Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
From Publishers Weekly Munk's entry to the growing list of books about the AOL Time Warner merger provides a thorough recap of the debacle, with the author coming to her own conclusion on the causes behind the merger's failure. After more than 100 ...
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Reviews around success (5.00 of 5)
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Case and Levin enjoyed spectacular early successes
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To both principals (and to most of the others portrayed here), their success proved their own genius and assured future triumphs
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around case (5.00 of 5)
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In" will be used as a popular case study in MBA curriculums, as it should be
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But it isn't as though Jerry Levin comes off that much better than Steve Case--both their stories are apt to leave the reader scratching his or her head asking "How can people be such short-sighted daydreamers yet still make such serious bank
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around guys (5.00 of 5)
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Those who have read and share my high regard for McLean and Elkind's Smartest Guys in the Room
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And it does not hold a candle against "The Smartest Guys in the Room" by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, which explores the Enron scandal objectively and in deliciously revealing detail.
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My own recommendations include the aforementioned Smartest Guys in the Room as well as Kara Swisher
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around job (5.00 of 5)
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Nina did an outstanding job presenting the history and cultures of Time, Warner, Turner's businesses, and AOL
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The author does an excellent job of explaining how this corporate disaster came to be.
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Ms Munk does a fine job of reporting what those involved thought and did.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around quality (5.00 of 5)
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The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron will find Munk's book comparable in terms of entertainment value (especially humor) as well as quality of thinking and writing
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around executive (5.00 of 5)
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Jeff Bewes and Don Logan are now the two most powerful executives at Time Warner, after Dick Parsons
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The strange time we went through that allowed people like Jerry Levin, Steve Case, and others to become oulandishly compensated and nearly all-powerful executives should be a cautionary tale for generations to come.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around information (5.00 of 5)
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Not through government regulation, but as shareholders, we need to make sure that these folks realize it is not okay to burn down a library full of priceless information to save a fraction of a cent per share of cost
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She did a lot of first hand interviewing to get some of the best information.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around note (5.00 of 5)
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She also provides good notes and sources for what she reports in the book.
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As others have noted, the material on Levin alone is worth the price of admission, in my biased-yet-honest opinion.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around narrative (5.00 of 5)
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The narrative frequently seems more like a poor novel rather the absorbing study of hubris and tragedy it could have been
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The story is just wild as-is, the players are naturally quite strong, and Munk does an expert job of weaving everything together into a dynamic narrative
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around writer (5.00 of 5)
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As a mathphobic whose knowledge of technology extends to "it's magic," I appreciate a writer who can tell a story about what happens when bad math meets revolutionary technology and not lose me.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around book (3.50 of 5)
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The book also simply reads well, it's a skilfully constructed narrative, it's entertaining and surprisingly fun
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The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron will find Munk's book comparable in terms of entertainment value (especially humor) as well as quality of thinking and writing
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A repetition of these obvious facts is not what makes this book a good read
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Do you want to know why AOL Time Warner died then buy this book.
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The book is much weaker than Alec Klein's "Stealing Time" (a smarter choice if you want to understand the basics about AOL Time Warner)
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You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around insight (3.22 of 5)
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It is both a fun book to read and an excellent insight into how these big deals get put together, how executive decision making works, etc
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Great insight into how to look at companies and mergers and how they affect the stock market and the economy
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Read this book to get real insight into how compliant board members and clueless senior management can wreck your 401K account
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
Reviews around time (1.00 of 5)
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The strange time we went through that allowed people like Jerry Levin, Steve Case, and others to become oulandishly compensated and nearly all-powerful executives should be a cautionary tale for generations to come.
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If you mainly want to know about the AOL shenanigans, I suggest Stealing Time instead.
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The book is much weaker than Alec Klein's "Stealing Time" (a smarter choice if you want to understand the basics about AOL Time Warner)
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There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere, Alec Klein's Stealing Time : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner, Jo Johnson and Martine Orange's The
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Having read Stealing Time by Alec Klein, I was sure that I didn't want to read another book about the AOL-Time Warner fiasco.
You are reading snippets from reviews of Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
More about Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
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From Publishers Weekly Munk's entry to the growing list of books about the AOL Time Warner merger provides a thorough recap of the debacle, with the author coming to her own conclusion on the causes behind the merger's failure
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After more than 100 pages of the obligatory background on AOL and its chairman, Steve Case, and Time Warner and chairman Jerry Levin, Munk begins to make her argument that Case and Levin, who ran their companies with few checks and balances, bear the greatest responsibility for orchestrating a deal that had little chance to succeed
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She presses her case by hitting hard on the fact that few Time Warner executives knew about the pending deal until hours before it was announced, and that even fewer executives supported the proposal
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That due diligence for the $165-billion merger only took three days and that many of the merged company's top managers sold large chunks of stock (including Case who sold shares worth $100 million) shortly after the deal closed is further proof to Munk that the combination was not well thought out and that many managers had doubts about its success from the very beginning
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For readers looking for a quick review of events surrounding the AOL Time Warner merger, Munk's book fits the bill, but for those who are already well versed on the subject, Munk (a contributing editor at Vanity Fair) adds little new information
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc
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All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist As a senior writer at Fortune magazine, Munk began research for an article on Jerry Levin and the AOL Time Warner deal in the fall of 2000
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Although that particular article was shelved, her work led to two pieces in Vanity Fair and a full-blown research project that culminated in this solidly researched, steadily paced book
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Time magazine, first published in 1923 by Henry Luce, was the first in a series of wildly successful publications (including Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated) that set the tone for American public opinion and created a high-minded atmosphere that pervaded the company for years
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In 1972, with television overshadowing print media, Jerry Levin revitalized the company by merging with Warner Cable in a stroke of genius that introduced satellite TV and the cable premium channel HBO
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In 2000, the unprecedented merger with AOL was supposed to revive the company once again--and was a disaster of massive proportions for everyone but Steve Case and the former employees of AOL
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The fallout included a loss of $220 billion in shareholder value and more than 30 lawsuits against the company and its executives
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Although the merger has been covered extensively, this appears to be the most comprehensive and impartial account to date
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David SiegfriedCopyright © American Library Association
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All rights reserved Read more See all Editorial Reviews