The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. by William D. Cohan At the other end of the spectrum from Vachon’s rookie’s tale, this glimpse into the most secretive of investment banks comes with an insider’s pedigree. Cohan’s long career in banking included a six-year stint at Lazard, and his best material draws from his time there. His portrait of the Promethean career of Felix Rohatyn and the rise of his rivals, Steven Rattner and Bruce Wasserstein, runs on parallel tracks with his recounting of Lazard’s odd evolution from New Orleans dry-goods store to transatlantic adviser to governments and corporations. It’s a fascinating, if somewhat tangled, tale of power, ego and lots and lots of money.
Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World’s Greatest Company by Michael S. Malone According to Malone, former editor of Forbes ASAP, the culture that William Hewlett and David Packard built determined their company’s success far more than any technological innovation. He puts the lie to the au courant view that the “HP Way”—their people-first management philosophy—ultimately yielded a soft and ineffectual company. Instead, trusting employees to make the right choices and subjecting them to ruthless self-appraisal created an HP that was not just innovative but ferociously competitive. As the company drifts ever further from the “way” into mass layoffs, frozen pension plans and even a spy scandal, it’s worth reflecting on how fine Bill and Dave’s achievement really was.
