A Ghost's Memoir: The Making of Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors [Paperback]

John McDonald (Author), Dan Seligman (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2003

Published in 1964, My Years with General Motors was an immediate best-seller and today is considered one of the few classic books on management. The book is the ghostwritten memoir of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. (1875-1966), whose business and management strategies enabled General Motors to overtake Ford as the dominant American automobile manufacturer in the 1920s and 1930s.What has been largely unknown until now is that My Years with General Motors was almost not published. Although it was written with the permission of General Motors -- and slated for publication in October 1959 -- at the last minute General Motors tried to suppress the book out of fears that some of the material in it could become evidence in an antitrust action against the company. This book, by John McDonald, Sloan's ghostwriter, tells the behind-the-scenes story of the book's writing, its attempted suppression, and the lawsuit that eventually led to its publication. McDonald's narrative is partly the David-and-Goliath story of a lone journalist taking on the world's then-largest corporation and partly a study of strategy in its own right. McDonald's struggle to publish the book led him to navigate a complicated course among the competing interests of General Motors, Fortune magazine (his employer), and Time, Inc. (Fortune's owner). In many ways this "book about the book" parallels the Sloan book as a tale of successful, brilliantly planned strategy.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Between 1954 and 1959, McDonald, an editor and writer at Fortune magazine, helped Alfred P. Sloan write his groundbreaking classic on business management, My Years with General Motors. After the book was completed and a deal was made for Doubleday to publish, the lawyers at General Motors took over and forced Sloan to suppress the book. On the surface, this is the riveting story of the process by which the book was written, the ruthlessness of the lawyers who blocked its publication, the lawsuit by McDonald, and the compromise that paved the way for its publication in 1964. At a deeper level, it gives the reader a basic understanding of what it takes to write a book, the need for independence in such projects, and the chilling effect that fear of governmental intervention can have on such endeavors (GM's lawyers thought that the book could become evidence in an antitrust action against the company). It is essential reading for anyone considering undertaking a similar project or anyone who wants to learn and appreciate the key strategies that led General Motors to dominate the U.S. automobile industry. Recommended for both public and academic libraries. Norm Hutcherson, California State Univ., Bakersfield
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"McDonald has given us what may be the best book about business, and about book publishing, to appear this year." John Maxwell Hamilton Marketplace (American Public Radio)

"More than a book about a book, it describes how a gutsy gadfly thwarted a giant corporation..." Rich Barlow Boston Globe

"McDonald's manuscript is written with a rare combination of verve and strong documentation. The story it tells is an important one--of a collaboration that produced what Bill Gates called 'probably the best book to read if you want to read only one book about business.'"--Steven J. Brams, Professor of Politics, New York University

"John McDonald created one of the masterpieces of American management literature, Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors. How the book was created is itself an intriguing story about the making of books today. What happened afterwards, and how credit and money were apportioned, is equally intriguing, and McDonald, a master journalist, tells the story well."--Nathan Glazer, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, Harvard University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (August 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262632853
• ISBN-13: 978-0262632850
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McDonald's Years of Struggle with General Motors, August 6, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Ghost's Memoir: The Making of Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors (Hardcover)

Until reading this book, I was wholly unaware of efforts by General Motors' lawyers to prevent the publication of Sloan's memoir My Years with General Motors which is generally considered one of the most important business books ever written. McDonald was Sloan's ghost writer (hence the dual meaning of the book's title) and provides a compelling account of how and why the book was finally published in 1963. McDonald suggests that a study in 1921 (discussed in Sloan's memoir) recommended "covering" all prospective buyers of automobiles by designing, manufacturing, and marketing a complete line for various "price steps." In that event, GM lawyers feared, federal regulatory agencies would become involved and seek to dismantle what could be perceived as a monopoly. In 1962, McDonald initiated a lawsuit against GM. He was at that time still employed by Fortune magazine. Almost immediately, Time Inc. "entered the game", fearing loss of GM advertising. It would be a disservice to both McDonald and to those who read this review to reveal what happened next. To my surprise, the book became a "page turner" and remained so to its conclusion. McDonald tells a lively story with colorful characters, a complicated plot, all manner of crises and conflicts, subtle (and not-so-subtle) manipulations, and conflicts of interests while -- along the way -- examining a legal system exploited but which ultimately prevailed. A great read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story tellers, great personalities..., September 27, 2007

By 

Jose Ernesto Passos (São Paulo, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Ghost's Memoir: The Making of Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors (Hardcover)

I am enjoying very much this book. I still didn't finish it. I will read it slowly, each time I am reading it I go back in time and I feel like an invisible person that seeing history unfold.

What makes me recommend this book? First is very well written, it has a great story and we get to know better a man like mr. Alfred Sloan. How he behaved in real life, his relationships, the impact of the loss of his wife... In this book we can have a short portrait of this man, it is possible to get an insight into the real person he was.

I also enjoyed the foreword by Dan Seligman, it is a great summary of the book and gives a great insight into the story and man behind the book, John McDonald.