Barbarians at the Gate

By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar

Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar

“One of the finest, most compelling accounts of what happened to corporate America and Wall Street in the 1980’s.” —New York Times Book Review

A #1 New York Times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date twenty years after the famed deal. The Los Angeles Times calls Barbarians at the Gate, “Superlative.” The Chicago Tribune raves, “It’s hard to imagine a better story...and it’s hard to imagine a better account.” And in an era of spectacular business crashes and federal bailouts, it still stands as a valuable cautionary tale that must be heeded.

©2003 Bryan Burrough and John Helyar; (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

poor narration

it was an informative book but the narration seemed amateurish. not my best audio book purchase to date.

LBO recap of the 90’s

A great recap of one of the storied falls of a business, the personality that drove it and a perfect micro assessment of the entire LBO frenzy of the 80’s and early 90’s

abridgements leave big gaps

this book was abridged too tightly. it's a complex story that needed more of the details from the printed book

Non-stop deal making!

This shortened my 3.5 hour commute like no other audio book to date. Having lived through the dot com boom and experiencing the greed first hand, I could relate to the ever climbing offer price motivation. The justifications were the fascinating points. While it's easy to get lost in the ever changing deals or who's partnering with whom, this is an entertaining listen. The main business lesson here is that "greed is NOT good". Eventually, all you are left with is your greed.

poor narration!

very poor narration!! no idea what the guy was really saying. I had read the book before so felt lucky!