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| The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors |  | Author: Axel Madsen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Category: Book
Buy Used: $12.48
New (6) from $29.62
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 1184197
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 310
ASIN: B00006F7LO
Publication Date: August 23, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Long before Ted Turner and Steve Case, a flamboyant dreamer named William Crapo Durant was assembling innovative corporate empires that would rival any. After growing a Flint, Michigan, carriagemaker into one of the biggest players in a booming industry, Durant got caught up in the automotive frenzy sweeping the world and in 1908 established General Motors by acquiring a stable of existing carmakers (including Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac) as well as parts companies and manufacturing plants. In The Deal Maker, experienced biographer Axel Madsen goes behind the scenes to detail also the financial setbacks that soon cost Durant control of GM, the partnership with Louis Chevrolet that led to formation of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, his triumphant reestablishment at the top of GM (and second embarrassing fall from power), the formation and failure of his alternative automaker, Durant Motor, and, finally, the enormous stock-market victories he enjoyed before his complete financial destruction in the 1929 crash. The Durant that Madsen reveals is a business visionary truly worth getting to know, the "Great Gatsby of carmaking" who understood the big picture but lacked the personal patience and managerial skills necessary for long-term success. --Howard Rothman
Product Description
The rollercoaster life of the flamboyant creator of General Motors The early twentieth century witnessed the meteoric career of a deal maker that easily rivals that of modern legends like Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, and Bill Gates. Thriving on the art of the deal and moving at warp speed, Durant was buying companies at the rate of one every thirty days at the peak of his career. By 1910, Durant had allied twenty-five automobile firms into what would become General Motors. Then, gambling on a run on GM stock, Durant was forced into a buyout and never again had the financial wherewithal to succeed. He died a poor man. Featuring some of the most important figures in the history of the automotive industry and American business, including Henry Ford, David Buick, Albert Champion, Louis Chevrolet, Alfred P. Sloan, and Pierre Du Pont, Deal Maker is a fast-paced, rousing tale of Durant's dizzying success and abject failure. Axel Madsen (Los Angeles, CA) has written fourteen biographies, including Chanel: A Woman of Her Own; Gloria and Joe: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Gloria Swanson and Joe Kennedy; Cousteau; and Stanwyck: A Biography.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Deal Maker By Axel Madsen March 17, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is another good book on my hero Mr. William C. Durant the creator of GM. Mr. Durant defiantly affected the early automobile history more than any other one man ever. He was the worlds largest cart maker back in Flint Mi. & went on to save Buick from certain bankruptcy. Also creating GM with Buick as the cornerstone car & then adding Olds, Cadillac & Oakland (the forerunner to Pontiac) & many others that didn't pan out. He also started Chevrolet with his famous Buick race car driver Louis Chevrolet. Some other good reads are The Dream Maker 1979 by Bernard Weisberger and Billy Durant by Lawrence Gustin 1973. ... Sincerely Lance Haynes President Durant Motors Automobile Club
 An inspiration of determination February 4, 2002
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
It's a story of a vibrant, fast acting dreamer named William Durant who had his start making horse carriages in Flint, Michigan with his partner Dort. He being the salesman, then pre-sold orders for their carriages at a fair, contracted the work out, then worked in a frenzy to fulfill all those orders. It wasn't long until those working on the carriages understood what Durant and Dort were doing, and wanted their own piece of the pie. With a little luck, they managed to survive intense start up competition the first few fragile years, then, in 1908, Durant alone established General Motors through the strategic acquisition (and even more luck) of several existing auto manufacturers (including Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac). He also actively pursued vertical and horizontal integration into the manufacturing process by acquiring rubber plantations, etc. at the closest level to the source. It's fascinating to listen to the "who" behind the names of today's leading auto lines (ie. Louie "Chevrolet" - was a race car driver), etc. and to imagine that Henry Ford and William Durant considered a viable merger that would have completely changed history! From a financial standpoint now, it's easy to see Durant's forecast for financial ruin. It was his tremendous speed and passion which he acted, but often lacked methodical planning or prudence. His pursuit of being "big" and acquiring at least one new company every month, led to a repeated pattern of over-extension and debt feeding his ego; which eventually ruined him, not once, but three times. He then became involved with Dupont, Morgan and the other "high powered" names of history in an effort to re-build his own auto "empire" with a different name - each failed. Each time, his persistence kept him going - and that's truly admirable. He never gave up after each failure! It's inspiring to read (or listen to if you get lucky and find an audio version.)
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