of the Universe", this is a must read. It's a page turner. Superb read. It details the deals and operations of how Michael Milken became the Junk-Bond King... and so called "King of the Universe". Milken was able to raise almost unlimited amounts of capital by cleverly convincing practically everyone on Wall Street that junk bonds offered one of the best returns on Wall Street while at the same time supposedly having historicly very low default rates, which turned out to be the grand lie. He used this capital to fund the corporate take-over mania of the '80s, which dozens, maybe hundreds of S&L's participated in, and ultimately led to the bankruptcy of the S&L industry, and U.S. S&L bail-out mess.

Other required reads: "Den of Thieves": Once upon a time in the '80s, four men nearly destroyed Wall Street. How they made billions and how they got caught. by James B. Stewart. Superb, outstanding nonfiction book by an outstanding journalist, written in storybook fashion, which makes for a can't put down, page turner about Michael Milken: head of high yield securities, Ivan F. Boesky: arbitrageur - investor, Martin Siegel, investment banker with Kidder Peabody, Dennis B. Levine, investment banker. Must read.

Another must read: "A License to Steal: The untold story of Michael Milken and the Conspiracy to Bilk the Nation, by Benjamin J. Stein. Another outstanding book on the operations of Milken.

I've read these three outstanding books. Any other outstanding books on Michael Milken???

Connie Bruck, along with Joe Nocera is probably American's best living business writer and this is another great work from her.

A good story about a man who starts off running his father in law's funeral palor and winds up the head of one the world's biggest companies.

Bruck spends a lot of time discussing the charm and the personality of Ross and admits that Ross is someone that she really likes. The book does not have the balance of her previous book, The Predators Ball, but does not Michael Milken as subject matter like that book did too.

I would definitely recommend owning a copy of this book.

Don McNay...

This book gives a good understanding of the history of Warner from Kinney to the creation of Time Warner. This is an excellent book to give an understanding of how a media empire is built.

Anyone in media or entertainment has to read this book. It was, by far, the strangest story I read during two years of business school and it will help Time Warner employees understand how the company & culture was created. M&A people should also check this out since the merger of Time & Warner is the most interesting part of the book. Time was supposedly buying Warner Bros yet the Warner top brass ended up in charge.

I recommend another book, like the one called "Payback", for a more sober view.

This book, Liars Poker, Den of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate are the books that define Wall Street in the 1980's. This book was an outstanding coverage of the age of the junk bond raiders. Junk bonds were the favorite financial tool of corporate raiders everywhere. The junk bond was also used to finance many new businesses (Donald Trump,Atlantic City and MCI are the most memorable to me). This book also covers Michael the driving force behind Drexel Burnham and the King of the junk bond.

The book is focused on the rise and fall of Drexel and the associated personalities of the firm. The author does a very good job of illustrating the power Milken had within Drexel, how his office on the West Coast went from being a backwater to accounting for the bulk of the firms revenue, and how Milken's subsequent removal left Drexel crippled past the point of healing. I felt that the book does a good job of explaining the brilliance of Milken and the high-yield bond market that he created and nurtured, and the catch-22 that led to his criminalization.

At the end of the day I find these kind of books to be financial humor more than anything because 1) these guys worked their butts off (2) made tons of money and then (3) a lot of them lost their shirts, ran into difficulties or (3) ended up in jail. Yes, they are rich by the boat load but it isn't the way I want to make a living.

This book, "Barbarians at the Gate" by Burrough and Helvar, and "Den of Thieves" by Stewart fully depict the defining events of Wall Street in the 1980's. Of this triumvirate, Ms. Connie Bruck's book is the only one that is more read than reported (both "Barbarians" and "Thieves" were written by WSJ reporters), and it really delves into the personal lives and backgrounds of the major players at Drexel. In reading this text you are provided with a full description and understanding of Milken and the driving forces behind the firm, above all, you understand the trap he worked himself into through his own success and how he wound up victimized by the financial system that he worked within.

My version of the text is labeled on the front cover as, "The Book Wall Street Couldn't Stop," in reference to attempts to prevent its publishing. I believe that those persons that wanted to do so are now content with their failure, as the book does a good job of explaining the brilliance of Milken, the market that he created and nurtured, and the catch-22 that led to his criminilization. As someone who works in banking, it is awe-inspiring to read the descriptions of Milken's deal-making capabilities and strategies, and at the same point disappointing to see how he slipped from operating in shades of grey to areas of wanting morals. The author does a very good job of illustrating the power Milken had within Drexel, how his office on the West Coast went from being a backwater to accounting for the bulk of the firms revenue, and how Milken's subsequent removal left Drexel crippled past the point of healing. The inter-office dynamics that Ms. Bruck writes on are present everywhere, but it is difficult to imagine anywhere that they are seen in such extremes.

I highly recommend this book.