Business

Business Adventures

Business Adventures

  • Downloads：5328
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-03 13:58:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John Brooks
  • ISBN：1473611520
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Hailed as a business classic by the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and widely acknowledged as a forerunner to the writing of Michael Lewis， BUSINESS ADVENTURES is an insightful and gripping look at corporate and financial life in America。

'The best business book I've ever read。' Bill Gates， Wall Street Journal

'The Michael Lewis of his day。' New York Times

What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel， the fast and incredible rise of Xerox， and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common？ Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety。

These notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened。

Stories about Wall Street are infused with drama and adventure and reveal the machinations and volatile nature of the world of finance。 John Brooks's insightful reportage is so full of personality and critical detail that whether he is looking at the astounding market crash of 1962， the collapse of a well-known brokerage firm， or the bold attempt by American bankers to save the British pound， one gets the sense that history really does repeat itself。

This business classic written by longtime New Yorker contributor John Brooks is an insightful and engaging look into corporate and financial life in America。

Download

Reviews

Tyler ，

I read the first tale from Wallstreet - it was kinda interesting， but I just didn't care enough。 It was a fun little story but I think this book may be targeted at a more financial audience。 Might pick back up and read some of other stories later down the line I read the first tale from Wallstreet - it was kinda interesting， but I just didn't care enough。 It was a fun little story but I think this book may be targeted at a more financial audience。 Might pick back up and read some of other stories later down the line 。。。more

Martin Chiu ，

I'll have to read a couple of the chapters again to gain a better understanding I'll have to read a couple of the chapters again to gain a better understanding 。。。more

Can Mert Aydemir ，

The upside of the book definitely is the content！ It is nothing short of amazing to see the events that took place before 60s are still relevant in 2020s。The downside is the manner of thw author which toy taste is too descriptive and detailed to the extent of being devoid of merit。 The book could have been half as short of what it is and still could deliver the message of each chapter。

PTWithy ，

Thoroughly entertaining business stories。

Jaime Montoya ，

Twelve beautiful business adventures being narrated in a fresh and funny prose。 The sharp reader could find a hiden linkk between the different stories。

Teodor Cuciureanu ，

not my favorite

Soumyajit Kar ，

12 diverse peeks into the world of American businesses。 The subject matter is dry， esoteric and often peppered with jargon in places but the author's literary flair brilliantly cuts through a lot of it， surely conveying the essence。Read it only if you are really into corporate America and some of its momentous players at their best （or worst）。 12 diverse peeks into the world of American businesses。 The subject matter is dry， esoteric and often peppered with jargon in places but the author's literary flair brilliantly cuts through a lot of it， surely conveying the essence。Read it only if you are really into corporate America and some of its momentous players at their best （or worst）。 。。。more

Jason Watson ，

Great book for business owners。 Since it was written in 1968， a lot has taken place。 In this book， you will find all about business adventures during the 60s。 It would be great for someone to learn old business tactics and apply them in current business ventures。 I learned a lot about business from this book。 If you also want to learn some latest business tactics then explore: https://sydneybusinesstrends。blogspot。。。 Great book for business owners。 Since it was written in 1968， a lot has taken place。 In this book， you will find all about business adventures during the 60s。 It would be great for someone to learn old business tactics and apply them in current business ventures。 I learned a lot about business from this book。 If you also want to learn some latest business tactics then explore: https://sydneybusinesstrends。blogspot。。。 。。。more

Bill ，

Well-written， but dated。 Articles about Edsel and Xerox were interesting from an historical perspective。

Alan Mills ，

Odd book。 It consists of 12 accounts of crucial points in the life of a specific business， or the world economy。 The good: The accounts are fascinating。 The author is a regular contributor to the New Yorker， and writes with both a depth of knowledge and a feel for narrative tension that is unusual in business writing。 The stories themselves are illuminating。 For example， most people know that the Ford Edsel is THE example of a failed car that everyone points to。 But do you know how it came to be Odd book。 It consists of 12 accounts of crucial points in the life of a specific business， or the world economy。 The good: The accounts are fascinating。 The author is a regular contributor to the New Yorker， and writes with both a depth of knowledge and a feel for narrative tension that is unusual in business writing。 The stories themselves are illuminating。 For example， most people know that the Ford Edsel is THE example of a failed car that everyone points to。 But do you know how it came to be designed？ how it was named？ How it was marketed？ And most importantly， WHY it failed so badly？ I certainly did not。 Each of the twelve stories are similarly illuminating。The bad: So why only three stars？ The stories are VERY dated。 The book was written in the mid-1960’s。 A computer with the power of the iPhone I am using to write this review were the size of buildings。 The dollar was still on the gold standard。 Making photocopies was cutting edge technology。 On Wall Street fortunes were made because a broker got news an hour before his competition read it on the ticker tape （today， such advantages are measured in nanoseconds， forcing firms into a technology race to build the fastest optic cables）。 As a result， many of the stories which would have illuminated cutting edge issues of the day when written， now read as quaint historical artifacts of a by-gone era。 All in all， I found this book to be an interesting read—illuminating slices of economic history I had not know about。 But if you are looking for a book with solid advice on running a business in 2021， I suggest looking elsewhere。 。。。more

