Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

Talk about a boring book, this is one of them. Who cares? I can't imagine being interested in things that happened a long time ago and of little real interest as well. The author could have made this a better book to read, but didn't.

Back in the Late Bronze Age, aka the 1970s, I discovered John Brooks and his marvelous accounts of Wall Street and USAmerican business. Brooks died in 1993, and his books have been half-forgotten. I'm very pleased to see this title rereleased in digital format, and I hope all his works are appear soon as eBooks.

This book casts a wide net over the USAmerican business and investing scene, always with with and insight. There's a lot to be learned here, as Brooks examines the three-day stock market mini-crash of 1962, how Ford lost a bundle on the Edsel, how GE broke the anti-trust laws, how Xerox became very wealthy (later, Xerox became very broke, but that was after this article) . . . all great stuff.

Rereading these after forty years, I'm impressed with Brooks ability to get to the bottom of things, especially when there is no "bottom". Why did the New York Stock exchange lose over 5% one day in 1962, then rally suddenly? No one really knows, but Brooks examines the chaos of that day, and dissects the explanations offered after the fact — while noting that BEFORE the fact, none of the explainers had a clue what was about to happen. Interspersed are comments from THE first book ever written on stock markets, "Confusion of Confusions", by Josseph Penso de la Vega (no product link; apparently the store doesn't want to use its reviews to sell books other than the one being reviewed anymore). Brooks demonstrates how little has changed over the centuries.

And so it goes through the rest of the essays. Facts and insight, presented with wit, charm, and grace. Highly recommended.

Well written, educational and entertaining. That more books were like this one. Edsel was just an abstract word meaning "clunker" to me and to learn the details of that fiasco was fascinating. Trivia like that the name "Xerox" was supposed to suggest "Kodak" (two syllables that begin and end with the same letter) was interesting. The tongue-in-cheek tone made me laugh at times—not loud laughs like when reading THE VERY MINUTE MANAGER, but laughs nonetheless—and made the book an enjoyable journey. I can see why Warren Buffett sent Bill Gates his personal copy.

While I really wanted to enjoy this book, I found it superfluous (see what I did there) and cumbersome to read. In many instances, the author over-complicated the subject matter by using large, unnecessary words. Many portions of the book were poorly thought out and poorly written. Like others, I find it difficult to believe that Gates and Buffett truly thought it was “great.”

It was Interesting to revisit classic faux pas in the business world in the late 1950s and 1960s. The book is well written and an easy read. Many of the issues covered by the author in Business Adventures are alive today. The book is no Tom Clancy novel, but worth the time.

Excellent book describing how the big countries of the world, including the US, manipulate the Governments foreign policy of underdeveloped countries in order to benefit themselves and large influential companies.

Extremely well written and informative. I wish that John Brooks would be available to document our current presidents adventures and misadventures. Hopefully someone with John Brooks writing skills will take this task on.

Amusing tales of business and financial screwups and emergencies. Somewhat dated but nevertheless fun to read if you are interested in that kind of stuff. Holds lessons even for today's business persons.

I generally never write reviews. In this case I gave the book a 5 star rating. The book is great is you like business matters. The author is a great writer. He is able to express his words in the book as only a great writer can. So, anyone interested in reading a great book that is sort of business related, I highly recommend the read. Good luck.

Best,
JCK of NJ

This book is a life changer. John Brooks takes stories that most would find dull and elevates them to something that is exciting. I am constantly thinking back to this book and the many comparisons I can draw to contemporary examples.

Well written journalism, but it would not be getting the attention as a top business book had it not been mentioned as Buffet's favorite. There must have been a dearth of business literature in those days.

As an investor and large fan of Warren Buffett's I heard that this was one of his favorite books and so quickly bought it. I have to say I was very disappointed. In fact, this is probably the first book I have read where I was actually frustrated by the content. I read only two chapters and, while parts were interesting, the level of detail can be overwhelming (and frankly boring), and as another reviewer said, there is a real lack of analysis in the book that prevented me from gaining anything useful. I kept searching for the deeper meaning I assumed Buffett was hinting at by giving his approval, all to no avail.

While detailed and well-written, the chapters lacked (or lost along the way) any semblance of a thesis. After reading the first chapter on the massive fluctuation in the stock market, I was left wondering what the point was, if there were any lessons to be taken from this. I don't necessarily think the date of a book or its subject matter means that the lessons are dated: The same psychological tendencies of people have lead to manias and bubbles for hundreds of years, but I took no lasting lessons from this book. It was a frustrating read to say the least and a surprising recommendation (at least for me) from one of the investing greats.

As an investor and large fan of Warren Buffett's I heard that this was one of his favorite books and so quickly bought it. I have to say I was very disappointed. In fact, this is probably the first book I have read where I was actually frustrated by the content. I read only two chapters and, while parts were interesting, the level of detail can be overwhelming (and frankly boring), and as another reviewer said, there is a real lack of analysis in the book that prevented me from gaining anything useful. I kept searching for the deeper meaning I assumed Buffett was hinting at by giving his approval, all to no avail.

While detailed and well-written, the chapters lacked (or lost along the way) any semblance of a thesis. After reading the first chapter on the massive fluctuation in the stock market, I was left wondering what the point was, if there were any lessons to be taken from this. I don't necessarily think the date of a book or its subject matter means that the lessons are dated: The same psychological tendencies of people have lead to manias and bubbles for hundreds of years, but I took no lasting lessons from this book. It was a frustrating read to say the least and a surprising recommendation (at least for me) from one of the investing greats.

I have to say that this book is old and little boring for the new millennials. The book is also written like a text book so there are not many interesting things about the book that makes the information fun to learn. For example, Chapter 2 is about a Ford Edsel. I did not know a car like this existed but, the book did not make me want to learn about its history. I am returning my book.

This is a glimpse into the Golden 60's when American Industry provided a good prospect and promise for the middle class. The 1960's saw US leadership in technology, winning with the Race to the Moon, and a revolution in Women & Civil rights. Mr. Brooks spot lighted a series of case studies featuring US companies and stock market events from that Era. It's interesting that a copy machine made by Xerox cost the price of a stately home, and required a skilled technician to operate it. Also a fire extinguisher was provided as a standby if it caught on fire. Yet Xerox was a top line growth company that made its investors big returns.

I like this book for the following reasons: it's speaks to America Innovation and investors who had the courage to hang in there and bear the up and downs. 2) It demonstrates the fact that leadership requires set- backs & those companies that accepted the risk will learn and succeed. 3) it gives me hope that stock market investors will learn from the in depth analysis Mr. Brooks brought forward that investing in truly motivated companies with the guts to innovate are worth putting forth your money & time to invest in. Finally it's a lesson into studying & seeking companies focused on producing leading edge products regardless of the quarterly bottom line, and weekly up & downs of global events.

