Customer Reviews

Deals of the Century: Wall Street, Mergers, and the Making of Modern America

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Charles Geist does a very readable history of deals in Wall Street. This is a fantastic book for those looking for a broad overview of Wall Street Mergers and acquisitions. I find it particularly helpful as so much of the companies that are remaining existed under a totally different name decades ago. Yet the legacy problems existing at or prior to such mergers still echo in the companies today.

For all the headlines they grab, mega-mergers typically aren't a good deal for anyone but corporate executives and investment bankers. And guess what? This was just as true when J.P. Morgan created U.S. Steel in 1901 as it was when Steve Case engineered the AOL-Time Warner merger in 1999. Financial expert Charles R. Geisst dissects a century's worth of deals in fascinating detail. His conclusion: investor and regulator beware. Geisst's accessible style is a plus, and he manages to be skeptical but not jaundiced in this thorough, clear-eyed analysis. We suggest this book to any executive contemplating an M&A deal, and to any investor trying to cut through the hype surrounding mergers.