Customer Reviews

Fallen Giant: The Amazing Story of Hank Greenberg and the History of AIG

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading about some CEO in the insurance industry, even a colorful one like Hank Greenberg, would not normally be my first choice for spending a leisurely afternoon by the fire. But I am certainly glad I chose to pick up this book.

Ron Shelp's tale of Hank Greenberg and AIG is utterly fascinating. The rise and fall of Greenberg, an extraordinary man who despite his present troubles is obviously greatly admired by the author (a former senior officer of AIG who reported directly to Greenberg for 12 years), has elements of Greek tragedy. At age 80, Greenberg had everything one could possibly want in the world, and he had earned it all. One would think his highest priority should have been to protect his legacy and his well-deserved reputation as one of the world's great businessmen.

But he was tripped up by inattentiveness to his own vulnerability and that of his company in a post-Enron world. The free-wheeling ways of the international insurance industry, and the dubious financial engineering methods and questionable accounting practices that must have been growing like a cancer inside AIG over a number of years, never seemed to have sounded any warning bells in his mind. It was business as usual. But after Enron, the world had changed, and Greenberg had the bad luck to have as an adversary an energetic, determined and effective crusader against corporate malfeasance -- the Attorney General of New York (and now Governor-elect) Eliot Spitzer.

The rest is history. Ongoing litigation will determine the final chapter of this story. Greenberg's alleged misdeeds, even if they are proved in court, are trivial in comparison to the crimes committed at Enron and by many of the more egregious corporate bad guys of our era. Punishment, if the prosecutors prevail, will likely be a lot less severe than in some other high profile cases. But those alleged misdeeds have already been enough to destroy a great man's reputation, and that must be a stunning personal tragedy for the leading character of this excellent book.

Had it not been for the current "bailout" which in January 2009 is still playing out I would never have thought of buying this book. It was published in 2006, in -as other reviewers here have pointed out - was a real hurryup year long task just to get it on the shelves. The author is an insider for whom Starr and Greenberg are real heroes and his personal insight is invaluable. If only he could now team up for another edition with a first class institutional historian and a great Wiley editor there could be a terrific bestseller coming up.

What I found most interesting was the way Starr could, as a young America , who did not speak Chinese, go to China, not only found an insurance business, but found newspapers, then move literally all over he world - Latin America, Europe, the Phillipines - and expand the country. With insurance basically a "piece of paper" the company worked in many languages.

Starr also helped out the CIA and interfaced with the arts and philanthropy as did Greenberg.

The insurance business seemed to some how go on and recover through WWII and revolutions all over the world.

In spite of the less than perfect writing this is a facinating story and I end up admiring the author who himself so admired the company and the business.

What is the first word you think of when you hear the word "insurance"? "Boring", right? Well, who knew the history of an insurance company could be filled with tales of passion and intrigue? Oh yes, and multimillion-dollar deals. AIG, the huge global insurance company, has always been a bit of a mystery to the outsider. A reverse multi-national, born in China, AIG has a culture and mores somewhat different from those of its blue-blooded brethern from New York and London. Ron Shelp does a fine job of condensing the massive 80+ year history, power struggles, and new business exploits into a story filled with intrigue and adventure. It is an essential "AIG 101" for anyone who wants to understand how an organization that managed its affairs with such finesse, for so long, could have stumbled at the top of its game.

This is a great story, well told by Shelp.

The complexities of business and the dynamic personalities who drive great enterprises deserve careful treatment. We ought to gain insights that go well beyond glib generalizations, street gossip, or news that readers could pick up from the many journals delving with shallowness beyond the headlines.

AIG, the Star empire, and Greenberg's impressive and colorful journey is one of those stories now with a telling it merits.

Shelp reveals an insider's perspective, gathers plenty of rich accounts from others, and gifts us with his research and reach into the depth of AIG's remarkable history and the stunning revelations about Greenberg, its most recent giant. Shelp shows an appreciation for the financial services industry that adds value to our understanding.

Well worth getting ahold of this fascinating book.

If you are not very familiar with AIG you will find the book to be entertaining as you read the anecdotal stories of Shelp.

If you are familiar with the organization you will quickly recognize that Shelp's book is poorly written and researched as it is filled with inaccuracies about the company and its executives. He was a PR guy who was focused on the international operations, did not have a good grasp on the workings of the insurance operations (he provides inaccurate descriptions of products, revenues, etc), grossly downplays the size and scope of the US operations and generally embellishes his role in the company.

Until another book comes out from a true insider the public will have to live with this farce to satisfy their desire for information on the inner workings of the house of cards that Greenberg built on top of very successful insurance operations around the world...

Five great stories: two are the business leadership biographies of C.V. Starr and Hank Greenburg. These two are without question two of the greatest corporate chiefs of all time.

Then, there is the story of how AIG evolved. It started in China and became an "American" company only after establishing itself internationally.