The early printings of this book are impossible to find. Therefore, Mr. Buffet & Gates have come forth to reveal this lost treasure providing lessons from our past, and hopefully will instill a new (but old) way of thinking on how to seek and invest in top businesses. Reading this book has change my perspective on investing (maybe long term investing in the right companies is the way to go), and I truly feel it's worth the read if you plan to invest in the stock market. Also, it reads very well and is simply enjoyable.

This is surely proof that Gates has lost his edge. He recommended this as his best book ever. It was probably relevant about 1970 or so. A person about 30 would vomit at the thought that wasted his time on this. Don't buy it!

To be frank if the book hadn't been highly recommended by Buffet and Gates I would have quit reading it after the first chapter. Gates says that he found the depth and detail s as heads of huge companies they have greater interest in the making of major decisions in detail. Brooks starts with a rather uninteresting tale of the 1962 stock market decline. The next is Ford’s very detailed and expensive design and production of the most famous auto failure the Edsel. For instance they started with the name Edsel as one of the choices then did a great deal of research and expense only to go back to Edsel as the name. This happens while ignoring the growing boredom of the public with big cars and increasing interest in small compacts. For some reason cars produced for display and demonstrations to people who would write reviews were in terrible condition. In essence they tried to produce the car customers wanted, spent a tremendous amount on planning research and came up with car that virtually no one wanted.

The federal income tax comes next, and it is a brief history of the first income tax with very low rates in 1913 to a gigantic machine in the 1960s with rates as high is 94% on income. He concludes rightly that the 1960’s tax system is too big and complicated and should be simplified and reduced in size. In fact, historically, major Federal tax revisions occur approximately every 30 years or so, since it is now about 30 years since our last revision we are actually due for one now. Good luck!

A field geologist finds an interesting mineral deposit in Canada, drills a core that shows that it is indeed a potential big find. He and a few relatives and friends buy some shares in his company. Before any company would invest in development more cores would have to be drilled to estimate the extent of the deposit. This was eventually done and the deposit was huge. The stock started to climb and eventually The Securities Exchange Commission took the early investors to court. The first judge found that there was sufficient uncertainty in the economic value that it was not an unfair advantage and not illegal. A higher court cancelled this decision and said any use of inside information was illegal.

Charles Carlson a graduate of Cal Tech, used his spare time to make breakthroughs in the copying process while employed by a patent office. He used his knowledge of patents to weave an effective web of patents around his cumbersome invention. He then persuaded Battelle Institute to make it a practical machine. An additional collaboration was made with the Haloid Corp that eventually spent a fortune developing it into a Xerox machine. They sold shares and borrowed over 12 years to complete the work. Groups of investors like the U of Rochester invested heavily and did very well. Xerox eventually turned into a very profitable company that strongly supported the region, especially donating to the local university. The discussion ranges through profitability to civic responsibility and how you maintain equilibrium as the company gets bigger and becomes international.

Trading commodities is speculative and financially dangerous even for pros. In this case Ira Haupt, a brokerage firm, had taken receipts for soybean oil that turn out to be fake. A great web on international connections had been built on this oil and the possible default would have caused great disruption for stock markets. Agreements between stock exchanges and international banks setup a system that paid back innocent investors and averted a potential crises.

GE and other electrical suppliers were found to be guilty of price fixing on a massive scale. The judge who tried the case couldn't believe that upper management didn't know what was going on. Brooks gives pretty good argument that there was a wink policy extending from the bottom to the highest level just below the CEO. In other words officials would say and go on record that there should be no price fixing, then wink to indicate that the price fixing should be done. Brooks discusses the difficulty that management had communicating when they really wanted price fixing to stop.

Cornering a commodity means you control the source and therefor can increase the price making great profits. The Piggly Wiggly Company was started by Clarence Saunders of Memphis. He began life on a farm, then worked in a local grocery store. He accumulated experience and moved into positions of greater responsibility finally starting the grocery chain Piggly Wiggly. The chain was successful and eventually was listed on the stock exchange. Part of the expansion was a type of franchising where you loan the name and Ideas to another company. Some of these stores on the east coast had problems and were forced into bankruptcy. Professional short sellers in New York saw this as a way to make money by shorting the Piggly Wiggly stock. They sold borrowed stock they didn't own then publicly exaggerated the effect of the bankruptcies and caused the stock to go down. The speculators would then buy the stock at a much lower price than they had shorted it at, pocketing the difference. Saunders countered by offering to buy the stock under strict conditions at $55 per share which was much higher than the then current 40 dollars per share. He set up the situation where it would be impossible for the short sellers to cover their positions. The short sellers connived together with the New York Stock Exchange to change their rules on short selling, which in turned the tables on Saunders and he was essentially forced into bankruptcy.

David Lilienthal essentially ran the TVA and the AEC. He found the constant congressional investigative committees and constant controversy somewhat tiring. His work with the AEC was made especially difficult since most of the information was classified and therefore he couldn't bounce ideas off most people. This eventually led him to resign and start work as a consultant for Wall Street. Although he trained as a lawyer and had offers from Harvard to become a professor Wall Street seemed more interesting and better paying. He wound up acting as an entrepreneur for the company Minerals & Chemicals seeing it through many stages and mergers and finally as president having it listed on the NY stock exchange. On the way he travelled a great deal and picked up many stock options. This in turn made him rich. He found business to be fascinating and making money addictive. He gave up a powerful position at huge government projects that had many trappings of power like chauffeured limos, but didn’t pay very well, to one that paid very well. He eventually founded the Development & Resources Corporation, that helped third world countries and even the US Government to complete big conservation projects. He hired a lot of the managers he worked with in government. His company had an idealistic side in addition to the profit motive and this made it easier to recruit young people who had sentiments like his. He felt that his early interest in boxing helped develop an attitude that enabled him to see big projects through and enjoy it.

Corporations hold annual shareholder meetings where the hired management presumably listens to the owners, the shareholders. The author attends a number of these meetings and finds that there are regular shareholders who ask fairly straightforward questions, and what he calls professional stockholders that usually have an axe to grind. He finds that unusual questions from the professional shareholders leads to better insight into the personalities of the executives if not the companies themselves.

