Good Guys and Bad Guys: Behind the Scenes with the Saints and Scoundrels of American Business (and Everything in Between) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joe Nocera
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $9.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 60049
Media: Hardcover
Edition: BUS
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1591841623
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.092273
EAN: 9781591841623
ASIN: 1591841623
Publication Date: May 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A fascinating collection of profiles by one of Americas leading business journalists
For three decades, in major publications such as Texas Monthly, Esquire, Fortune, and now The New York Times, Joe Nocera has reported on the people who dominate the business world, for better or worse. Everyone from Warren Buffett to T. Boone Pickens to George Steinbrenner to Ken Lay has fallen under his microscope.
Now, in this collection of his best work, he explores how we define good guys and bad guys in business and concludes that things are often not what they seem.
It turns out that there are surprisingly good qualities in classic villains like junk bond king Michael Milken and notorious stock analyst Henry Blodget. And some business celebrities who are widely admired, such as Steve Jobs, are not quite the good guys they appear to be on the surface.
Good Guys and Bad Guys also offers a fresh perspective on some of todays biggest controversies, such as global warming, Apples iPhone, CEO compensation, the tobacco industry, short sellers, and much more.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A great look at american business history July 27, 2008
I just finished reading this book today, and I am almost sad to be done with it. I consider myself a casual business reader, as I recently read "The Biography of the Dollar" by Craig Karmin as well as The Age of Turbulence by you know who. Both were great reads, but Nocera's work tops my list.
I studied economics in college, and work in the financial field now, so I stay up to date with the business world, but I never got a chance to learn about the big players of American business past. This collection of Nocera's previous articles/columns combined with his current reflections and insights is a perfect way to become familiar with the stories and personality characteristics of American business icons from Charles Merrill to Steve Jobs.
Nocera's writing style and his ability to become close with his interviewees is very engaging and provides for great storytelling. As he says in the beginning of his book, business stories can be some of the most drama filled and compelling tales to read, and he does a great job at doing just that.
If you enjoy reading gripping stories, opinions, and insights of American business icons, I recommend picking this up. I will now look forward to reading his columns and articles in the NY Times/Magazine.
 Good Guy, Bad Guys review June 22, 2008
Enjoyed the book; however most of it are reprints of columns from over the years...old news, that is. The book is well written. Read it if you enjoy reading about insights into the personalities of the business world.
better than fiction June 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
While most of us end up working in business of some sort, little in the way of fiction gets published that's about business. Nocera, who could have been a really compelling sports writer, writes about business in a driven but succinctly intelligent way. His features read like fiction, because he's good at dramatizing and characterization. He gets very close to his subjects too - which is difficult when you're dealing with moguls. Nocera has never been far, the last quarter century, from major figures in business or the dramas that ensnare them, whether Microsoft, Apple or Enron. This is a very enjoyable books.
What is the differences between a Saint and a Scoundrel? June 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have followed Joe Nocera. I love his stories. A sarcastic look at the powers of the corporate world. Very good book.
Great book June 1, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Joe Nocera's Good Guys and Bad Guys
Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks
and I've learned much from both of their styles.
-Jimmy Buffett
One of my favorite business books is Mark McCormick's What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School.
The 1986 book had a huge influence on me. McCormick encouraged readers to write letters to people and say what you admire about them.
I always meant to write to McCormick and never did. I did write to Joe Nocera.
In 1994, I had reviewed Nocera's book, A Piece of the Action, for the Lexington Herald Leader. I was completely blown away by Nocera's work. He did exhaustive research in the style of David Halberstam or David McCullough. It was combined with writing that flows like Tom Wolfe. I've re-read the book 50 times and still find nuggets of wisdom.
I wrote and told Joe how much I admired him. He wrote back. We've followed each other's careers since then.
Joe had been writing for Esquire and GQ when we connected. He went on to be the Executive Editor at Fortune and now a columnist for the New York Times.
His latest book, Good Guys and Bad Guys, is a collection of writings along Joe's life journey.
Like the Jimmy Buffett song, Nocera noted that villains of business have good traits and business heroes have flaws.
Those of us in business need heroes. We need a realistic dream where we work hard and become the next Warren. We need to know that Warren has some flaws, (such as bad dietary habits), like we do.
Nocera looks at business people in a balanced way.
Movies and television tend to stereotype business people as ego driven and ethically challenged. Businessmen come across as some combination of JR Ewing on Dallas and Michael Douglas character in Wall Street.
They are really more complicated. Nocera allows us to see the nuance of that complexity.
Nocera said that in 1982, he was drawn from political journalism into business journalism. He saw the passion and drama of business stories in an era before CNBC and 24 hour business news.
Nocera has spent time with the great business leaders of this era. His insights into Steven Jobs and Warren Buffett are fascinating but my favorite chapter is one on Michael Milken.
Sometime in the late 1980's, I became fascinated with Milken and read every book written about him. Depending on the author, you got dramatically different portraits. Some books were intensely critical while others were puff pieces.
Joe wrote a 1991 article for GQ that nailed the Milken story. It balanced good versus bad.
Like Nocera does with many famous figures.
Since the book covers a 25 year spread, Nocera gives a historical perspective to recent events. A good example was the saga of how Rupert Murdoch took over the Wall Street Journal.
In a chapter called, "How the Bancrofts Blew it" Nocera includes a historic 1998 story in Fortune, when Elisabeth Goth Chelberg, a Kentucky horsewoman, started asking innocent questions about the company's stock price and management.
She is part of the Bancroft family, which had own the publishing empire for 100 years. Rather than getting the family to" act like an owner," Elisabeth was given the family cold shoulder.
If they had listened to Elisabeth in 1998, they could have addressed the long standing problems. 10 years later, it was too late.
Some might view the Bancroft's as good guys. They put out an award winning newspaper. If you owned WSJ stock, they were bad guys. Management lost billions in businesses they didn't understand and missed numerous opportunities. The company violated their investors trust.
Joe Nocera has knocked on the door of every business mover and shaker of the past 25 years. This collection inspires and provides a historic reference. Most of all, it captures our attention.
The characters depicted are the people who have made American business what it is. They encourage and motivate us those of us who seek to follow in their footsteps.
Sometimes business leaders are good guys and sometimes they are bad guys.
We can learn much from both of their styles.
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