Mergim ，

Excellent book Loved the storytelling and it's really magical how things connect。 The business case of xerox is an inspiring example considering today we can see not so many companies doing the same considering the time it shows how some things never change。 The sterling tale is really one to take notes even today as the world is more connected then ever financially and we can se where it all started。 Also shows what economy means for a country and how not so visionary politics can shape a count Excellent book Loved the storytelling and it's really magical how things connect。 The business case of xerox is an inspiring example considering today we can see not so many companies doing the same considering the time it shows how some things never change。 The sterling tale is really one to take notes even today as the world is more connected then ever financially and we can se where it all started。 Also shows what economy means for a country and how not so visionary politics can shape a country future。 I can relate todays Brexit with the 60s in the UK and see how generations are effected。 The tale of Lilienthal shows me that we can have it all just not all at the same time。 Character is what matters at the end of the day as having character you can succeed in all walks of life。 I believe character should be taught throughout school and in all educational programs。 Great book Recommended to all how want to expend the view of how the business world is shaped。 。。。more

Adrian ，

Great collection of stories from the world of business， ranging from marketing disasters of a company， to the stock market， tax laws and international monetary policies。 Each story comes with a lesson。 They are told in a funny way and explained so everybody can understand。

Anu ，

The biggest draw of this book is that it doesn’t turn every story into a didactic tale with a moral at the end。 The fact that this is written by a reporter who lets the reader come to their own conclusions instead of force feed them a cherry picked analysis is a refreshing change from run of the mill business books。 Although dated， many of the stories still hold sway - the curious fundamentals of how trading works on Wall Street， the insanely complex and often illogical workings of the tax code The biggest draw of this book is that it doesn’t turn every story into a didactic tale with a moral at the end。 The fact that this is written by a reporter who lets the reader come to their own conclusions instead of force feed them a cherry picked analysis is a refreshing change from run of the mill business books。 Although dated， many of the stories still hold sway - the curious fundamentals of how trading works on Wall Street， the insanely complex and often illogical workings of the tax code and how it came to be， the amusing story of corporate marketing & branding through Ford Edsel， nuances of insider trading definitions， small town businessman taking on a mighty NYSE， the wonderfully nerdy workings of Xerox Corp （the original pioneers of the 1% pledge model）， the endearing struggles of an academic in a business world that finds surprise success， the hilarious travails of running a public shareholder meeting。 Most of the stories were fun and enlightening but a few felt tedious。 I wish there were a modern compilation in the same tone。 。。。more

Umair Ghouri ，

Well， reading in 2020， I found the examples quite out dated。 But the human psychology and the nature can be seen same even today。 So， it's a good read， but not in my favorite books。 Well， reading in 2020， I found the examples quite out dated。 But the human psychology and the nature can be seen same even today。 So， it's a good read， but not in my favorite books。 。。。more

Vivek Shroff ，

Interesting read。However all cases relate to US。 So may be of limited interest to readers of other countries。Nice writing style。Delves into the mind of the people of the time。The cases generally pertain to till the 60s。

Nicoleta Mirea ，

Am ramas uimita de povestea companiei Xerox。 Desi nu este doar o poveste si nici macar o aventura。