Donald Wohlgemuth graduated in 1954 as a chemical engineer from the U of Michigan. He took a job with Goodrich and became an expert in space suit design. He was offered a better position designing space suits by Latex Corporation. Goodrich was concerned that he would share his knowledge of their methods to make spacesuits and took him to court. After six months in court he was able to work at Latex providing he did not disclose Goodrich trade secrets. Goodrjch relied on the six months Wohlgemuth spent in court as a deterrent to him sharing information, and information from suppliers to both companies to keep trade secrets safe.

The value of currencies fluctuate relative to each other. If the US spends more than it makes it makes more dollars available to purchase other currencies. This demand makes the other currencies go up in value, while the dollar would tend to go down in value. Any uncertainty makes markets think the worst and they respond by selling the problem currency, in this case it would mean selling US dollars. The central bank of the US, the Federal Reserve, responds by using currencies they own to purchase the dollar. There is a great tendency in a situation like this for fear itself to force the attacked currency, the dollar, lower. One cure is to raise the interest rate in the US that causing more dollars to be attracted to the US, this in turn increases in inflation and makes most things more expensive in the US, and is not popular with the voting public. The main story is this case is the situation the Bank of England faced in the 1960s. Brooks gives a detailed account of the history of money. Coins can be debased, paper currency can be created at will, backing paper with gold has its own set of problems. He gives a detailed story of the state of the attack on the British pound, the reactions of individual bankers, and the results of their efforts to defend the British pound. It is reminiscent of the more recent crisis in the US during 2008- 2009. The very detailed, almost minute by minute reporting also seems similar to the latest monetary problem almost 50 years later. It is amazing how these crises depend on the communication skills and friendship between major players.

In this case the national banks won the skirmish, and in fact a short time later were able to pull off a short raid and cost monetary speculators a lot of money. The fluctuations continue and when they get big enough we hear about them as a looming crisis. Since runs on a currency generally require austerity measures or devaluation, both of which are unpopular since they represent an additional cost to most, we will continue to play the game. Research shows that much of the short selling of a weak currency is from international companies like Exxon with the purpose of protecting legitimate profits. As usual there is no simple solution.

As many of the other reviewers have mentioned, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet mention this book as one of their favorites. And deservedly so.

The book contains twelve chapters, each telling its own story, and leaving it (mostly) to the reader to decipher the moral and meaning. The companies and situations discussed in the chapter are admittedly dated and might not appear relevant to the reader at first sight. The writing can also seem ponderous at times. But I would urge readers to spend the time to absorb this important work.

For example, the author devotes one of the chapters to the development (and later failure) of Ford's E-Car, which launched under the name of Edsel, the name of Henry Ford's only son, despite thousands of other names being considered, such as Arrow, Dart, Intelligent Bullet, Mongoose Civique, and Utopian Turtletop (!).

The author goes into considerable detail going into the story behind the Edsel, such as the management team at the time, the so-called Whiz Kids, including Robert McNamara, the United States Secretary of Defense during Vietnam.

Because of the association of Gates and Buffet with the book, the notoriety has led to the work being used for many intelligent analyses of business situations. For example, one analysis cites the spectacular success of the Ford Mustang as the result of the lessons learned through the Edsel debacle.

Recommended to current and future business leaders who wish to profit from learning from the triumphs and failures of others.

If you are like me and have an amateur's interest in the study of capitalism, it's just as important to learn history as it is to learn about the current functioning of the US and world economies. This book provides a series of case studies of particular narrow events in the 1950s and 1960s. By reading through them you learn something of the evolution of everything from current trade conditions, the International currency markets, corporate governance, the operation of capital markets, and so on. I need this historical perspective to discern what is essential, or at least has ever been thus, from what is new and characteristic of current conditions.

More narrowly, if you are concerned about your own financial future, you probably want to build wealth. Therefore, it's important to understand where little itty bitty old you stand in relationship to the titanic players and forces at work. Are capital markets rigged in favor of professional players? Yep, and here's some history on that. Are you right to worry about the impact of trade deficits, over-consumption, QE and everything else on the green-back? History says yes, you should be concerned and here's a case study- read it and learn what has happened in the past and maybe you'll be better able to prepare for the future.
Aside from analytical insight, the book is writen with verve and the occasional laugh out loud sense of humor. You wil profit from reading this.

'Business Adventures' summarizes several problem situations in the early 1960s, starting with 'The Flucuation' in which the stock-market undergoes major swings during a three-trading day period in May 1962. As in the rest of the book's examples (eg. Edsel, G.E., Xerox) the lessons aren't learned very well, and repeated today. On the other hand, I'd much prefer to read about more current happenings.

'The Fate of the Edsel' was the most interesting chapter. Introduced Sept of 1957, Ford expected to sell at least 200,000 the first year. Two years and two and one-half months later it had only sold 110,000, and production was discontinued. The author contends that contributing factors included marketing promotions that were not linked to consumer preferences, a name based on executives' whims, and a design similarly derived. The original rationale, however, was valid - filling a gap in Ford's lineup for Ford buyers wanting to move up with their next car purchase. The downside risk of adding a new car was well-known - of the 2,900 American makes introduced since the beginning of the Automobile Age, only about 20 were left at the time.

Instead of obtaining dealers the traditional way (using leaders already handling its other makes, and having them add the new car as a sideline), Ford raided dealers who had contracts with other manufacturers - including its own. The goal was 1,200 - and it was very nearly achieved. Fifteen-thousand factory jobs were created in four converted assembly lines. Then came the recession of 1958, and a major 30-day discounting campaign by Mercury that undercut Edsel.

'Consumer Reports' was not impressed - criticizing its handling and a detached from the road felling, 'more useless overpowered . . . gadget bedecked than any car in its price class,' and giving it a bottom rating. Edsels were delivered with oil leaks, sticking hoods and trunks, etc. An Edsel executive later estimated that only half performed properly. Many initial purchases were of models/colors not in stock.

Experts estimate Ford lost $350 million, about $3,200/car.

I read this book because Warren Buffet recommended it. Was disappointed and a bit bored, but maybe that is the point: business is not a wonderful science, but a series of twists and turns that good people seem to get through. A bit long winded for me.

This book is a collection of short stories from the field of business, markets, and economics, circa 1960. While some of the corporations and references to rules/laws/regulations mentioned in the book no longer apply, the lessons from these stories are evergreen as ever!

I particularly liked the story about Ford Edsel. The corporations of today are, IMO, none the wiser.

John Brooks was a writer for the New Yorker magazine in its peak era. His main subject was the financial markets.

In this set of journalistic essays, Brooks examined phenomena that people discussed at the time. Brooks was not an ideologue or proponent of any particular thing; he was a real journalist.

