A close-up study of American Express chronicles the history of the giant financial-services conglomerate, whose revolving executive door, public fiascos, and private internal battles have eaten away at its power. 50,000 first printing.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This is the behind-the-scenes story of American Express and of its triumphs and tribulations under the leadership of James Robinson. In the 1980s, Robinson was considered one of the best and brightest of America's corporate leaders. But, by 1990 the image of American Express and of its CEO was tattered. Salim Lewis, a close friend of Robinson, had pleaded guilty to propping up the price of the Fireman's Fund Corp.'s stock, a subsidiary of American Express. On an ethical issue, Robinson was forced to pay $8 million for his global smear campaign on Edmond Safray, international financier and former American Express executive who became a major American Express competitor. Added to these problems were the recession, some bad advertisements, and "two faced" celebrity endorsers who, off screen openly criticized American Express. A fast moving, eye opening story that is highly recommended for public libraries.
- Teresa Brady, Holy Family Coll., Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Teresa Brady, Holy Family Coll., Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
An unsparing and gossipy audit of James D. Robinson III's bumbling stewardship at American Express. Drawing on a wealth of inside sources, Friedman (a Business Week alumnus) and Meehan (that magazine's money-and-banking editor) make a strong case against the courtly scion of an Atlanta banking family who took command of AmEx at age 41 in 1977. During the early years of his tenure, they recount, the image-conscious CEO suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of McGraw-Hill, which vigorously repulsed his unwelcome takeover bid. Robinson subsequently redeemed himself with the 1981 acquisition of a ranking securities firm (Shearson), adding a fourth dimension to AmEx's banking, insurance, and travel-related activities. But while the good times rolled, allowing the papering over of some egregious blunders, latent troubles began to surface. Cooked books precipitated a surprise crisis at Fireman's Fund, for instance, and the brokerage units began losing big money in the wake of the 1987 market break. More recently, AmEx has been obliged to apologize publicly for a smear campaign against an erstwhile director, and the flagship credit/charge-card operation has reported huge losses. Owing to intense competition, moreover, the fabled Travelers Cheque is no longer the cash cow of yesteryear. Nor has Robinson been able to staunch a hemorrhage of executive talent. As the authors make clear, the onetime boy wonder is essentially a consensus-building overseer, not an innovative manager, let alone a visionary leader. In consequence, they conclude, AmEx's serious disarray puts its apparently self-absorbed boss at considerable risk. While their prose style can most charitably be described as serviceable journalese, the authors offer a damning, dirt-dishing bill of particulars on a corporate chieftain arguably not up to the task of running his own show. (Eight pages of photos--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
puerile and limp analysis,
By lee morgan (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: House of Cards (Hardcover)
Friedman is as flat and simplistic an author as he is a columnist for Marketwatch. Skip this one. nothing new here.
4.0 out of 5 stars
James Robinson III rule at American Express.,
By
This review is from: House of Cards: Inside the Troubled Empire of American Express (Mass Market Paperback)
Although old, this is a thorough review of James Robinson's rule at American Express. Robinson was a consensus builder who sought to grow American Express by acquisition. However his poor strategy brought him to get out of cable too early, and the brokerage age when it was too late.His rule weakened American Express. What is prevalent throughout this book is the shark like atmosphere in American business, where one person is seeking to displace another. Some heavy hitters are in this book such as Sandy Weill, Lou Gerstner, and Cohen. This is a nice book about how an American icon company is badly run. It shows how and why American companies have not fared well in the international market. The caption on the cover of the book equates it with Barbarians at the Gates, and I think this book is as good as that. A nice thorough review of what went wrong at American Express.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting look on the inside of a giant.,
By readin'on "ms4runr" (Jamestown, TN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: House of Cards (Hardcover)
Easy reading for what could be a complicated story in a behind-the-scenes view of a fall of a giant, thanks to the skills of the financial journalists that write it. It is amazing how egos can destroy an empire so easily.
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