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Showing 61 - 80 of 1069 items
By David Rensin. 2003
It's like a plot from a Hollywood potboiler: start out in the mailroom, end up a mogul. But for many,…
it happens to be true. Some of the biggest names in entertainment--including David Geffen, Barry Diller, and Michael Ovitz-- started their dazzling careers in the lowly mailroom. Based on more than two hundred interviews, David Rensin unfolds the never-before-told history of an American institution--in the voices of the people who lived it. Through nearly seven decades of glamour and humiliation, lousy pay and incredible perks, killer egos and a kill-or-be-killed ethos, you'll go where the trainees go, learn what they must do to get ahead, and hear the best insider stories from the Hollywood everyone knows about but no one really knows. A vibrant tapestry of dreams, desire, and exploitation, The Mailroom is not only an engrossing read but a crash course, taught by the experts, on how to succeed in Hollywood.By Julia Flynn Siler. 2007
An epic, scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built--and then spectacularly lost--a global wine empire Set in California's lush…
Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.'s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. The blood feuds are as spectacular as the business triumphs. Cesare's sons, Robert and Peter, literally came to blows in the 1960s during a dispute touched off by the purchase of a mink coat, resulting in Robert's exile from the family--and his subsequent founding of a winery that would set off a revolution in American winemaking. Robert's sons, Michael and Timothy, as passionate in their own ways as their visionary father, waged battle with each other for control of the company before Michael's expansive ambitions ultimately led to a board coup and the sale of the business to an international conglomerate. A meticulously reported narrative based on thousands of hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is bound to become a classic.By Alexis Maybank, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. 2012
On a warm September night in 2002, former acquaintances Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis reconnected at a mixer for new…
students at Harvard Business School. Alexis had just ended a four-year run at eBay during the dotcom boom and bust. Alexandra had just spent three years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Now they were entering the country’s top training ground for future titans of Wall Street and the Fortune 500. Little did either suspect that five years later, they’d become famous not in finance or consulting or corporate management, but at the bleeding-edge intersection of fashion and technology. Gilt Groupe – launched by Alexis, Alexandra, and three colleagues in 2007 – is one of the most fascinating startups of recent years, with a valuation of more than $1 billion. And it all began with one bold idea: to bring sample sales online and change the way millions shop. As Alexis and Alexandra write about the day Gilt. com went live: “We had created a website that could potentially change the rules of retail, for both shoppers and brands. If shopping was traditionally a slow, leisurely activity that might consume an entire day, it would now be competitive, addictive, urgent, thrilling—a rush delivered at the same time each day. Shopping would become not just easier, but so much fun. ” But turning that vision into reality wasn’t easy. Designers had long controlled their own sample sales by staging them in anonymous, makeshift locations and strictly limiting invitations. Those lucky enough to hear about a Marc Jacobs or Hermès sample sale would drop everything and run for dramatic, fleeting bargains. Why should elite brands support a new startup trying to replicate the experience online? And even if brands like Valentino, Christian Louboutin, and Zac Posen got on board, would shoppers embrace such a website? Would the kind of people who love high-end fashion really visit a new online sale each day? Was “accessible luxury” a breakthrough idea or an absurd oxymoron? Alexis and Alexandra share their perspective in this dramatic story of Gilt’s birth, rise, and evolution. They show how they juggled the conflicting needs of their suppliers, engineers, marketers, and potential investors. They explain how they blended their individual strengths and weaknesses and managed their rapidly growing team. They cover the growing pains of expanding into new categories like housewares, travel, and menswear. And they take us through the darkest moments of the recession when Gilt might easily have died. As you’ll learn from the true story of Gilt, anything is possible for those with the creativity to recognize a new opportunity and the perseverance to make it real. .By Charles Demers. 2009
Vancouver is at a crossroads in its history--host to the 2010 Winter Olympics and home to the poorest neighborhood in…
Canada, it is a young, multicultural city with a vibrant surface and a violent undercoat. In Vancouver Special, an alternative guidebook, writer and performer Charles Demers digs deep to examine the past, present, and future of Vancouver, shedding light on the various strategies and influences that have made the city what it is today (and what it should be). Vancouver Special is a love letter to the city, taking a no-holds-barred look at Lotusland with verve, wit, and insight.By Robin Gerber. 2009
The tragic and redeeming story of how one visionary woman built the biggest toy company in the world and created…
