Boone [Hardcover]

T. Boone Pickens Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1987

Author's note: "This book recounts many conversations held over a long period of time and reconstructed from memory. In each instance the substance and tone of these conversations is accurate; the dialogue is as precise as memory permits."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pickens, in case anyone needs to bereminded, is the independent Texas oil producer and financier who not long ago engineered, in his words, "the largest corporate merger of all time"the Gulf Oil "deal" that increased Gulf stock prices to the immense profit of shareholders (including Pickens) while obliterating the giant corporation itself. This memoir gives an inside, often eyebrow-raising look at the workings of the oil industry as Pickens progresses from a hardscrabble, Texas Panhandle existence to small-scale oil well wild-catting with financing hard to come by; regional and national success with his Mesa Petroleum Co.; risky North Sea exploration during the OPEC oil "shortage"; limited acceptance by industrial-establishment executives at hunting-lodge conclaves; the Gulf set-to and other, less spectacular deals. "The entrepreneurial spirit," says Boone, "is rooted in the desire to make money."
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395414334
• ISBN-13: 978-0395414330
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A different view of corporate America, July 2, 2000

By 

J. Jensen (Fort Collins, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boone (Audio Cassette)

A quick, enjoyable read, Boone provides the reader with insight regarding the motivations of corporate executives -- self preservation. T. Boone consistently highlights one theme -- creating shareholder value -- as the justification for his actions throughout the 1980s. The book provided an altogether different slant than that portrayed by the media and by corporate America. The reader should be prepared however, as T. Boone is self praising and absorbed throughout the majority of this book. In fact, one should consider this book to be the "other-side" of the corporate raider story.

Overall, Boone is a read which provides a glimse into the personality which exemplifies the corporate raider. Upon finishing the book I was taken two things: 1. The names of some partners: Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, and so forth. 2. The continued "bloatedness" of big business (regardless of the industry) in America -- apparently things have not changed much in the last 15 years since Boone was originally written.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Corporate Raider Story!, October 11, 2002

By 

Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boone (Hardcover)

Despite Pickens constantly patting himself on the back this
turned out to be a very good book. You are able to get a good
history of Picken's very own company,Mesa Petroleum.You also get
an insight into Picken's marriages and life. Most of the book
was taken up with the various corporate raids that Picken's had
a hand in initiating on some of the bigger companies in America.
It is a very interesting look at the actions of a corporate raider.Pickens also gives you his insight on the management of some of the big companies that he was raiding. All in all a very
interesting book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable look at the corporate raiders of the past., October 1, 1999

By 

RICK IRVING ([e-mail]) (Fort Worth, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boone (Paperback)

A great story about T. Boone, his dreams and his company. T.Boone, like David is not afraid to take the Goliaths head on. This book has some great quotes, like "Is you is or is you ain't, my baby". I also learned why you should never borrow neckties or shotguns. Really an enjoyable read about a great corporate raider.