Then you have the fall of Hank Greenburg as a result of Elliot Spitzer's war on Wall Street and, of course, the meltdown of AIG as a significant part of the collapse of the world's financial system in 2008/2009.

Altogether, that's five stories any one of which would, properly told, make a great book.

Unfortunately, Ron Shelp is far from the writer who can do justice to any, much less all of these stories. Yes, he worked at AIG and worked directly with Hank Greenberg. But that's about it: Fallen Giant is like a series of lunches with Ron were he recounts what he knows in a very conversational style from the perspective of someone not all that involved in any of these stories.

Martinis are served at these lunches. So Ron often repeats himself.

I give the book two stars primarily on the strength of its presentation of AIG's early days and superficial bio of C.V. Starr. I appreciate being introduced to these two stories.

I sincerely hope that all of these deserving stories are treated properly someday.

Clearly the raw material for this book was amazing: the flamboyant characters, the government corruption (I don't know what else to call it..."influence"?), the unique origins of the company. Unfortunately, it's like the auther just threw down anecdotes as they came to his mind. The book simply did not flow. Too many characters are introduced and then not mentioned again for chapters. Hank Greenberg is scarcely mentioned in the first half of the book. This could have been a rich and vivid account, but it reads more like a compilation of second-hand war stories.

I work at AIG and think the history presented in this book is interesting, however it's not a very well written book. I found grammatical errors and I didn't find it to flow well. It seemed to me to be hastily written and/or not edited well.

A history of AIG that will be fascinating for only the most die-hard insurance historians. This book does offer interesting insights on what it was like to work for one of America's toughest bosses. Ironically, the little man (Hank Greenberg) who ruled with intimidation and authority was felled by an Attorney General (Eliot Spitzer) who pulled those same qualities on Greenberg.

The book is filled with interesting nuggets, such as investors who once quipped that they would gladly invest in AIG but - due to the company's tight-fisted claim-paying reputation - would never actually buy an insurance policy from AIG. Also, many insiders at AIG used to quip that the company's initials stood for "All Is Greenberg." Cult of personality hardle begins to describe the overshadowing influence of Greenberg at AIG.

Some of the early history of foreign expansion and the life of C.V. Starr is presented in eye-glazing detail. "Fallen Giant" is a case study in how a successful company can find itself deep in crisis, when the imperative for survival amidst choppy legal waters prompts the jettisoning of an iconic CEO.

This book appears to have been slapped together in a hurry. After all, it took Edward Gibbon 20 years to complete his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Mr. Shelp, dealing with perhaps a more personal empire, apparently had a tighter schedule and managed to research, interview, write, have edited (more on this below) and published this book in just over 12 months. And it shows.

The writing is of elementary-school level. Split infinitives abound, along with syntax errors, often repetitive phrases, confusing changes of the subject and the tense within a paragraph, and editing goofs (a glaring one appears in the author's acknowledgments where his co-author's name is misspelled).

However, the lack of wordsmithing and general writing ability notwithstanding, the subject of this book is so fascinating, so powerful, so large a personality that one can more than tolerate the book's many shortcomings. For anyone who has worked for Mr. Greenberg at AIG, it is a sheer pleasure to read - and memories of this inspirational CEO and the people and events surrounding him are made vivid once again.

Mr. Shelp, obviously - by his many references to "I" - writes from personal experiences. His egocentric rhapsodizing about his own accomplishments aside, he does attempt, and to a certain extent, succeeds in describing Hank Greenberg's unique characteristics. The international wheeling-dealing episodes are wonderful - as are Mr. Shelp's attempts to wax lyrical about the beautiful sites of Morefar and other AIG getaways. Mr. Shelp, writing what I guess is the first and only history of this company and its two matchless leaders - Starr and Greenberg - does a service to those who've followed the fortunes of AIU/AIG.

But, the definitive work still is to be created. So much could be said, and with a superior compositional flair. Mr. Shelp's edition leaves one wanting more of the daily life within AIG. More personal recollections and anecdotes from Mr. Greenberg would be a big plus. Because anyone who passed within Hank's orbit forever will be branded by his entrepreneurial force, his brilliance and his ability to involve himself in every aspect of the gigantic undertaking he created with AIG. These elements are what support Mr. Shelp's use of the title word "giant," and we need a fuller exposition of this man's complexities and talents.

In Mr. Greenberg's wake this worldwide company becomes just another large corporation. AIG has lost its star power - it is no longer striding across the map of the world with swagger and bravado - and laser-like management detail. Deluded by a frenzy of over-the-top sanctimonious zeal, and assisted by the total capitulation of the AIG Board of Directors, New York Attorney General Spitzer has destroyed one of the truly consummate success stories of US business in the twentieth century.

"A Fallen Giant," while an entertaining book, falls short of hitting the bullseye. Mr. Greenberg himself would never settle for less.