Terrific Book - catching story and highly informative, 5. Dezember 2007

This book has been in my bookshelf for almost two years without me having touched it. When I did, I could not put it aside and read it in every free minute I could find.Seldomly have I read a story that is- so thoroughly researched; it is unbelievable how many details the authors were able to gather- so informative; not only does this book give a very good introduction into the workings of the LBO market, American business life in general and business politics, but it also delviers a striking story about the rise and fall of one of americas great companies of the 20th century: RJR Nabisco and the rise of another one. KKR- so catching; the story is very well-written, it never becomes boring to follow through the detailed explanations and discussions of the events within the process described.Two thumbs up, I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in business and at the same time is looking for a fun read. I place it right besides Liars Poker and Monkey's business.

       For sure the best Wall Street book, 30. September 2004

Barbarians at the Gate is the best Wall Street book I have ever read. Even at University in Switzerland we have looked into the legendary takeover battle and largest leverage buyout of RJR Nabisco by KKR in the year 1998. The two authors, Bryan Burrough (a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York) and John Helvar (Senior Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal), draw the amazing story of "The Fall of RJR Nabisco" in great detail. The Book kicks off with the boardroom meeting where management presented the idea of the buyout only to go back in history of key management and company histories as well as corporate America in the 80s.The authors describe characters like Ross Johnson ("never tell the truth, never pay in cash and never play by the rules") of RJR and Henry Kravitz of KKR as well as deal tactics and financing instruments of buyout houses and investment banks with great detail make the booking an excellent read.

If you are interested in this topic, I suggest you also read "Den of Thieves" and "Taken for a Ride", both of which cover the Investment Banking world of M&A deal tactics.

       Probably the best Wall Street book!, 11. Dezember 2002

Probably the best Wall Street book I have ever read. Even at University in Switzerland we have looked into the legendary takeover battle and largest leverage buyout of RJR Nabisco by KKR in 1998. The two authors, Bryan Burrough (a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York) and John Helvar (Senior Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal), draw the amazing story of "The Fall of RJR Nabisco" in great detail. The Book kicks off with the boardroom meeting where management presented the idea of the buyout only to go back in history of key management and company histories as well as corporate America in the 80s. The authors describe characters like Ross Johnson ("never tell the truth, never pay in cash and never play by the rules") of RJR and Henry Kravitz of KKR as well as deal tactics and financing instruments of buyout houses and investment banks with great detail make the booking an excellent read.

If you are interested in this topic, I suggest you also read "Den of Thieves" and "Taken for a Ride", both of which cover the Investment Banking world of M&A deal tactics.

       An Excellent Read..... Even 10 Years Later, 28. Mai 2000

Finally got around to reading this book and I must say that it is FASCINATING!

What was most interesting to me was the lack of intelligence and abilities of those running RJR Nabisco and all their high-paid Wall Street help. If these are the kind of people who "run" our economy, we're in BIG trouble.

An excellent story... even 10 years later.

       Entertaining Book about Business! Remarkable, 22. Mai 2000

I read this book several years ago after watching the movie based on the book. At that time, it was a hard book to find (This was before Amazon)but well worth the search.

This book is rather complicated and at times the characters are hard to keep separate. Actually, if you read it twice it is much easlier to follow.

The book presents a detailed narrative of the takeover fight between Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, and KKR, the firm that perfected LBO's. The reasons, stupid mistakes and misconceptions made by the combatants make the story interesting.

A casual reader might watch the movie before reading this book to acquaint themselves with the storyline and characters.

The book does leave the reader wanting to know what happened to Ross Johnson. He seems to have dropped out of sight and that does seems out of character for him.

Perhaps, the authors' might consider a sequel to update the plight of RJR, KKR, Johnson and Henry Kravis.