Jake Freeman ，

Too much time spent on details that don’t matter。 Might as well be fiction。

bob ，

Definitely a classic。 The edsel story stands out the most

Viraj ，

Good info。 But no specific take aways。

Avid ，

I want the year 2021 to be the year where I step out of my comfort zone。 I am trying newer things in other aspects of life – work， knitting and even workouts。 Why not apply the same to reading， as well？ So， this is me reading a book which I never thought I would read。 Surprisingly， I quite enjoyed it。The book cover reads that this book has “Twelve classic tales from the World of Wall Street”。 Brooks narrates his experience with companies and Wall Street when he was a financial journalist。 Some o I want the year 2021 to be the year where I step out of my comfort zone。 I am trying newer things in other aspects of life – work， knitting and even workouts。 Why not apply the same to reading， as well？ So， this is me reading a book which I never thought I would read。 Surprisingly， I quite enjoyed it。The book cover reads that this book has “Twelve classic tales from the World of Wall Street”。 Brooks narrates his experience with companies and Wall Street when he was a financial journalist。 Some of these tales are his first-hand experiences， while some are researched and gleaned through interviews。 These tales cover cases like the failure of Ford’s Edsel model to the devaluation of the Great Britain’s Pound Sterling; from the success story of Xerox to the nail-biting， thriller-esque story of short-selling and cornering。 As someone who was as far away from Wall Street and its stories as possible， I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I was enjoying these tales。The chapter which I could relate to the most was about Ford Edsel。 As someone who is part of a product development team， I could understand the challenges in envisioning a new car model， developing it and launching it。 We all do our best， hoping that the product is a bestseller， but only time can tell if we were right。 The same is the case with Edsel。The tale which was the hardest to grasp was the last one – on the devaluation of Pound Sterling and the incidents preceding that。 I had no idea this is how global markets work and how coupled they are。 The whole idea of the federal bank sitting on （I mean that literally， as the gold is in the basement） a heap of gold was hard to fathom。 How US federal bank went out of its way to salvage the London stock market and its cascading effect on the other major markets was eye opening。 I always thought the countries are at loggerheads！Another story which was interesting to me was the one about Goodrich vs。 Latex。 When an industry expert decides to quit Goodrich and join its competitor Latex， the question of intellectual property and trade secrets come into picture。 This is a matter which comes up often in my field of work and most corporates take a common stand of getting the employees sign a non declaration agreement。 But to look at it from another perspective – that of an employee and the employer – was interesting。The edition I read was published in 2014， but as per Goodreads， this book was first published in 1969。 As expected， the stories are from old days and lack more contemporary stories， but the finance world is such that the old age stories are still very relevant。 I would have loved to read stories about the 2008 recession， the dotcom boom， the explosion of social media companies and the start-ups scene。The best part about the book is that Brooks does not attempt to answer any question。 He presents facts and opinions of experts from both sides of the story and lets the readers draw a conclusion。Without getting into the details of every chapter， let me summarize by saying if you are even remotely interested in economics and the business side of things， you will enjoy reading this book。 You don’t need to understand stock market or financial numbers to appreciate the challenges faced by this corner of the world as narrated in this book。 。。。more

Amazon Seller ，

First of all I would like to say， it is great blog！。 Get your Amazon seller account health check done by Amazon Seller association AMSA examiner is someone with 10 years of experience with expert level training in account health。 Visit our website or call us today @ +1 754-273-7244。 First of all I would like to say， it is great blog！。 Get your Amazon seller account health check done by Amazon Seller association AMSA examiner is someone with 10 years of experience with expert level training in account health。 Visit our website or call us today @ +1 754-273-7244。 。。。more

Rùa ，

Một tác phẩm tuyệt vời！Bác tác giả （nhẽ ra mình phải gọi là cụ ấy mới đúng :D） có cách tiếp cận vẫn đề siêu độc đáo， mở đầu câu chuyện lúc nào cũng rất cuốn hút và tạo hứng khởi， sau đó phần nội dung bên trong thì giải thích 1 cách rất tường tận và sâu sắc để những người không thuộc ngành đó cũng có thể hiểu đc （thú thực là mình còn nhiều chỗ k hiểu đc do trình độ của mình còn non kém， nhất là những phần về tài chính， tiền tệ）， nhưng mình cam đoan là với những ng hiểu biết hơn mình thì nó sẽ rất Một tác phẩm tuyệt vời！Bác tác giả （nhẽ ra mình phải gọi là cụ ấy mới đúng :D） có cách tiếp cận vẫn đề siêu độc đáo， mở đầu câu chuyện lúc nào cũng rất cuốn hút và tạo hứng khởi， sau đó phần nội dung bên trong thì giải thích 1 cách rất tường tận và sâu sắc để những người không thuộc ngành đó cũng có thể hiểu đc （thú thực là mình còn nhiều chỗ k hiểu đc do trình độ của mình còn non kém， nhất là những phần về tài chính， tiền tệ）， nhưng mình cam đoan là với những ng hiểu biết hơn mình thì nó sẽ rất tuyệt vời， kiểu như khai sáng vậy。 :D12 câu chuyện phi thường với toàn những nhân vật không thể xuất sắc hơn。 Như là 12 công trình nghiên cứu luôn đó。Mình hứa là sau này khi kiến thức của mình khá hơn bây h mình sẽ đọc lại （1 hoặc nhiều） lần nữa để hấp thu đc hết tinh hoa của tác phẩm。Quá xứng đáng 5 sao。 。。。more

Justin Engelberts ，

You get a lot of knowledge from reading this book。 Interesting stories。 Incomprehensible topics are a little clearer to me know。 It showed me that I don't know many things， so it gave me more reason to read about the things I don't know yet。 Which is great。 You get a lot of knowledge from reading this book。 Interesting stories。 Incomprehensible topics are a little clearer to me know。 It showed me that I don't know many things， so it gave me more reason to read about the things I don't know yet。 Which is great。 。。。more

