How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty

Very interesting analysis of how there oil tycoons came to be. From their father, who was a founding member of the John Birch Socity to one of the brotheres who won the America's Cup its a good read. Shows the scary side of what big dollars can do in today's political venue.

Absolutely scary! Before you finish this you get to completely understand why nothing is happening in DC. In fact it is these guys do not wand any interference in their dirty businesses so they fund anyone who will help stop or reduce regulation on business and keep wages and benefits low while refusing to raise taxes on the obscenely rich Billionaires. So, in fact something is happening in DC and it's not about Obama! It's about protecting people who even sue each other, because they can.

Daniel Schulman's lively and magnanimous narrative describes the amassing of the Koch family fortune over two generations, and what the brothers Frederick, Charles, David, and Bill have done with this wealth, including squabbling ferociously over it in court. Of particular interest is the longstanding project of Charles and David to liberate the oppressed business class from government meddling by demolishing the public sector in favor of Free Markets. The book's prologue puts it this way. "Charles has done more than just construct one of the world's largest industrial empires. With David, he has spent decades trying to remake the American political landscape and mainstream their libertarian views. Together, the brothers pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into this endeavor. Unlike other major political donors, they offered more than just money; a strategic vision. They funded academics, think tanks, and political organizers to coalesce public support around their causes." Maybe this thing will run out of steam now that more people are becoming aware of how the Koch apparatus is connected to the charismatically challenged Kochs themselves. Or maybe not, and we're in for more mischief.

The most complete biography yet. Well written and researched. The depth of libertarianism within their family, beginning with the John Birch Society, troubles me. While Charles and David are brilliant business people, they take their politics as a religion and wish to force it upon the rest of us. Other successful billionaires....Gates, Buffet, Jobs, Bloomberg, etc. didn't have the desire to evangelize our economic values beyond their companies. What issues they support are their business, but the Koch's have taken it to new levels, and our Supreme Court, white, Christian males...and a token black, have assisted them. Convinced me more than ever that the one defense we have as citizens is our ability to vote, no matter our level of wealth....as was shown in 2012. The description in this book of Obama's get out the vote campaign was impressive. I wish he'd use that same effort as president.

The most complete biography yet. Well written and researched. The depth of libertarianism within their family, beginning with the John Birch Society, troubles me. While Charles and David are brilliant business people, they take their politics as a religion and wish to force it upon the rest of us. Other successful billionaires....Gates, Buffet, Jobs, Bloomberg, etc. didn't have the desire to evangelize our economic values beyond their companies. What issues they support are their business, but the Koch's have taken it to new levels, and our Supreme Court, white, Christian males...and a token black, have assisted them. Convinced me more than ever that the one defense we have as citizens is our ability to vote, no matter our level of wealth....as was shown in 2012. The description in this book of Obama's get out the vote campaign was impressive. I wish he'd use that same effort as president.

I found the book to be interesting but there were parts that seemed to drag on unnecessarily. The first half was more captivating than the ending but overall I enjoyed the book and am always glad to finish more educated on the subject.

Very good book. Seems to me that this book demonstrates how a few nut jobs, who may totally hate anything that stands in their way to do whatever they like to do without any oversight or control, can and should do what ever they want no matter who is harmed or how many millions of people are hurt. I think it shows how some selected capitalistic leaders think that the market, as influenced by capitalistic controllers, is all that is needed to oversee them or how they may act in the open market. Seems to show how some people think that there is no need for any oversight or regulation or control beyond what a few people can get away with within that market. Seems to me it is showing how pollution is okay, harming people is okay, having no oversight is okay, influencing governments to do one's personal bidding is okay and that only a hand full of people have the right to do this and that all the rest are here to support their agendas and for little other reason. Seems to suggest that cash is the best oversight and market control tool. Seems to say that humans are nothing more than resources to be exploited. Seems to suggest that any oversight, any regulation, any protection of the environment or protection of human beings for that matter is unwarranted or unnecessary and duplication, because the market can handle it all just fine. Seems to me that this book is saying that our elected representatives are and should be servants of the few. This is an excellent book that every American should read. I think everyone who reads it will benefit from the views expressed in this book even if they agree or disagree. It is a thought stimulation book.