I know this book landed on Bill Gates' published summer reading list. One never knows whether a published reading list is an actual reading list, but I can see why Gates would like this book. It's intellectual. Brooks gets into his matters deeply and while not even attempting to arrive at definitive answers, he leaves his readers satisfied.

I liked all the selections in this book equally yet for different reasons. In one, we see the psychology of market fluctuations. In another we see a classic business mistake, a marketing mistake regarding the Edsel. In another, we see corporate culture at work in annual meetings.

I was provided a complimentary copy.

Do you like economic history? I do. I often think that we spend too much time on the numbers in business, and not enough time on the qualitative reasoning that goes into making good business decisions.

This particular book gained some notoriety of late when both Bill Gates and Warren Buffett said they were fans of the book. Could a book get a more powerful set of recommenders? Unlikely, and as a result, the book was pulled back into print. [Those reading this review at the store, there are links at Aleph Blog to flesh this point, and other points out.]

The stories are taken from articles written in The New Yorker from the 1960s by John Brooks, who wrote what was one of the best summaries of the markets in the '60s, "The Go-Go Years."

If you don't like economic history, this will not be the book for you, because the old stories will not resonate, and say to you, "We never learn."

Consider the wealth of situations covered in the book:

1) There was a surprising fall in the market in 1962. We have experienced much the same with "flash crashes" recently. They had a hard time figuring it out as well.

2) There was much work put into testing the Edsel, but it was a flop. Does that never happen today? What of New Coke? Various Microsoft products?

3) Even in the '50s and '60s there were people looking to convert wage income into less-taxed capital gains income. The tax code was filled with loopholes. After a brief tax code cleanup in the mid-'80s, we are back to the same problem today. Is it any surprise corporations do not manage their businesses for pre-tax economic outcomes?

4) Insider trading scandals are nothing new; we just dress them up in new clothes each decade. Watch the fun as an oil company delays the release of what a gusher they have drilled, while employees/friends take positions. And, to no surprise, there are different legal results as different parties knew differing amounts on how certain the information was.

5) New technology? Something so big that the name of the company becomes the generic name for the product? Where they set up a center for research in areas not directly related to their main business? Google! Okay, Xerox... (At least Google is trying to profit from their innovations.) How does a company manage to avoid becoming trapped in one area of technology? Well, it didn't work for Xerox, but maybe modern companies can avoid the same problem.

6) Can financial companies rescue a fellow company to protect the good reputation of the industry? In this case they did, but did Wall Street retain the knowledge for the future? LTCM was saved, though Bear Stearns didn't do its part. Wonder if that eventually cost them? How many companies were rescued by fellow companies during the recent financial crisis? A bunch, and some that should not have been rescued. And some like Lehman Brothers, that were too big to be privately rescued...

7) Price fixing? Collusion? Management teams that neglect oversight of employees until they are caught doing something wrong, and then cut the employees free [fire them] while management survives with nary a bruise? This never happens today, right? If nothing else, companies should have seen that bigness causes its own set of problems -- how do you create an ethical culture across a large organization?

8 ) Or consider the story of Piggly-Wiggly, where the founder squeezed the shorts trying to manipulate his company's stock, only to take on so much debt in the rescue that eventually he had to declare bankruptcy. Though the occasions are different, think of many companies that took on too much debt to go private over the last 30 years.

9) What does a man do after a long time in public service? Many go into business, and for a timely example, think of Eric Cantor joining Moelis. Does it have to corrupt the former politician or bureaucrat? No, but it will change you at minimum.

10) There were many angling for corporate governance reform in the '60s. This is still a live issue today with "say on pay," voting rules on directors, shareholder proposals, splitting the role of CEO and Chairman, etc. Corporate power is undiminished. Do shareholders own the company, or does management? Who do the directors care about more?

11) A clever knowledge worker knows a great deal about how a given product is made. Can he take work at a competing firm? There are many today who fight back against employment agreements, alleging "restraint of trade." This is not a new problem.

12) How do central banks preserve the value of the currency? Do they work together or separately? They work together if the cost isn't high, and separately when the cost is high? It seems not that much changes over time, aside from the fact that our currency doesn't have gold backing, or any other kind of anchor for value. Okay, I guess some things *do* change.

All that said, in short, every chapter of the twelve in the book has relevance to the modern era. The real question to the reader is whether you want to think about how these stories relate to the present day. I think the effort is worthwhile, and the engaged reader will benefit from the effort.

Quibbles

None.

Summary

This book is good for those who like economic history, and want to learn from the lessons of the past. If you require immediate and obvious relevance, look elsewhere.

I must thank Warren buffet & Bill Gates for bringing this title back into print again.

A collection of twelve classic business stories from the failure of Ford's Edsel to the story of Xerox's rise, this is a timeless collection of lessons for the eager mind. The writer goes through every story (study, if you will) in a thorough, analytical way. I got to see the inner workings of the various corporations, individuals & products talked about and glean many vignettes of lessons from both failure and success, ineptitude & excellence.

I will definitely be coming back to this book again along my entrepreneurial journey to be reminded of lessons & also be inspired. Highly recommended to an entrepreneur of any stripe. Thank you Gates & Buffet for this one.

Superb writer-- thorough, erudite, knows how to turn a tale. Don't know how we are supposed to get "lessons" from these essays, each story being so completely its own.

The most disturbing to me was the last-- the account of the deliberate world stock market assault (perhaps led by France) on the pound that doomed millions of British workers and citizens. That's what I mean: for each inspirational story, one finds two that raise the question of whether capitalism is even decent, much less productive.

The variety of stories and the kind of detail included in this book is really awesome. Not only that, these are very gripping and interesting stories, even considering their pure entertainment value. These, I think are principally well relevant today (details or contexts might differ), even with so much of change in the world since the time the book was written.

I am sure I have been able to comprehend only half of this book, since there are many finer points which I could not understand (or missed spotting) at first shot, but planning to read it sometime again anyway.

Of course, one opinion that kept getting stronger and stronger as I progressed through this book was: "Do most of the elite people in the business world mainly spend their precious brains and time just trying to game systems (and each other)? Criminal wastage of top talent I should say :)

I read this because I heard that it's Bill Gates's favorite business book and also because two other books written by John Brooks are among my all-time favorites: Once in Golconda and The Go-Go Years. This one wasn't as good. It's actually a collection of essays, all beautifully-written, about business by Brooks. All are pretty dated and some go on way, way too long. The story of the Edsel probably was one of the most interesting ones and might have been better if it were just a few pages shorter. Xerox was a bit dull. I generally like stories of this nature and I really love the prose, but most just aren't all that interesting in the level of detail here.