a global icon. Barbie and Ruth is the entwined story of two exceptional women. There's Barbie: the diminutive yet arrestingly voluptuous doll unveiled at the 1959 Toy Fair who became the treasure of 90 percent of American girls and their counterparts in 150 countries. She went on to compete as an Olympic athlete, serve as an air force pilot, work as a boutique owner, run as a presidential candidate, and ignite a cultural firestorm. And then there's Ruth Handler, Barbie's creator: the tenth child of Polish Jewish immigrants, a passionately competitive and creative business pioneer, and a mother and wife who wanted it all. After a business scandal that forced Ruth out of Mattel, the company she founded, she drew on her experience as a breast cancer survivor to start a business that changed women's lives. She was ultimately honored as a pioneer, humanitarian, and masterful entrepreneur. Based on original research, extensive interviews, and previously unavailable material, Barbie and Ruth tells the fascinating story of how two women forever changed American business and culture.By Nina Munk. 2004
Every era has its merger; every era has its story. For the New Media age it was an even bigger…
disaster: the AOL-Time Warner deal. At the time AOL and Time Warner were considered a matchless combination of old media content and new media distribution. But very soon after the deal was announced things started to go bad--and then from bad to worse. Less than four years after the deal was announced, every significant figure in the deal -save the politically astute Richard Parsons--has left the company, along with scores of others. Nearly a $100 billion was written off and a stock that once traded at $100 now trades near $10. What happened? Where did it all go wrong? In this deeply sourced and deftly written book, Nina Munk gives us a window into the minds of two of the oddest men to ever run billion-dollar empires. Steve Case, the boy wonder who built AOL one free floppy disk at a time, was searching for a way out of the New Economy. Meanwhile Jerry Levin, who'd made his reputation as a visionary when he put HBO on satellite distribution, was searching for a monumental deal. These two men, more interested in their place in history than their personal fortunes, each thought they were out-smarting the other.By Edward Ugel. 2007
For the better part of a decade, Edward Ugel spent his time closing deals with lottery winners, making a lucrative…
and legitimate--if sometimes not-so-nice--living by taking advantage of their weaknesses . . . weaknesses that, as a gambler himself, he knew all too well. In Money for Nothing, he explores the captivating world of lottery winners and shows us how lotteries and gambling have become deeply inscribed in every aspect of American life, shaping our image of success and good fortune. Money for Nothing is a witty, wise, and often outrageously funny account of high expectations and easy money.By Esther Wachs Book. 2007
Playing With The Big Boys -- And Beating Them At Their Own Game! From Meg Whitman of eBay to Marcy…
Carsey of Carsey-Warner and Oxygen Media, today's leading businesswomen show how to make it in the notorious boys' club of corporate America. Gone are the days when men called the shots. More and more women have replaced men or excelled over rivals in male-dominated industries because they possess the qualities of leadership that top firms are seeking today. Esther Wachs Book introduces the new Female Leader and reveals the seven key, and uniquely female, qualities of leadership that are turning the world around -- and allowing more women to achieve success. Filled with compelling insights gleaned from the country's highest-ranking businesswomen, Why the Best Man for the Job Is a Woman reveals how these exceptional women have soared to the top and captures their strategies for success.By Lee Myung-Bak. 2011
Born poor in the wake of the Korean war, Lee Myung-Bak was destined for a life of poverty. But through…
intelligence and self-determination, he excelled in school, putting himself through college, hauling garbage six times a day to pay for tuition. He then took a low-level job at Hyundai, an organization of about 90 people at the time. Through a relentless work ethic and inability to compromise his beliefs, he rose to the role of CEO and found himself on a mission not just to expand the Hyundai corporation, but to grow South Korea from a nation of poverty to a G20 economy. The Uncharted Path is the story of a man and nation driven to greatness by a conviction to liberty, commerce, and the belief that at the root of every success lies extreme perseverance and uncompromising principles. These principles and lessons would lead not only to success in business, but also developed a refreshing and unique perspective on the state of our globalizing world, and how nations and businesses must operate together to improve the lives of people everywhere.By Carly Fiorina. 2007
The New York Times bestseller by the most talked about woman in American business. For five and a half years,…
Carly Fiorina led Hewlett-Packard through major internal changes, the worst technology slump in decades, and the most controversial merger in high-tech history. Yet just as things were about to turn around, she was abruptly fired, making front-page news around the world. Fiorina has been the subject of endless debate and speculation. But she has never spoken publicly about crucial details of her time at HP, about the mysterious circumstances of her firing, or about many other aspects of her landmark career. Until now. In this extraordinarily candid memoir, she reveals the private person behind the public persona. She shares her triumphs and failures, her deepest fears and most painful confrontations. She shows us what it was like to be an ambitious young woman at stodgy old AT&T and then a fast- track executive during the spin-off of Lucent Technologies. Above all, she describes how she drove the transformation of legendary but deeply troubled HP, in the face of fierce opposition. One of Fiorina?s big themes is that ?in the end business isn?t just about numbers; it?s about people.? This book goes beyond the caricature of the ?powerful woman executive? to show who she really is and what the rest of us?male or female, in business or not?can learn from the tough choices she made along the way.On the outside, it looked like Tim Brown was living the ideal life. He had risen from his hardscrabble beginnings…
