Citizen Coors: An American Dynasty (Hardcover)

by Dan Baum (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, is one of those prototypical American businesses that sprang from the efforts of a single-minded individual to become a dominant force in its industry. The elements that led to its ascension make quite a story, too: a destitute but hard-driving immigrant founder; kidnapping, suicides, and murder; secretive, right-wing politics and boisterous consumer boycotts; and, to top it off, an aristocratic ruling family that never dealt well with outsiders. To make sense of it all, former Wall Street Journal reporter Dan Baum interviewed more than 150 people, excluding, unfortunately, the primary family members, who still routinely refuse to talk to outsiders. Nevertheless, Baum tells this colorful Hollywood-esque tale in a comprehensive and compelling manner. He shows with considerable insight how the corporate and familial tone was set early by patriarch Adolph, a figure so domineering he "was still effectively running the company more than 60 years" after his death. And he shows with equal clarity why Peter, the heir, ultimately turned to an outsider to help the company address its competition in a way befitting a prototypical American business. An interesting tale, well told. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
Even the most committed liberals may feel a twinge of sympathy for this famously conservative family, whose patriarch, a German immigrant named Adolph Coors, founded a regional brewery in Golden, Colo., in 1874. It was the senior Coors's belief (and that of his son and grandsons) that the high quality of his beer was its best advertisement; indeed, Coors survived both Prohibition and the Depression to become the dominant beer in the western U.S. But as competitors, led by Anheuser-Busch, began spending millions of dollars on marketing, Coors made only token attempts at promotion; its market share steadily eroded, even as the company tried to expand from a regional to a national brand. With problems mounting, Peter Coors turned the reins of his grandfather's company over to Leo Kiely, a former president of Frito-Lay, in 1993. But the Coors story is about much more than beer: at its core is an innovative, hardworking yet dysfunctional family whose legacy has included two suicides (including Adolph himself), a kidnapping and murder, and several estranged children. The family's most ardent conservative was Joe Coors, whose money not only helped launch the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, but also helped propel Reagan into the White House and allowed Coors to have a hand in the appointment of James Watt as secretary of the interior. Baum, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has melded the many facets of the Coors story into an engrossing tale of one of America's most secretive and, for a time, most influential families. Photos not seen by PW. Agent, Kris Dahl, ICM. 7-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; Second Printing edition (March 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688154484
• ISBN-13: 978-0688154486
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,131,300 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to be a Classic, March 25, 2000

By	Charles M. Nobles (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not all newspaper reporters can write and not all writers are good newspaper reporters. However, every once in a while someone comes along that can do both, sometimes exceptionally well. Such a person is Dan Baum, formerly a reporter for both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Smoke and Mirrors,an explosive account of the so-called war on drugs, and this marvelous work on a Colorado company that many people love to hate. This book, an historical narrative of the Adolph Coors Company, a family and business legend in America, is destined to be a classic and will be the standard by which all other efforts are judged. It provides a real eye-opening insight into the corporate world of politics, sex, religion, money, drugs, cover-ups and environmental degradation that will stay with you long after you have finished the book. Its all here. The story of Adolph Coors, the immigrant that made a fortune against all odds and left a legacy that some say still haunts the company to this day. Baum notes that "Even though Adolph Coors died in 1929, he was still effectively running the company more than sixty years later." The results of a 1929 business philosophy on a national company in 1999 will leave you astounded. There is a well written overview of the Political Left and the American Labor movements protracted boycott of Coors as well as the rise of the conservative movement and the founding of the Heritage Foundation. The prominent role of the Coors family in the success of the Reagan revolution, and its impact on the company, is riveting and revealing. The Coors family were brilliant engineers that invented the aluminum beverage can; made what many beer connoisseurs believed to be an excellent product; refused to incur debt; and became rich by demanding a quality product, often at the expense of profit. At the same time, the results of their refusal to employ modern marketing techniques and compete with the likes of Miller's Brewing and Budweiser is absolutely amazing. The story of the Coors family and company is complex and at times maddening. Regardless of your political persuasion; liberal, conservative, or independent, this book will give you something to cheer about and will keep you up late at night turning pages. It is highly readable, meticulously researched and a welcome addition to the history of business in America, not to mention the political implications. It is a spellbinding story of a Colorado company with truly national ramifications. That it is written by a writer of the caliber of Dan Baum is a real bonus for the reader.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked Titan...you'll love Citizen Coors, April 27, 2000

By	Craig Roberts (Southern New Jersey) - See all my reviews

...Congratulations to Dan Baum for making Citizen Coors a very enjoyable read. His research is excellent and evident and his story telling is intriguing. ...The Coors family has it all: money, murder, family dissent, recovery. I found it to be much, much more than a "business" read (although it does give some excellent examples of different business philosophies and why they did/did not work.) I highly recommend this fascinating book.

C. Roberts New Jersey

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Portrait, June 26, 2000

By	Ed Tracey (Lebanon, New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

Considering that the author was unable to obtain many direct interviews with the principal family members, "Citizen Coors" is nonethless quite comprehensive. If you read Philip Van Munching's "Beer Blast", which provided a history of the US beer industry since Prohibition, you have an idea of how this book reads (a chronological narrative) . I was struck by how the family stayed by its principles, even knowing they were no longer applicable. When Anheuser-Busch was going through a strike Coors top management ordered its sales force not to exploit the situation, certain that August Busch III would later return the favor. (He didn't). More than the politics involved, their naivete in a world that had changed beyond recognition is striking. If something had worked for their grandfather in the 1800's, why wouldn't it work now? Mr. Baum appeared on the C-SPAN show "Booknotes" and was asked at the end "Is there a moral to the story"? He replied that the changes that they failed to adapt to ultimately ended family control of the company. Hardly the first organization to learn this, yet still a compelling read. If you like a good human interest story, coupled with a look at business in general (and can't resist a good look at the beer industry in particular), "Citizen Coors" is an excellent choice.