Modern business may believe that we are advanced well beyond the business experiences of the past. However, studying the circumstances of events in the 1950s and 1960s can provide powerful lessons for execution in modern society.

Business Adventures provides a view into events such as the development of the Ford Edsel and various market crises, in an artfully written manner. I can see why Bill Gates considers this book one of the best business texts he has ever read.

The Ford Edsel and Xerox stories are the best in the book. They examine many facets of their respective products, people and markets. The story surrounding the crisis of the British Pound is probably the weakest of the group. I would have rather had a shorter version of this chapter along with another product story.

However, I highly encourage the young business professional or the new executive read through this great text.

John Brooks published Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street in 1969 (the year I was born). The book surely sold well at its inception, but a recent plug by Bill Gates (who quotes Warren Buffet as saying its the best book on business he's ever read) has taken the reissued paperback to the top of the sales lists in business commerce. A sales rep from the publisher asked if I wanted a review copy. I'm glad I said yes, but I'm sure she's annoyed that it took me two months to get to this review!

Anyway, the book has 12 chapters, and I'll comment a little on why their stories are still relevant today:

The Fluctuation describes a "shock" drop and struggle in the stock market in 1962. The story seems novel in describing how a slow ticker tape created great anxiety, but it's still relevant in describing how we always seem to lack enough information to make a "good" decision. Fortunes are gained and lost on impatience.
The Fate of the Edsel describes how failure results when salesmen believe themselves instead of their customers (as well the teflon that protects salesmen from their failures).
The Federal Income Tax is surprisingly contemporary: "Like any tax law, ours had a kind of immunity to reform; the very riches that people accumulate though the use of tax-avoidance devices can be -- and constantly are -- applied to fighting the elimination of those subsidies." I noted, in this chapter, Americans' propensity to tolerate the obscenely rich due to their (nearly-hopeless) hope of reaching that level of wealth. Europeans accustomed to inherited, aristocratic privilege do not expect to achieve wealth through "application and hard work" so they vote to redistribute it. Another thought from this interesting chapter is that Americans may "talk shop" all the time because such chatter is an excuse to deduct meal expenses.
A Reasonable Amount of Time recounts a ridiculous application of insider trading rules to executives who had announced a big deal at a press conference. Why were they prosecuted? "The reporters were not smart enough to see the profit opportunity."
Xerox Xerox Xerox Xerox tells of the skyrocketing rise of an early tech company, ridiculous wealth, copyright problems and a search for corporate social responsibility. A carbon copy of today's issues, to be sure.
Making the Customer Whole recounts a Lehman Brothersesque tale of a broker that runs out of liquidity and then rescued by the government other brokers, who take a pound of flesh but prevent mayhem amidst JFK's assassination. It's a pity that too-big-to-fail bailouts of greedy incompetence have replaced such systems.
The Impacted Philosophers recounts the story of industrial price fixing, in which companies like GE and Westinghouse conspired to increase the price of equipment sold to public utilities. The heads of the firms avoided jail by pleading they knew nothing about underling's behavior, especially as they appeared to speak in winks, nods and innuendo that never appeared in any written records. (Hear that Steven Cohen?)
The Last Great Corner tells how Clarence Sanders, founder of Piggly-Wiggly, goes to battle against Wall Street (buying his own shares to squeeze short sellers) but loses when they change the rules. He comes back, several times (like a Donald Trump, except with good ideas) before bowing out -- an American dreamer who hit big and struck out.
A Second Sort of Life describes how a big government bureaucrat (from the TVA) walks through "the revolving door" (except not, since only once) to become a big successful CEO. Common traits? The ability to think, and execute, big in different environments.
Stockholder Season recounts another familiar story: corporate officers evading awkward questions from their shareholders by holding meetings in obscure locations, tabling motions, denying cronyism, etc. Some things never change.
One Free Bite discusses the problem of confidentiality and non-compete agreements, in this case, regarding space suit technology. On one side is BF Goodrich; on the other is a scientist who's left for the competition. Will that scientist be able to work in his specialty without going to jail? Several lawsuits later, and the matter is still unclear (my tolerance for copyright and patent protection is shrinking daily).
In Defense of Sterling is a nail-biter on the Bank of England's attempts to "protect" Sterling's value against other currencies. It's a good story for anyone interested in the current "depreciation wars" or problems in the Euro area.

Bottom Line: I give this book FIVE STARS to its excellent writing, historic detail and striking relevance for people wanting to understand more about the modern variants of these issues. It seems that struggles over money will always be among us.

The only reason I bought this book was because I read that it was recommended by Bill Gates as one of the best business books. It does have some interesting stories and the writing is pretty good but it's primary a detailed reporting of a specific event without much useful insight to them. Most of the stories are a bit too long in my opinion and feels like a 3 hour movie that is just dragging it out.

If you are like me and have an amateur's interest in the study of capitalism, it's just as important to learn history as it is to learn about the current functioning of the US and world economies. This book provides a series of case studies of particular narrow events in the 1950s and 1960s. By reading through them you learn something of the evolution of everything from current trade conditions, the International currency markets, corporate governance, the operation of capital markets, and so on. I need this historical perspective to discern what is essential, or at least has ever been thus, from what is new and characteristic of current conditions.

More narrowly, if you are concerned about your own financial future, you probably want to build wealth. Therefore, it's important to understand where little itty bitty old you stand in relationship to the titanic players and forces at work. Are capital markets rigged in favor of professional players? Yep, and here's some history on that. Are you right to worry about the impact of trade deficits, over-consumption, QE and everything else on the green-back? History says yes, you should be concerned and here's a case study- read it and learn what has happened in the past and maybe you'll be better able to prepare for the future.
Aside from analytical insight, the book is writen with verve and the occasional laugh out loud sense of humor. You wil profit from reading this.

'Business Adventures' summarizes several problem situations in the early 1960s, starting with 'The Flucuation' in which the stock-market undergoes major swings during a three-trading day period in May 1962. As in the rest of the book's examples (eg. Edsel, G.E., Xerox) the lessons aren't learned very well, and repeated today. On the other hand, I'd much prefer to read about more current happenings.

'The Fate of the Edsel' was the most interesting chapter. Introduced Sept of 1957, Ford expected to sell at least 200,000 the first year. Two years and two and one-half months later it had only sold 110,000, and production was discontinued. The author contends that contributing factors included marketing promotions that were not linked to consumer preferences, a name based on executives' whims, and a design similarly derived. The original rationale, however, was valid - filling a gap in Ford's lineup for Ford buyers wanting to move up with their next car purchase. The downside risk of adding a new car was well-known - of the 2,900 American makes introduced since the beginning of the Automobile Age, only about 20 were left at the time.

