Good Guys and Bad Guys

Summary

The greatest columns and profiles by the bestselling coauthor of All the Devils Are Here. What's it like to be a top tobacco executive when your kid asks you about smoking? How did a young liberal arts major become the hottest tech-stock analyst of the '90s, and why did he self-destruct? How did one family's dysfunction change the media landscape? Some people think business journalism is all about balance sheets, income statements, and earnings per share. But if you want to answer the really interesting questions-about heroes and hucksters, visionaries and madmen, and other larger-than-life characters-you need a reporter like Joe Nocera. For more than twenty-five years Nocera has shed new light on the giants of the business world-Warren Buffett, T. Boone Pickens, Bob Nardelli-as well as on the less famous but equally fascinating. He builds stories around their motivations, personalities, and deepest characters. And instead of just pigeonholing them as good guys or bad guys, he explores the gray areas in between.

Introduction	p. 1
It's Time to Make a Deal: Texas Monthly, October 1982	p. 7
Jobs Agonistes (Steve, That Is)	p. 47
The Second Coming of Steve Jobs: Esquire, December 1986	p. 49
Good Luck with That Broken iPod: The New York Times, February 4, 2006	p. 65
Weighing Jobs' Role in a Scandal: The New York Times, April 28, 2007	p. 68
The Ga-Ga Years: Esquire, February 1988	p. 73
Michael Milken, Mitigated (Well, a Bit): GQ, December 1992	p. 98
Charlie Merrill and His Stock: GQ, October 1994	p. 107
Lawyers from Hell	p. 125
Fatal Litigation: Fortune, October 16 and 30, 1995	p. 127
The Lawyer Companies Love to Hate: The New York Times, July 2, 2006	p. 157
How the Bancrofts Blew It	p. 161
Disgruntled Heiress Leads Revolt at Dow Jones: Fortune, February 3, 1997	p. 163
A Family's Benign Neglect at Dow Jones: The New York Times, August 4, 2007	p. 175
Saint Warren of Omaha: Money, July 1998	p. 179
The Rise and Fall of Henry Blodget	p. 187
The Cheerleader: Money, June 1999	p. 188
Led into Temptation? Who Wasn't?: The New York Times, September 3, 2005	p. 191
The Smartest Guys in the Room	p. 195
A Revenge Fantasy, Except It's Reality: The New York Times, January 28, 2006	p. 196
Mr. Skilling, for the Defense: The New York Times, April 15, 2006	p. 200
Fastow's Long Walk to Less Time: The New York Times, September 30, 2006	p. 203
The Quantitative, Data-Based, Risk-Massaging Road to Riches: The New York Times Magazine, June 5, 2005	p. 207
If It's Good for Philip Morris, Can It Also Be Good for Public Health?: The New York Times Magazine, June 18, 2006	p. 224
The Cufflinks That Went to China	p. 243
The Board Wore Chicken Suits: The New York Times, May 27, 2006	p. 244
Overstock's Campaign of Menace: The New York Times, February 15, 2006	p. 248
After Five Years, His Voice Can Still Crack: The New York Times, September 9, 2006	p. 252
Give Me a Double Shot of Starbucks Nostalgia: The New York Times, March 3, 2007	p. 255
Our Love-Hate Relationship with Wal-Mart: The New York Times, November 5, 2005	p. 259
The Cufflinks That Went to China: The New York Times, January 21, 2006	p. 262
Return of the Raider: Fortune, May 27, 2002	p. 267
Acknowledgments	p. 283
Index	p. 287
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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