Up Close and All In

Life Lessons from a Wall Street Warrior

By: John Mack

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

From John Mack, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, an intimate personal memoir and riveting business story, recounting how he helped grow the company from 300 to 50,000 employees over four decades, transformed a notoriously competitive culture into a successful and collaborative one, and lead the company through the 2008 financial crisis.

During his thirty-four-year tenure at Morgan Stanley, John Mack’s goal was to build the strongest and most productive team on Wall Street. His ability to motivate his employees to do their best work, especially in times of crisis, was fostered by his willingness to slash through bureaucracy and stand up to powerful interests. A forceful personality, one journalist said Mack was “described as ‘charismatic’ so regularly that it could be part of his name.”

In Up Close and All In, Mack traces his personal journey from a one-stoplight North Carolina mill town to a fortieth-floor corner office on Wall Street—and shares the life lessons he learned along the way. He developed a titanium-strength stomach for risk, stress, and competition while landing accounts early in his career, as investment banks fought like wolfpacks to take advantage of new deregulation, fielding business raids, booms, and busts. As he rose through the ranks, he never forgot where he came from, relying on his instincts, doing what was right, and listening to his people on the front lines. This culture of trust and collaboration helped Morgan Stanley anticipate future trends before other firms, adapt quickly, and achieve record profits.

This gripping memoir includes both humbling lows—like when Mack made the difficult decision to leave Morgan Stanley in 2001—and exhilarating highs—such as when he made an eleventh-hour agreement with the Japanese bank Mitsubishi to save the company during the 2008 financial crisis, having refused to give in when top regulators pressured him to sell the firm for $2 per share.

With humor and honesty, Mack shares advice on both business and life: how to create a culture of team players, how to keep perspective during crises, how to make difficult decisions when all eyes are on you, and more. From a singular man who’s as unafraid to cry publicly as he is to anger some of the most powerful people in the world, this is an indispensable guide to living and leading well.

Great book about a great CEO

John Mack writes a page turning book about how Wall Street really works. The book is full of stories and insights. Great read.

Great Book, Great Family

This book was a great read. I’m looking forward to future books written by and about the Mack family. Definitely have my eye on grand nephew Spencer Mack who is a rising star of the family.

Integrity on Wall Street

I don’t know John Mack but after reading his book would have loved to work for him. Honest, trustworthy, always knew where you stood and one of those leaders you would run through a brick wall for. Found it hard to stop listening once I started.

Great & inspiring story

A great leader & someone we’d all want leading our team. Great stories, brutal honesty, inspiring—a fun & educational read. Thank you for sharing your story.

Loved it!!

I’m a Financial Advisor recruit from Merrill Lynch to Morgan Stanley at the end of 2011. I’ve always heard good things about John Mack. Listening to the audiobook made me realize I only knew a fraction of “the man”. Thank you Mr. Mack for sharing your life story. I am inspired and very proud to work at Morgan Stanley. Thank you for building up such a great culture and passing it along to Mr. Gorman. I am committed to living out the values you have instilled.