Instead of obtaining dealers the traditional way (using leaders already handling its other makes, and having them add the new car as a sideline), Ford raided dealers who had contracts with other manufacturers - including its own. The goal was 1,200 - and it was very nearly achieved. Fifteen-thousand factory jobs were created in four converted assembly lines. Then came the recession of 1958, and a major 30-day discounting campaign by Mercury that undercut Edsel.

'Consumer Reports' was not impressed - criticizing its handling and a detached from the road felling, 'more useless overpowered . . . gadget bedecked than any car in its price class,' and giving it a bottom rating. Edsels were delivered with oil leaks, sticking hoods and trunks, etc. An Edsel executive later estimated that only half performed properly. Many initial purchases were of models/colors not in stock.

Experts estimate Ford lost $350 million, about $3,200/car.

This book is a collection of short stories from the field of business, markets, and economics, circa 1960. While some of the corporations and references to rules/laws/regulations mentioned in the book no longer apply, the lessons from these stories are evergreen as ever!

I particularly liked the story about Ford Edsel. The corporations of today are, IMO, none the wiser.

John Brooks was a writer for the New Yorker magazine in its peak era. His main subject was the financial markets.

In this set of journalistic essays, Brooks examined phenomena that people discussed at the time. Brooks was not an ideologue or proponent of any particular thing; he was a real journalist.

I know this book landed on Bill Gates' published summer reading list. One never knows whether a published reading list is an actual reading list, but I can see why Gates would like this book. It's intellectual. Brooks gets into his matters deeply and while not even attempting to arrive at definitive answers, he leaves his readers satisfied.

I liked all the selections in this book equally yet for different reasons. In one, we see the psychology of market fluctuations. In another we see a classic business mistake, a marketing mistake regarding the Edsel. In another, we see corporate culture at work in annual meetings.

I was provided a complimentary copy.

Do you like economic history? I do. I often think that we spend too much time on the numbers in business, and not enough time on the qualitative reasoning that goes into making good business decisions.

This particular book gained some notoriety of late when both Bill Gates and Warren Buffett said they were fans of the book. Could a book get a more powerful set of recommenders? Unlikely, and as a result, the book was pulled back into print. [Those reading this review at the store, there are links at Aleph Blog to flesh this point, and other points out.]

The stories are taken from articles written in The New Yorker from the 1960s by John Brooks, who wrote what was one of the best summaries of the markets in the '60s, "The Go-Go Years."

If you don't like economic history, this will not be the book for you, because the old stories will not resonate, and say to you, "We never learn."

Consider the wealth of situations covered in the book:

1) There was a surprising fall in the market in 1962. We have experienced much the same with "flash crashes" recently. They had a hard time figuring it out as well.

2) There was much work put into testing the Edsel, but it was a flop. Does that never happen today? What of New Coke? Various Microsoft products?

3) Even in the '50s and '60s there were people looking to convert wage income into less-taxed capital gains income. The tax code was filled with loopholes. After a brief tax code cleanup in the mid-'80s, we are back to the same problem today. Is it any surprise corporations do not manage their businesses for pre-tax economic outcomes?

4) Insider trading scandals are nothing new; we just dress them up in new clothes each decade. Watch the fun as an oil company delays the release of what a gusher they have drilled, while employees/friends take positions. And, to no surprise, there are different legal results as different parties knew differing amounts on how certain the information was.

5) New technology? Something so big that the name of the company becomes the generic name for the product? Where they set up a center for research in areas not directly related to their main business? Google! Okay, Xerox... (At least Google is trying to profit from their innovations.) How does a company manage to avoid becoming trapped in one area of technology? Well, it didn't work for Xerox, but maybe modern companies can avoid the same problem.

6) Can financial companies rescue a fellow company to protect the good reputation of the industry? In this case they did, but did Wall Street retain the knowledge for the future? LTCM was saved, though Bear Stearns didn't do its part. Wonder if that eventually cost them? How many companies were rescued by fellow companies during the recent financial crisis? A bunch, and some that should not have been rescued. And some like Lehman Brothers, that were too big to be privately rescued...

7) Price fixing? Collusion? Management teams that neglect oversight of employees until they are caught doing something wrong, and then cut the employees free [fire them] while management survives with nary a bruise? This never happens today, right? If nothing else, companies should have seen that bigness causes its own set of problems -- how do you create an ethical culture across a large organization?

8 ) Or consider the story of Piggly-Wiggly, where the founder squeezed the shorts trying to manipulate his company's stock, only to take on so much debt in the rescue that eventually he had to declare bankruptcy. Though the occasions are different, think of many companies that took on too much debt to go private over the last 30 years.

9) What does a man do after a long time in public service? Many go into business, and for a timely example, think of Eric Cantor joining Moelis. Does it have to corrupt the former politician or bureaucrat? No, but it will change you at minimum.

10) There were many angling for corporate governance reform in the '60s. This is still a live issue today with "say on pay," voting rules on directors, shareholder proposals, splitting the role of CEO and Chairman, etc. Corporate power is undiminished. Do shareholders own the company, or does management? Who do the directors care about more?

11) A clever knowledge worker knows a great deal about how a given product is made. Can he take work at a competing firm? There are many today who fight back against employment agreements, alleging "restraint of trade." This is not a new problem.

12) How do central banks preserve the value of the currency? Do they work together or separately? They work together if the cost isn't high, and separately when the cost is high? It seems not that much changes over time, aside from the fact that our currency doesn't have gold backing, or any other kind of anchor for value. Okay, I guess some things *do* change.

All that said, in short, every chapter of the twelve in the book has relevance to the modern era. The real question to the reader is whether you want to think about how these stories relate to the present day. I think the effort is worthwhile, and the engaged reader will benefit from the effort.

Quibbles

None.

Summary

This book is good for those who like economic history, and want to learn from the lessons of the past. If you require immediate and obvious relevance, look elsewhere.

I must thank Warren buffet & Bill Gates for bringing this title back into print again.

A collection of twelve classic business stories from the failure of Ford's Edsel to the story of Xerox's rise, this is a timeless collection of lessons for the eager mind. The writer goes through every story (study, if you will) in a thorough, analytical way. I got to see the inner workings of the various corporations, individuals & products talked about and glean many vignettes of lessons from both failure and success, ineptitude & excellence.

I will definitely be coming back to this book again along my entrepreneurial journey to be reminded of lessons & also be inspired. Highly recommended to an entrepreneur of any stripe. Thank you Gates & Buffet for this one.

