Rating: 
Summary: What a great book!
Review: This book is one of the best business books out there and you wont waste a penny on it.
The story shows how greed and money can destroy even the wildest of dreams and ambition in the world that we live in.The go go 80's was the time of the big swinging you-know-what believing themselves as the masters of the universe thus inevitably above everything else.
The story of how a great american company RJR Nabisco loses battle for control of the company by a group a financiers of KKR led by Henry Kravis.The story unfolds from the time Ross Johson,the CEO of RJR Nabisco, decides to take the company private.In doing so he puts the company in play and then the action begins to take place as other huge financial firms with ego as huge as Ross Johnson try to get a piece of the action.In the end there is only one winner and doznes of losers.
Barbarians at the gate also gives you an insight on the LBO fad and how it works.Those who follow wallstreet in the 80's know that non of this could have happened werent it for the service of Michael Milken and his junk bonds.in any case,it is interesting how the authors who obviously went to great lengths researching and interviewing the players involved and displays the facts in such an entertaining manner you wish you wanted to finish the book in one sitting!!
The only con i found was the story of how RJR and Nabisco came into existent (the authors stretch this bit too far when they could have done it in 15 pages). nonetheless, it was a great read.
10 stars for this book!!
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: "Barbarians at the Gate" is, quite simply, a masterpiece.
The book's "fly on the wall" narrative transports the reader into the hallowed corridors of Wall Street's most prestigious firms, and provides a close-up view on the dealings of its power brokers and financial elite. It is truly a thrilling experience.
The cast of characters includes outsized personalities like Henry Kravis, the LBO kingpin; Ross Johnson, the wise-cracking CEO of RJR Nabisco; Peter Cohen, the cigar-smoking chief of Shearson Lehman; and John Gutfreund, the fearsome head of Salomon Bros.
My only complaint is that Peter Cohen is portrayed unfairly. The authors paint him as a buffoon-like figure, unschooled in the ways of Wall Street and easy prey for the wily Henry Kravis. I find that image of him exceedingly difficult to believe. After all, this is the same Peter Cohen who won the admiration of Sandy Weill - one of Wall Street's savviest dealmakers - and rose to become his top lieutenant. That's quite a feat for a man reputed to be an ignoramus.
At any rate, this is a fabulous book - minor inconsistencies notwithstanding - and its place in the nonfiction business canon is assured.
Rating:
Summary: A Big Deal
Review: This book deserves all the superlatives it has received. The layperson gets an idea of how an LBO is structured and the interactions of investment bankers, banks, and lawyers. As well, the book is a riveting and entertaining read. The key to the book are the telling details. At one point for example, the authors note that one of the men at a key phase in the deal wears a ring with a peace symbol. Without describing the individual any further, the authors imbue him with personality and character. Even someone uninvolved with business deals will appreciate the intrigue and excitement.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating account of the 1980s merger mania
Review: It reads like a thriller. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It is the story of the RJR Nabisco buyout through the eyes of two journalists and it shows that a real world story can be just as dramatic as fiction. This book is one of the most important documentaries of the 1980s.
Rating: 
Summary: Huns on the Run
Review: Burrough and Helyar are two former Wall Street Journal reporters who present a comprehensive telling of the battle for control of RJR Nabisco, ultimately won by KKR, led by Henry Kravis in 1988. The book was written in 1990 and provided the final chapter on the LBO excesses of the 1980's. By 1990, the stock market rally had made LBO's less attractive and some of the earlier deals were already starting to unravel and collapse under the weight of the debt payments, as predicted by long-time junk bond critic and rival RJR Nabisco bidder Ted Forstmann. There are some criticisms of this book. The authors, despite their finanical backgrounds, seem to prefer story-telling to financial details. Hence, they have written a tale of personalities, with an especial interest in Ross Johnson and Henry Kravis, to the detriment of really explaining the financial and business details. The reader can learn intricate details about Johnson and the Wall Streeters preferences in cars, apartments, drinks, wives, schoos, etc. The authors seem to think we need a biographic account of all minor players, starting with their grade-school years, and the end result is 528 pages and still minimal financial explanation. The other main criticism here, reading this now, is how dated the material has become. The authors would do well to provide some new material on how the deal has worked out. From other sources, I learned that KKR renegotiated the deal in the early 1990's (the resets were nearly toxic after all) and sold out their position entirely in 1995, more or less breaking even, depending on whose numbers you use. The story of the final bids and the final final bids is truly riveting and meticulously researched here. The Johnson group ultimately presents a bid that is slightly higher than the KKR bid, but the board discounts the Johnson bid since it does not guarantee the bond pricing, and calls the whole thing a tie, much like the 2000 election. At that point, the Board accepts the KKR bid, for non-economic reasons, mostly bad publicity related to Johnson's greed. Ironically, Johnson had already given up much of his payout in order to boost the total value of the bid to the shareholders.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read.
Review: Few business books have the entertainment, but at the same time, business education, value of this book. A definite must-read.
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