This book is very interesting in telling the background of the Koch brothers and the hard work that was inserted in them all at a young age by their father. These four brothers are all different and they have their evil moments and their kind moments in this book. You are going to find some lessons in this book that you can take with you in life, which includes how to build a business like a cold businessman and how to be charitable to things you are passionate about. This book reads like a soap opera, its long but good.

If you are a normal, sane, intelligent human being with more than a room temperature IQ, this should be required reading.

If you are what passes for today a normal God-fearing Republican, T-bagger or neo-con, I suggest you take a pass. It is beyond the typical right-winger's level of comprehension.

Far from Harry Reid's vision of the Koch brothers being un-American, this book shows just the opposite and illustrates how pro-American they are. Their successes have also brought success to tens of thousands of ordinary Americans without the need for taxpayers to foot the bill. That is truly in the American spirit and I laud them for it.

Overall, Mr, Schulman does a great job to bring all this information into one book.

There is much to learn from this book, particularly regarding how Charles and David Koch will relentlessly attempt AGAIN to buy the presidency in 2016. In this sense, this book can serve as a wake-up call to American Citizens who are or would be appalled by the Koch Boys' ham-fisted, dirty/dark money and underhanded political methods (ESPECIALLY their lies about not being associated with The Tea Party, and their political "marriage" to violent racists, homophobes and misogynists).

Koch Industries' HORRENDOUS environmental record also comes to light in this book - in graphic and tragic detail.

This book, alas, needed more editing, a better editor or more attention paid to the finished product by Mr. Schulman. This book often meandered, which is a shame, as there are contemporary models (e.g., "The Big Rich") which handles similar material in a masterful fashion.

While the Koch' Boys collectively aren't your classical "villains," passages that fawn over them are too gag-inducing to believe. The pablum spoon-fed to the reader regarding the Koch Boys' "humble beginnings" is straight out of a 50s "family oriented" television melodrama. Some of Mr. Schulman's own quotes might well have been written by the Koch Boys' P.R. team!

Perhaps because Mr. Schulman writes for MoJo, he (and/or possibly his editors and/or his agent and/or his publisher) bent over backwards to show that he could be as "Fair and Balanced" as Faux News...the result is somewhat unsatisfying, as the majority of the "good" Koch stories are either rehashed (from this very book!), laughably and almost pathetically non-essential and, in some instances, embarrassingly trite.

So...while there is much valuable information contained in this book, and while it overall reads pretty well, if you find a better-written book, you may want to purchase that book instead. If not, there, again, is much to enjoy in this book.

If you're looking for an anti-Koch Brothers screed, look elsewhere. This is a probing, insightful tome that is worth everyone's time, regardless of whether one approves of agrees with their politics. Not overly longwinded, anecdotal and thoroughly researched, the book feels like a long magazine article, which is hardly a surprise. I found the characters Koch largely tragic figures.

Very well written, readable book. Can understand the Koch brothers a bit better and why adopted their Libertarian ways. Still don't appreciate their business dealings and wish they would quit buying our politicians.

This book in a pretty decent history of the mysterious Koch brothers and what may be driving their political activism but it spends way too much time on the fights between the brothers. Would have liked to see a more even-balanced story.

This book in a pretty decent history of the mysterious Koch brothers and what may be driving their political activism but it spends way too much time on the fights between the brothers. Would have liked to see a more even-balanced story.

This is an unbiased look at the Koch brothers lives. It is pretty interesting. Money provides power but the power can also make you lose your footing. It is unfortunate what it has done to the family.

Too much family history and squabbles and not enough of what I'm interested in -- namely, their financing and manipulation of the political landscape. Also: Would have benefited from a list of companies and consumer products owned by Koch Industries.

Of epic dimension. Essential and totally engrossing reading for everyone of every political persuasion who seeks to understand how one man, Charles Koch, temporarily or permanently changed the political, economic and legislative landscape of the United States. It will surely be recognized as among the most important books of our times.

A case study on how extremist individuals with lots of money can hide behind non-profit groups to buy politicians and win elections. The end result is a polarization of the U.S. Congress with nobody willing to compromise. Hopefully the American public will wake up and the pendulum will begin to swing to the left.

Understanding Charles Koch's current quest to sell conservative principals and maintain state's rights is illuminated given his father's history as a founding member of the John Birch society.
His and his twin brothers MIT education and the work ethic instilled by their father makes it easier to understand how this family has created so much economic value and why they have remained so dedicated to remaining private.