Superb writer-- thorough, erudite, knows how to turn a tale. Don't know how we are supposed to get "lessons" from these essays, each story being so completely its own.

The most disturbing to me was the last-- the account of the deliberate world stock market assault (perhaps led by France) on the pound that doomed millions of British workers and citizens. That's what I mean: for each inspirational story, one finds two that raise the question of whether capitalism is even decent, much less productive.

The variety of stories and the kind of detail included in this book is really awesome. Not only that, these are very gripping and interesting stories, even considering their pure entertainment value. These, I think are principally well relevant today (details or contexts might differ), even with so much of change in the world since the time the book was written.

I am sure I have been able to comprehend only half of this book, since there are many finer points which I could not understand (or missed spotting) at first shot, but planning to read it sometime again anyway.

Of course, one opinion that kept getting stronger and stronger as I progressed through this book was: "Do most of the elite people in the business world mainly spend their precious brains and time just trying to game systems (and each other)? Criminal wastage of top talent I should say :)

I read this because I heard that it's Bill Gates's favorite business book and also because two other books written by John Brooks are among my all-time favorites: Once in Golconda and The Go-Go Years. This one wasn't as good. It's actually a collection of essays, all beautifully-written, about business by Brooks. All are pretty dated and some go on way, way too long. The story of the Edsel probably was one of the most interesting ones and might have been better if it were just a few pages shorter. Xerox was a bit dull. I generally like stories of this nature and I really love the prose, but most just aren't all that interesting in the level of detail here.

Modern business may believe that we are advanced well beyond the business experiences of the past. However, studying the circumstances of events in the 1950s and 1960s can provide powerful lessons for execution in modern society.

Business Adventures provides a view into events such as the development of the Ford Edsel and various market crises, in an artfully written manner. I can see why Bill Gates considers this book one of the best business texts he has ever read.

The Ford Edsel and Xerox stories are the best in the book. They examine many facets of their respective products, people and markets. The story surrounding the crisis of the British Pound is probably the weakest of the group. I would have rather had a shorter version of this chapter along with another product story.

However, I highly encourage the young business professional or the new executive read through this great text.

John Brooks published Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street in 1969 (the year I was born). The book surely sold well at its inception, but a recent plug by Bill Gates (who quotes Warren Buffet as saying its the best book on business he's ever read) has taken the reissued paperback to the top of the sales lists in business commerce. A sales rep from the publisher asked if I wanted a review copy. I'm glad I said yes, but I'm sure she's annoyed that it took me two months to get to this review!

Anyway, the book has 12 chapters, and I'll comment a little on why their stories are still relevant today:

The Fluctuation describes a "shock" drop and struggle in the stock market in 1962. The story seems novel in describing how a slow ticker tape created great anxiety, but it's still relevant in describing how we always seem to lack enough information to make a "good" decision. Fortunes are gained and lost on impatience.
The Fate of the Edsel describes how failure results when salesmen believe themselves instead of their customers (as well the teflon that protects salesmen from their failures).
The Federal Income Tax is surprisingly contemporary: "Like any tax law, ours had a kind of immunity to reform; the very riches that people accumulate though the use of tax-avoidance devices can be -- and constantly are -- applied to fighting the elimination of those subsidies." I noted, in this chapter, Americans' propensity to tolerate the obscenely rich due to their (nearly-hopeless) hope of reaching that level of wealth. Europeans accustomed to inherited, aristocratic privilege do not expect to achieve wealth through "application and hard work" so they vote to redistribute it. Another thought from this interesting chapter is that Americans may "talk shop" all the time because such chatter is an excuse to deduct meal expenses.
A Reasonable Amount of Time recounts a ridiculous application of insider trading rules to executives who had announced a big deal at a press conference. Why were they prosecuted? "The reporters were not smart enough to see the profit opportunity."
Xerox Xerox Xerox Xerox tells of the skyrocketing rise of an early tech company, ridiculous wealth, copyright problems and a search for corporate social responsibility. A carbon copy of today's issues, to be sure.
Making the Customer Whole recounts a Lehman Brothersesque tale of a broker that runs out of liquidity and then rescued by the government other brokers, who take a pound of flesh but prevent mayhem amidst JFK's assassination. It's a pity that too-big-to-fail bailouts of greedy incompetence have replaced such systems.
The Impacted Philosophers recounts the story of industrial price fixing, in which companies like GE and Westinghouse conspired to increase the price of equipment sold to public utilities. The heads of the firms avoided jail by pleading they knew nothing about underling's behavior, especially as they appeared to speak in winks, nods and innuendo that never appeared in any written records. (Hear that Steven Cohen?)
The Last Great Corner tells how Clarence Sanders, founder of Piggly-Wiggly, goes to battle against Wall Street (buying his own shares to squeeze short sellers) but loses when they change the rules. He comes back, several times (like a Donald Trump, except with good ideas) before bowing out -- an American dreamer who hit big and struck out.
A Second Sort of Life describes how a big government bureaucrat (from the TVA) walks through "the revolving door" (except not, since only once) to become a big successful CEO. Common traits? The ability to think, and execute, big in different environments.
Stockholder Season recounts another familiar story: corporate officers evading awkward questions from their shareholders by holding meetings in obscure locations, tabling motions, denying cronyism, etc. Some things never change.
One Free Bite discusses the problem of confidentiality and non-compete agreements, in this case, regarding space suit technology. On one side is BF Goodrich; on the other is a scientist who's left for the competition. Will that scientist be able to work in his specialty without going to jail? Several lawsuits later, and the matter is still unclear (my tolerance for copyright and patent protection is shrinking daily).
In Defense of Sterling is a nail-biter on the Bank of England's attempts to "protect" Sterling's value against other currencies. It's a good story for anyone interested in the current "depreciation wars" or problems in the Euro area.

Bottom Line: I give this book FIVE STARS to its excellent writing, historic detail and striking relevance for people wanting to understand more about the modern variants of these issues. It seems that struggles over money will always be among us.

I've been covering business and Wall Street for more than 20 years as a journalist. Each chapter, which originally ran in the New Yorker as an article, is still relevant today, the highest praise I can give when most journalism stories have a life span of a few days if that. Nowadays, I see similar stories on Wall Street and in the business community.
I understand why both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates say it's their favorite book. Business executives can learn useful information here. It should be required reading at all journalism schools.
Above all, it's a fun and intriguing read.

I read this book because Warren Buffet recommended it. Was disappointed and a bit bored, but maybe that is the point: business is not a wonderful science, but a series of twists and turns that good people seem to get through. A bit long winded for me.

