Customer Reviews

Rome, Inc.: The Rise and Fall of the First Multinational Corporation (Enterprise)

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This book is a laugh-out-loud funny take on the rise and fall of the Roman empire--or as Bing has it, the world's first multinational corporation. Sure, pundits and historians compare Rome and the United States all the time. But Bing makes it work, because his angle is a fresh one. Organizations, hierarchies, crazed leadership practices--these don't change much over time, and Rome, it turns out, really is a perfect template for the ravenous corporations and pyschopathic CEOs of our era. Bing does all of this with such a perfect voice and a lightness of touch that you don't realize you're actually learning a great deal along the way.

Like another reviewer, I usually do not find Stanley Bing's writing interesting. I find his writing more of inside jokes and tending toward rambling proses.

Having said that, I really enjoyed his latest endeavor, this time about the Roman Empire. Instead of the usual historical perspective, he draws analogy from the empire's rise and fall to today's businesses, casting new light on the history. A funny and insightful book.

I have been reading this guy's stuff since the old Esquire column which was frequently tear-inducing. With ROME, INC. Herr Bing delivers the goods once again, with a clever, hilarious and (gasp!) instructive walk through Roman history, crisply analogized with the crushing corporate culture of modern-day America. The quintessential bi-coastal airplane book: take with two fingers of glenfidditch over ice for maximum absorption.

Rome, Inc., by Stanley Bing is a quick 200 page dose of Roman history. It discuses the founding, rise and eventual decline of the empire in short breezy chapters with fleeting references to current corporate and management culture. There are some amusing parallels drawn but nothing earth shattering. This volume won't be creating any managers or CEOs in a hurry; at best, it can perhaps just about sustain you on your next flight from LA to NY.

I laughed my way through Stanley Bing's new book like I did for all of his old ones (Sun Tzu Was a Sissy is especially good). Rome, Inc. has all the stuff he's known for, straight-to-the-point business advice no one else is brave enough to say out loud and a hilarious way of phrasing things. But the best thing is that now I remember the Roman history I supposedly learned in college! Bing gives you a really great short summary of the "Rise and Fall" of Rome. I could (and probably will) read this book over again!

There are many books on the Roman Empire, but this is the first to treat it as a business enterprise. This short book chronicles the birth of Rome, from its mythical origins in the Aeneid, to its rise as a city state, growth into a Republic, transformation into Empire, its adoption of Christianity, split into East and West, and the West's metamorphosis into the Catholic Church. The book is broken into many small chapters, with each chapter focusing on a couple centuries of history, and the entire story laid out in chronological order. The primary emphasis is on Rome's early days and conquest of Carthage, and the days of Julius Caesar.

There is enough history here for those not familiar with Roman history. For true history buffs, this book serves more as an editorial comedy, and less as a history lesson. The parallels with modern corporations are many, and quite insightful. Overall, a good book and easy to read.

This book was so funny while being educative and historical all at the same time. If this guy is running a corporation, sign me up to work with him.

A good read with a fair dose of drole wit and surpisingly insightful about the nature of Rome and its people. Sometimes history makes more sense when one uses common sense. For example, the part about the rationale for continual war in Roman culture was right on the mark, as well as the following humorous observations what kind of psychological qualities were required to be a functional senior manager. Also his discussion of the fall of Rome, while truncated, hits it on the head about the importance of the myth of Rome and its unifying power. A little bit of history and a little bit of management and a large bit of flippant humor makes for an enjoyable read

This is a great book. Tells about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, sure sounds like Corporate America to me. Corruption and Greed, I love it.

I read the excerpt in March Fortune. Just that was enough to make my decision.

While some may like his style, I find it tiresome and not one that I want to spend much time with,