Rating: 
Summary: Good, but Vault Reports guide better
Review: I thought "Culture of Success" was a good history of Goldman, but that the "VaultReports.com Guide to Goldman Sachs" provided a more useful view of the firm today.
Rating: 
Summary: PR, PR, PR
Review: I wonder how much GS paid Lisa for this PR work..
Rating:
Summary: Propoganda and Pumped up
Review: If you are expecting a balanced book about Goldman Sachs, don't buy it. However, it is the only book available on GS -- undoubtedly because the author had the prior consent of employees who knew it would be written favorably. GS is showered with so many complements and few criticisms, that this books should be passed out to employees as a morale booster or to pump up new recruits! Three other specific points:1) Ms. Endlich was a FX trader for GS in the early 1990's... which becomes painfully obvious. Her bravado and excitement about high profile trades and big traders are elevated to romantic proportions. She entirely lacks any perspective on corporate strategy. Her financial accounting skills are woefully weak; for example, the high "profit" of GS is used in its venacular to cover everything such as a rumored trading profit (pre-expenses) to pre-tax ROE of Limited Partnership compared to after-tax profit of corporations. Finally, her disdain towards the "conservative" banking side of GS leads to superficial views of the whole business. This ain't no Jack Welch book by an author with true business knowledge. 2) I am no English language teacher, but shame on the editor(s) of this book!! Her English is horrific and a disgrace to the publisher. For instance, "him and John" should be "John and he"; when someone is speaking usually one uses quotations (pg208); run-on sentences are usually solved by periods; and, the endless use of commas don't replace unclear expressions. Incredible it was published, eh? Henry James would be impressed. 3) She misses one big point... "The Culture of Success" of any firm is relative. Although this book is not about the industry, her unbalanced description of GS's strong inward culture is reinforced by her clear bias towards internal benchmarks of what makes success. Looking in the mirror every morning and calling oneself pretty doesn't make a good book. Ultimately, she never addresses the bureaucracy of a large partnership (exemplified by large law firms today), why other firms innovated more products, what departed/booted partners feel, or what do customers really think about GS's famed "client focus". In sum, if you just want to read some propoganda yatta yatta, go ahead and buy it... but then again, there always is reality. I don't work in banking or for any competitor of GS, but I am sure that they may have even a stronger opinion against this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book!
Review: If you think Liar's Poker is good, then you need to read this book. While it is a slightly favourable portrait of the firm, Goldman Sachs' success is nonetheless indisputable in the industry. The culture of the firm relies heavily on charismatic leaders like Levy and Rubin, and this book has done a good job of highlighting how important culture is to the firm's success. The struggle to go public is well explored in several chapters which are enlightening. Those chapters alone deserve as a must-read! Although this book is presented in a much formal way, I find it a very valuable reference and an easy read. Highly recommended even for people who know nothing (like me!) but curious about the world of investment banks!
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: If you're looking for an objective insight into goldman sachs then i'm afraid this book will disappoint you. It seems from the start that she is in awe of the establishment and her writing only serves to espouse her feelings. I consider it more of 'puppetry'. This bank is definately a powerhouse in the industry but i would wait until a more transparent book is published.(i'm inclined to think her pension is linked to this in some way or the other)
Rating:
Summary: A little disapointing...
Review: It reads a bit like it was written by the company's PR department. Despite all of her emphasis on "culture" at the firm, after reading the book I have no idea what it is. She fails to put a human face on the company. Besides making a lot of money, what is the culture there? I would have liked a lot more personal detail about the employees, what it's really like to work at GS. Moves pretty fast. Ends too soon. She needs to do an update, because this book cuts off at the end of last year, when GS had cancelled their IPO.
Rating:
Summary: its readable
Review: Its an ok book...starts off quite well, but gets kind of boring after the first half..i expected it to be something like micheal lewis's Liar's Poker...but this book is far from it...but it gives an insiders view of goldman...i recommend it to those really interested in the firm.
Rating:
Summary: A hard to put down book about Banking - Well done .
Review: Lisa Endlich has obviously been given extraordinary access to people within the firm, giving us a riveting insight into the firms history and success. This is a great story, clearly written. Goldman Sachs has always been a mystery to many people on the street, all is revealed here. Endlich has shown a lot of style by producing a history of a great firm that can teach all who have been touched by it, why it has had such an impact.
Rating: 
Summary: Find out why they're the top of every business grad's list
Review: Lisa Endlich takes us back to the beginning of the firm's history and brings us up to their decision to go public. By showing us the personalities and the events that shaped the firm, she makes her argument for why they are so successful. Not a management primer, the work does have a powerful message to tell prospective GS employees and those who must compete against them in the marketplace.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read chronicle and history of Goldman, Sachs !
Review: Lisa Endlich tracks Goldmans rise as a proprietary trading and investment banking powerhouse, under Sidney Weinberg's chairmanship to the modern day leadership of John Whitehead and Robert Rubin. It is interesting to note that Ms.Endlich does not mention nor even hint at the friction developing in the then co-chairmen and co-CEO's offices (in 1998-99), a fact that had been much published and well publicized in the media. The (mid-1998) finale of the years of on-again, off-again IPO and the debate on whether to remain private is captured succintly, by the author. Overall, the book is an admirable effort and makes real interesting reading, specially for a non Wall-street-type reader.
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