I read somewhere that Bill Gates loves this book and I decided to give it a go. Well, after reading this book I simply don't get the excitement. The book has stories that are tremendously dated and even the pearls of wisdom didn't seem to be too useful. I wanted to like it and find it valuable but I simply value my time too much.

Obviously bought this book because of the Buffet and Gates recommendations. I came into it expecting valuable business lessons but as I keep reading page after page I keep wondering when the "moral of the story" is going to come. Granted, I've only finished the first two chapters on the stock market crashes and the Ford Edsel. I found that these two first chapters get incredibly detailed and long on trivial things and then lacks the overall lesson at the end that I was looking for. Pretty dry and boring to be honest.

For example, I was hoping to get some insights on the markets with the first chapter on the stock market crashes. But it was literally just 30 pages of how many points the market was down at this point vs how many points the market was down at this other point and the exact lengths of time the ticker tapes were delayed at different points of time.

I'm the type of reader to underline any valuable thought or sentence in the books I read. I'm quite liberal with my underlining. Most of my business books have a few underlines per page whereas so far in this book I have yet to find anything worth underlying as a key takeaway in the first two chapters.

Giving the rest of the book the benefit of the doubt that it gets better...

This book is highly recommended by Bill Gates, so I had to give it a read. The first several stories were very interesting and well-written; however, by the middle of the book, it began to drag. I wasn't able to finish it.

It's a good book! Apparently comes highly recommended from Bill Gates. Which is the reason I read it. The book contains 12 different stories.The chapter on Taxes was the most interesting. The reason I am giving the book a 3 star is because I don't know what to take away from it.

I believe it is a great book. The lessons which can be extracted from the 12 stories John Brooks narrates are still relevant, especially the last chapter on Sterling. The language used is impeccable and not so hard to understand even if you are not prone to financial jargon. It is easy to read. I belivieve it is a must-read for anyone interested in financial history or financial topics and recommend it to anyone who want some insight into finance.

Buy James Smith's book Zero to £1 Million My Stock Market Lessons and Techniques instead. It's a much better book, and it's cheaper. It also tells about how to trade using thrilling investment stories, but contains some excellent trading techniques as well. I had expected this book to offer much more, but instead I thought the book to be over hyped and was disappointed.

I really want to like this book. However, after read a few case studies, I got bored pretty quickly. The way author writing style is rather plain and it's hard for me for grasp what he really want to tell.

John Brooks' tales are well written, entertaining and sometimes fascinating recounts of significant events and episodes among publicly traded US companies and Wall Street bankers. His style keeps the reader moving quickly through the 12 Classic Tales.

I have read this book after the endorsement by Bill Gates. The book contains some interesting stories covering a broad range of topics (Ford Edsel, Xerox, Intellectual Property ...), but it's more than fifty years old and honestly I didn't take any valuable business lessons from it.

While having merit and useful - though sometimes outdated - information on business, markets, and money the author seems unable to avoid pitching his political views. The book is a collection of articles originally published in The New Yorker magazine in the 1950s and 60s. If the author could have avoided his personal editorializing and stuck to the facts this would have been a much better book.

I believe it is a great book. The lessons which can be extracted from the 12 stories John Brooks narrates are still relevant, especially the last chapter on Sterling. The language used is impeccable and not so hard to understand even if you are not prone to financial jargon. It is easy to read. I belivieve it is a must-read for anyone interested in financial history or financial topics and recommend it to anyone who want some insight into finance.

Buy James Smith's book Zero to £1 Million My Stock Market Lessons and Techniques instead. It's a much better book, and it's cheaper. It also tells about how to trade using thrilling investment stories, but contains some excellent trading techniques as well. I had expected this book to offer much more, but instead I thought the book to be over hyped and was disappointed.

I really want to like this book. However, after read a few case studies, I got bored pretty quickly. The way author writing style is rather plain and it's hard for me for grasp what he really want to tell.

John Brooks' tales are well written, entertaining and sometimes fascinating recounts of significant events and episodes among publicly traded US companies and Wall Street bankers. His style keeps the reader moving quickly through the 12 Classic Tales.

I have read this book after the endorsement by Bill Gates. The book contains some interesting stories covering a broad range of topics (Ford Edsel, Xerox, Intellectual Property ...), but it's more than fifty years old and honestly I didn't take any valuable business lessons from it.

While having merit and useful - though sometimes outdated - information on business, markets, and money the author seems unable to avoid pitching his political views. The book is a collection of articles originally published in The New Yorker magazine in the 1950s and 60s. If the author could have avoided his personal editorializing and stuck to the facts this would have been a much better book.

What more can be said about a book extolled by both Warren Buffet and Bill gates as a great business book? Not too much. "Business Adventures" is a collection of true, real-life business stories, each with a "moral" or lesson we can learn. From the Ford Edsel to Xerox to scandals big and small, author John Brooks provides illuminating tales and the lessons we can learn from them. It's equal parts funny, insightful, educational, and profound. It truly is a must-have for every businessman's book shelf.

You can obtain an MBA either by attending school (and paying or taking loans for tens of thousands of dollars) or by reading two wonderful books: This one, "Business Adventures" by John Brooks and "Mustard Seeds, Shovels, & Mountains" by J.F. (Jim) Straw. Get these books, study them, and you'll be head and shoulders above the competition.

Business Adventures by John Brooks is an amusing as well as an informative read. Told in a series of tales it is entertaining,lucid and written in a form the uninformed can understand and hopefully to aid in his understanding of the complex world of Wall Street. Though originally copyrighted and published in 1959 and re-issued in 2014 compared with a current world of finance it would seem some things never change---just the names of the participants.
It is well-worth reading and remembering the message---and maybe profiting with your gained knowledge while acquiring a willingness to participate in the inexplicable world of finance. It is often enough too rewarding in spite of complicated events to pass up. Being a shareholder is always better than being a debtor or materialist. Wealth does not come about accidentally. This book tells the stories, good, bad, discouraging and successful and makes the reader cognizant of the good and the bad.
There are many heros some not, but it is almost impossible not to be enticed with the opportunities. The emotions, the disappointments,the price of participating is rewarding enough to lure you into that world. Too many people pass up opportunity. Too many people believe the Ponzis. Books such as this are valuable. They are well worth the time spent. The more knowledge the better the control of your emotions particularly fear.
Read this book. Enjoy this book. Benefit from this book.

I am enjoying this book. John Brooks is a superb storyteller. The book is well researched and well written. It is a very interesting book of business stories with many important business lessons. I recommend this book without qualifications. Eldon Edwards.