Bloomberg by Bloomberg (Paperback)

~ (Author) "So there I was, thirty-nine years old and essentially hearing, "Here's $10 million; you're history..." (more)
Key Phrases: kisha clubs, New York, Wall Street, Dow Jones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Members of the world's financial communities are increasingly securing the information that drives them from Michael Bloomberg. His specialized media--including manipulable online data feeds, a global newswire, and extensive magazine and broadcast outlets--have turned the business of business news upside down. Along the way, he's made a substantial fortune and a significant name for himself. In Bloomberg by Bloomberg, he reveals (with help from colleague Matthew Winkler) how it all came to be. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Media moguls are hard to like. Rupert Murdoch may be a visionary, but would you want to work for him? Ted Turner may be a risk taker, but aren't you glad he didn't take over CBS? So it's an achievement that Michael Bloomberg has written an instructive and engaging autobiography. -- The New York Times Book Review, William C. Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471208884
• ISBN-13: 978-0471208884
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Big, February 21, 2002

By	John Van Wagner (Upper Montclair, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't be deceived by the modest size of this self-made billionaire's autobiography. As if cramped by the limitations of the book's length, Michael Bloomberg's ego assaults the reader like an over-zealous vacuum cleaner salesman, pushing his ideas on life, work and excellence with all the energy that scores of superlatives can summon. Funny, then, that in many places the story comes off as a crashing bore.

"Bloomberg by Bloomberg" is ultimately redeemed by the compelling nature of the tale. More than anything the spectacular success of Bloomberg, L.P. highlighted the extent of the information technology revolution and the resultant productivity gains that transformed global industry. There's no question that Michael Bloomberg saw these changes coming, and in harnessing them created a company whose reputation for excellence, innovation, and customer orientation set a standard unmatched by any information services company before or since.

The author's pride in Bloomberg, L.P. suffuses the book, and he focuses so much loving attention on its birth and propsperity that at times this seems more like the story of a company than a man. The two are clearly of one soul. But at times it's easy to forget that this is the story of an extraordinary character and not an addendum to "In Search of Excellence".

This life story is one in which the input of outsiders would add tremendous insight. When Bloomberg discusses his dealings with his Harvard Business classmates, his trading buddies at Salomon Bros., or his employees at Bloomberg, it's easy to wish for their side of the story. As it is, the only hint we get of humility or insecurity from Bloomberg himself is his incessant reminder of the fact that he had been fired from Salomon Bros. ("though with a $10million severance), and that he had to call on every psychological resource to overcome this calamitous setback and move on to greater glory. Is he difficult? Has he ever been ruthless or cruel? Does he have any imperfections at all? You won't learn these things from Bloomberg by Bloomberg. And what he possibly doesn't realize is that these are the things that add color to a story, if not authority in the boardroom. Next time he should shop for a biographer. Maybe after he's moved on from the mayoralty to the Big Job, Doris Kearns Goodwin can do him justice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First half great on business; second half pontification, August 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloomberg by Bloomberg (Hardcover)

Michael is clearly a hard driving CEO that has built an outstanding business. It is a great story and the building and history of Bloomberg is tremendous reading. The second half gets tiring fast; all entreprenuers have big egos, and his gets in the way as he dishes out advice on everything from education to family. Read the first half, skim the second.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I love Mayor Mike, September 7, 2007

By	John O'marra "JohnnyO" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a huge Mike Bloomberg fan, and really enjoyed the autobiographical parts of this novel and the story of his company's genesis. The generic computer stuff I could have done without, also the story didn't really flow and was a bit choppy. Overall a good, quick easy read. But I definitely could've used some more Bloomberg, Mike that is.

Unfortunately there is surprisingly very little written about this great man.