Customer Reviews

In Control

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For about two weeks, this was my commuting book, as I rode mass transit to and from the burbs. It's actually a terrific book for commuters, since it is very concrete and realistic. This means you can pick the book up and read a paragraph and remember exactly where you stand in the narrative. Then, you can settle in with easy focus, even with that hateful blowhard behind you bellowing into his cell.

This story operates on two levels. First, its narrator, a bank CEO (who is a first rate jerk), describes a high stakes real estate deal. Then, his story segues into recollections of his family life. After just a few chapters, Cooper is flipping back and forth between story lines; there's a chapter about a very cool real estate deal; then, there's a chapter about his prominent but dysfunctional family. It's interesting, because the CEO narrator sees, but does not really regret, the connections. Have to break some eggs to make an omelet, Robert Moses used to say.

I think the best scenes in the book are near the end, when the CEO's princess wife is hospitalized. Then, he breaks down and says "Mom, oh Mom, oh Mom" beside her hospital bed. Afterwards, the CEO's smug view on his career and family looks different. Definitely a good read.

This book is an excellent yarn about the manipulative side of corporate power. The characters are cleanly drawn, and the plot moves forward at a brisk pace.

...and was richly rewarded. Thinking about how many books I have left to read, or re-read, and weighing that against the allotted time, how many new books by "unknown" authors should one try? Particularly when I have been disappointed by a few recently. And the premise of this novel stirred memories of corporate days, for which I was admittedly ambivalent about rehashing. But I am thoroughly glad I did since Ethan Cooper (a nom de plume) has rendered a wry and sardonic account of corporate life, and the CEOs who have a deep visceral need to always be in control. The title is most appropriate.

The story is set in America's heartland, as typified by Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harry Kramer is the CEO of a "go-go" bank, Limestone; it is heavily invested in transforming the downtown skyline, by funding the building of 60-story glitzy office buildings. The story is set at the beginning of the `90's, when there was a real-estate "bust," (admittedly a small one by today's standards), and many of those buildings would become "see-through," that is, lacking tenants. The novel is written with Kramer as the narrator, and his wife is used quite effectively as a "Greek chorus," with Kramer relating her usually much more critical and accurate assessment of the situation. The novel alternates between depictions of corporate machinations, and Kramer's highly dysfunctional personal life, centering on his family relationships. Cooper utilizes some flashback chapters to describe Kramer as he works his way up the corporate ladder, with dumb-blind luck being a major determinate to his "success."

Cooper has a knack of relating anecdotes of corporate life that are all too revealing of power relationships. In one he describes the trivia involved in a meeting of the top brass to decide if the bank should close early due to a snowstorm, which unfortunately reminded me of an entire day I lost on a "strategic retreat" of the School Board I served on: in my case, the net result of the intensive review of the school's operation was to add one word to the mission statement: "student"! In another Kramer is busily walking through the bank, dedicating answers to memos, to staff who scurry to keep up. In another scene Kramer writes his response to an important paper submitted by a subordinate prior to reading it. Everything, and I do mean everything, is carefully calibrated for show. In the opening chapter, at the annual Memorial Day party, Kramer makes a very public "anointment" of one of the "hustling" junior bankers, Gordon Elliam, to work out the bank's relationship with Aldco, the builder of what will be an empty 60 story building. Does this put Elliam on the fast-track to the top, or is he a sacrificial lamb?

Kramer, in his family relationships, is absolutely wooden; devoid of any real feeling other than a paramount concern for appearances. The reader naturally empathizes with his daughter and son, who very much have to find their own way, and establish adult independence of their father. There are telling vignettes of his daughter's, Liz, wedding and one on his son, Hay, giving a speech at the VFW. Some of the scenes with his wife screech, like chalk on the board, particularly the "spectacle" of her illness. It is one of the very few scenes in which Kramer, like most all of us, are "out of control" since he is in the "alien territory" of a hospital, where other power rules apply.

I chuckled numerous times as Cooper's acerbic pen describes the rituals and manners on the upper class in various settings: the country club, the Skybox of the annual Viking-Bears game, money missing from an Ivy League fraternity house, and the Pierre hotel in NYC. The author has a keen eye for the class distinctions favored by those who need to be in control.

Cooper has clearly been there, deep in the corporate world, and has marvelously not only survived but has managed to present a scathing portrait of those who we let rule our lives. Consider a couple more observations the author places in Kramer's mouth: "Naturally, a significant element in my job was to align this view with his expectations, presenting a spectacle of attractive well-tailored bankers working together effectively. This, unfortunately, was no mean feat, as only the most gifted corporate players could work shoulder to shoulder in my fickle Machiavellian pressure-cooker without soon despising each other." Or: "In public forums, I feign chagrin at the behavior of such characters, particularly after the media highlights their influence at distressed companies. But actually, there's much to admire in their lives. It's their grabbiness that makes the world go."

Cooper writes well, and with much insight. Another excellent recommendation for this book is the two 1-star reviews. Quite clearly, they have been posted by someone whom Cooper once worked with, and who saw their unflattering portrait in the book. Fortunately I am not in the book, although I've "been there." After the recent debacle on Wall Street which required a massive government bailout, this book is even more relevant than when it was first written. A solid 5-stars plus.

In this very entertaining book of corporate warfare, the CEO of a giant bank, a major real estate developer, and a scary vulture investor fight for the ownership of a 60-story office tower. While "In Control" offers a fascinating look at the personal life of its suburban and patrician banker/narrator, it is also must read for those interested in the ups and downs of big business deals, as well as their competitive and sometimes duplicitous nature. The book has a perfect- of course! -surprise ending.

Ethan Cooper's novel is an intriguing tale told by the principal character, Harry Kramer, the CEO of a Minneapolis Bank. Kramer is a cunning, manipulative and vain man who enjoys the status he has acquired and looks down on lesser mortals - but yet he has a certain charisma which engages the reader's sympathy. He has climbed the greasy pole and fully intends to stay on top but a cloud appears on the horizon in the form of a downturn in the property market in which the bank is over-extended. We are given a fascinating insight into the thought processes of a master of internal company politics as, with his career and the future of the bank at stake, Kramer struggles to stay "in control".

Ethan Cooper's sly and witty prose moves the reader through this Machiavellian tale of corporate manipulation in high literary style. Go to the edge of the precipice with Harry Kramer, and get a look at the view from the top of the corporate food chain!

I enjoyed this page turner set in the real estate world of the Twin Cities. The author deftly reveals the inner thoughts of a banker whose ruthlessness is clad in the polite manners of American business culture.

Ethan Cooper has done a wonderful job of portraying Harry Kramer, the smooth but despicable corporate megalomaniac who enjoys nothing better than manipulating the lives of those around him. And yet, successful as he is in business, he is certainly not in control of his family relationships. Business readers will see in Harry elements of horrible bosses they've no doubt had at some point in their own careers. This one's a page-turner!

This is an excellent depiction of corporate life and death in a staid midwestern commercial bank. Mr. Cooper's descriptions are unblinking and in the tradition of Tom Wolfe. The story's telling by the bank's chairman offers the reader great insight into the character's motivations (which struck me as chillingly emotionless and uncaring on every level of his life). All in all a great read.

What's this book about? I found "In Control" through an Internet search, in which my search words were control freak and CEO. Actually, I think Harry Kramer, the narrator and main character, is more complex than these two qualities, since he has a deep attachment to his family, and spends about half the book telling moving stories about his wife, children, and parents. Bottom line, this book captures the tradeoffs that selfish businesspeople, who put their careers first, get with their "great" careers. This is a moving and absorbing personal tale in the context of a dramatic business story. Highly recommended.