Szymon ，

książka jest ciekawa。 Dużo zastrzeżeń mam natomiast to tłumaczenia p。 Krzysztofa Mazurka。 Książka zawiera bardzo wiele miejsc， w których tłumaczenie jest wręcz niezrozumiałe - wygląda to na kopiuj -wklej z google translate bez zwracania uwagi na to， czy dana konstrukcja ma w języku polskim sens i czy jest zrozumiała。 Dawno nie czytałem czegoś o tak fatalnej wręcz jakości tłumaczenia。 żenada。

Vikrant ，

3。75/5 stars: A interesting - albeit outdated - book that takes readers through an interesting journey in 1950-1960s， this is a book about ethics， challenges， confusions， and history itself！ Although most companies mentioned in the book are now long past their prime （or gone forever）， the stories and the lessons are still noteworthy because they show what lead to the rise of industry as well as the current currency systems and laws。 A good read for anyone interested in a bit of zeitgeist adventu 3。75/5 stars: A interesting - albeit outdated - book that takes readers through an interesting journey in 1950-1960s， this is a book about ethics， challenges， confusions， and history itself！ Although most companies mentioned in the book are now long past their prime （or gone forever）， the stories and the lessons are still noteworthy because they show what lead to the rise of industry as well as the current currency systems and laws。 A good read for anyone interested in a bit of zeitgeist adventures， and a must-read for anyone interested in economics！ 。。。more

Pedro Sugimoto ，

Great book！ Awesome/relevant tales， very well written

Clare ，

3。5Written in an attention-holding enough and sometimes surprisingly critical way （albeit with some very dated terminology， although that is hardly the fault of the author） and interesting to see that not much has changed by way of business ethics， focus or practice since the 50s and 60s in the United States。 Humankind's lust for gold/stocks/cold hard cash and the rich and powerful's ability to avoid taxes continues much the same as ever。 3。5Written in an attention-holding enough and sometimes surprisingly critical way （albeit with some very dated terminology， although that is hardly the fault of the author） and interesting to see that not much has changed by way of business ethics， focus or practice since the 50s and 60s in the United States。 Humankind's lust for gold/stocks/cold hard cash and the rich and powerful's ability to avoid taxes continues much the same as ever。 。。。more

Nathanael Winslow ，

What a surprisingly interesting book！ "Business Adventures？" Are you kidding me？ It's such a corny title！ And the cover art is just as bad。 Fortunately， my nerd reputation is so entrenched that even being seen reading this couldn't harm me further。。。 But the age old mantra holds true， because what's inside the cover is now among my favorite business books！ Twelve stories， each （sometimes loosely） related to the stock market。 Pretty dry stuff。 Or so you'd think。 Somehow， Brooks manages to recount What a surprisingly interesting book！ "Business Adventures？" Are you kidding me？ It's such a corny title！ And the cover art is just as bad。 Fortunately， my nerd reputation is so entrenched that even being seen reading this couldn't harm me further。。。 But the age old mantra holds true， because what's inside the cover is now among my favorite business books！ Twelve stories， each （sometimes loosely） related to the stock market。 Pretty dry stuff。 Or so you'd think。 Somehow， Brooks manages to recount these events in all their gory detail， explaining the underlying business principles for us dabblers， while still drawing us into a colorful drama that keeps us turning the page。Two things I appreciate most about this book are 1） It was diverse and 2） It provoked thought。 The topics included income tax， marketing research， communication， intellectual property， and international currency to name a few。 The book was like glimpsing a bunch of icebergs floating around， seemingly unrelated， only to realize that what you thought were a bunch of icebergs is really only one giant， intricate， multifaceted iceberg and everything you see is connected somewhere deep under the surface。 Every once in a while， the iceberg gets top heavy and begins to roll and toss until eventually it comes to rest。 All of a sudden what you thought was so stable and solid looks a whole lot different。 Not a perfect analogy， but the point is our economic system appears to be stable and people claim that they understand it。 But from time to time， events occur， quirks of the system flair up and we find ourselves scrambling to reestablish stability and control。 Often， those people who claim to hold the reigns end up dragged under。 I think that's what I take away from the book。 We think that people with power and influence have it all together。 But in reality， everybody's making it up as they go。 There are hiccups in the system all the time and it's a continual process of fire fighting and smoothing the edges。 Our world， specifically the business world in this case， is not a finished product and still needs hard-working， innovative people to push it along。 There is always room for those types of people to make a difference。 。。。more

Alaa Joudeh ，

I bought this book knowing it as one of the classics must-have business books。 Too long and wordy， don't waste your time。 Skip it and read an online summary。 I bought this book knowing it as one of the classics must-have business books。 Too long and wordy， don't waste your time。 Skip it and read an online summary。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Business Adventures

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Business Adventures&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Business Adventures&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0