In the end, however, we are left with one, strong conclusion: AOL cooked the books to get the merger done with Time Warner and continued to cook them as long as possible to keep the numbers up after the merger

In the end, however, we are left with one, strong conclusion: AOL cooked the books to get the merger done with Time Warner and continued to cook them as long as possible to keep the numbers up after the merger

In the end, however, we are left with one, strong conclusion: AOL cooked the books to get the merger done with Time Warner and continued to cook them as long as possible to keep the numbers up after the merger

Klein's reporting brings clarity and insight to those of us who don't quite grasp the goings on at AOL Time Warner

Huh?Overall, it's an impressive reporting achievement and a good read as well

A case can be made (but not from this book) that AOL was the most important player in the 1990s in the explosive growth of an online society

The character sketches of the leading players are riveting, and are skillfully done by the author to provide a basis for understanding the agendas and goals of each person involved in this whole convulted mess

From the beginning of October 2000 to the merger approval on January 11, 2001, the whole notion of inevitability was brushed aside by the revelation that both companies, AOL and Time Warner, were telling the politicians and regulators a half-truth about their plans to allow other ISP's access to their cable's high speed Internet product

Even after the merger approval, AOL Time Warner was caught denying advertising placement to other ISP's for dial-up and DSL services at the exact time their ad revenue was shrinking

We all should have worried when Steve Case told the media in the euphoria of the merger announcement: "We want to be the most respected company in the world."Thank goodness, Mr. Klein did his job as an investigative reporter by uncovering much of the unseemliness; and now, he has done his job as a business storyteller by revealing many of the truths about the largest debacle in the business history of the U.S.

I found the book very informative with a good amount of background info, so one can appreciate the climax.

AOL, a new breed upstart with a strong central management focus--with a desire to get into 'media content' to feed it's distribution focus, and Time Warner, a staid veteran with decentralized units,--with a desire to get into 'internet distribution' to

Well, I think the book should have focused more on AOL and less on the aftermath at Time Warner.

it's over the top 'dot.com' management and financial chicanery, but in truth AOL was operating in a persmissive environment and did little that was frankly 'illegal', although a lot that was unethical.

AOL, a new breed upstart with a strong central management focus--with a desire to get into 'media content' to feed it's distribution focus, and Time Warner, a staid veteran with decentralized units,--with a desire to get into 'internet distribution' to

Huh?Overall, it's an impressive reporting achievement and a good read as well

This is a people book, a good read, not a business book, not a technical book

Its a pretty easy read and somewhat entertaining, but the subject matter lacks the depth necessary for a good business book.

This book is lively, a quick read and not harshly judgmental toward AOL, even while presenting strong indications that negative judgments would be justified

His sourcing is excellent and his description of the key characters such as the blander than bland Steve Case makes it a colorful read

When the book focuses on those parts of the story, Stealing Time is riveting reading

Turns out, they lost their jobs and, for many of them, their fortunes

Turns out, they lost their jobs and, for many of them, their fortunes

Turns out, they lost their jobs and, for many of them, their fortunes

Alec Klien has done a wonderful job of exposing the corporate greed and shenanigans that AOL used to "purchase" Time Warner.

So if you are interested in the clash of personalities, Stealing Time has some good material, but if you are interested in why AOL was successful and why AOL Time Warner was not, this book doesn't have anything to say.

Stealing Time does, however, and I highly recommend the book to you

The former Time Warner CEO comes off as a complex and troubled leader and I love the image of him getting out of his limo in his old neighborhood to ponder life

This is abundantly clear in "Stealing Time," the not always balanced story of the AOL Time Warner merger and the subsequent problems

Stealing Time provides a lot of details on the individuals involved in the AOL Time Warner merger, but no business perspective

In the course of that assignment, he discovered that AOL was using sleazy advertising sales practices and illegal accounting to "achieve" its earnings growth.

They did so, as has been documented previously, by booking phony ad sales when money flowed both ways and counting as revenue money that had not yet arrived

They did so, as has been documented previously, by booking phony ad sales when money flowed both ways and counting as revenue money that had not yet arrived

They did so, as has been documented previously, by booking phony ad sales when money flowed both ways and counting as revenue money that had not yet arrived

Anyone interested in mergers, the media business or the Internet boom and bust should pick this up.

AOL was flying high on the combination of its subscriber revenues, temporarily inflated ad revenues and, more importantly, the expectations of investors that the Internet had no known limits (it did)

AOL was flying high on the combination of its subscriber revenues, temporarily inflated ad revenues and, more importantly, the expectations of investors that the Internet had no known limits (it did)

AOL was flying high on the combination of its subscriber revenues, temporarily inflated ad revenues and, more importantly, the expectations of investors that the Internet had no known limits (it did)