in South Florida to a position of status and wealth in the Denver business community. He had married into an extremely prominent and well-recognized family and had built several thriving businesses. But on the inside, it was another story altogether. The ghosts of his past haunted him, relentlessly hounding him about his value as a father, friend, and business leader. His life was deceptive and spinning out of control, and it led to the darkest night of his life. From that darkness, Tim found the strength to reshape his entire life. His faith gave him the courage to jump in the parade,” a phrase his father-in-law coined to mean truly living, taking chances and being who you really want to benot who others expect you to be. With a renewed commitment to discovering, owning, and living his values, Tim began the process of deconstructing and then reconstructing his life. Jumping in the Parade proves you don’t have to remain a prisoner of your past or a victim of your present. This heartfelt and humbling story shows how anyone can find the strength to jump in the parade and live a life truly worth living if they are willing to take a hard look at living into alignment with their values.By Joanne Gordon, Bill Mcdermott. 2014
A leadership and career manifesto told through the narrative of one of today's most inspiring, admired, and successful global leaders.In…
Winners Dream, Bill McDermott--the CEO of the world's largest business software company, SAP--chronicles how relentless optimism, hard work, and disciplined execution embolden people and equip organizations to achieve audacious goals. Growing up in working-class Long Island, a sixteen-year-old Bill traded three hourly wage jobs to buy a small deli, which he ran by instinctively applying ideas that would be the seeds for his future success. After paying for and graduating college, Bill talked his way into a job selling copiers door-to-door for Xerox, where he went on to rank number one in every sales position he held and eventually became the company's youngest-ever corporate officer. Eventually, Bill left Xerox and in 2002 became the unlikely president of SAP's flailing American business unit. There, he injected enthusiasm and accountability into the demoralized culture by scaling his deli, sales, and management strategies. In 2010, Bill was named co-CEO, and in May 2014 became SAP's sole, and first non-European, CEO.Colorful and fast-paced, Bill's anecdotes contain effective takeaways: gutsy career moves; empathetic sales strategies; incentives that yield exceptional team performance; and proof of the competitive advantages of optimism and hard work. At the heart of Bill's story is a blueprint for success and the knowledge that the real dream is the journey, not a preconceived destination.By Richard Kirshenbaum, Jerry Della Femina. 2011
A thrilling and irreverent memoir about the transformation of the advertising business from the 1980s to todayRichard Kirshenbaum was born…
to sell. Raised in a family of Long Island strivers, this future advertising titan was just a few years old when his grandfather first taught him that a Cadillac is more than a car, and that if you can't have a Trinitron you might as well not watch TV. He had no connections when he came to Madison Avenue, but he possessed an outrageous sense of humor that would make him a millionaire. In 1987, at the age of twenty-six, Richard put his savings on the line to launch his own agency with partner Jonathan Bond, and within a year, had transformed it from a no-name firm into the go-to house for cutting-edge work. Kirshenbaum and Bond pioneered guerilla marketing by purchasing ad space on fruit, spray-painting slogans on the sidewalk, and hiring actors to order the Hennessy martini in nightclubs. They were the bad boys of Madison Avenue--a firm where a skateboarding employee once bowled over an important client--but backed up their madness with results. Packed with business insight, marketing wisdom, and a cast of characters ranging from Princess Diana to Ed McMahon, this memoir is as bold, as breathtaking, and as delightful as Richard himself.By Fodor'S Travel Guides. 2017
Written by locals, Fodor's travel guides have been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for more than 80…
years. Fodor’s correspondents highlight the best of Toronto, including superb museums and art galleries, outstanding global cuisine, and the edgy spirit of Queen West. Our local experts vet every recommendation to ensure you make the most of your time, whether it’s your first trip or your fifth.This travel guide includes:· Dozens of full-color maps · Hundreds of hotel and restaurant recommendations, with Fodor's Choice designating our top picks· Multiple itineraries to explore the top attractions and what’s off the beaten path · Major sights such as the CN Tower, Historic Distillery District and St. Lawrence Market· Side Trips from Toronto including Niagara Falls, Stratford, Southern Georgian Bay, The Muskokas and Niagara Wine Region· Covers: Harbourfront and the Islands, Old Town and Distillery District and Dundas Square AreaBy Lori Sturdevant, Tom H. Swain. 2015
For an insider's take on the last eighty years in Minnesota history, sit down with Tom H. Swain's memoir. It…
is a personal look at the people and events that shaped the state's history, written by a civic and business leader--and a true public servant--with a genuine knack for telling a story. From business to athletics, politics to education, Swain is a key player. He's been a mayor, a University of Minnesota vice president, a chief of staff to former Minnesota governor Elmer L. Andersen, and a member and chair of numerous nonprofit and civic boards. In Citizen Swain: Tales from a Minnesota Life, he brings his vibrant presence and meaningful contributions to life eloquently, giving readers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of institutions and their leaders. Swain was more than a witness to state history. He helped make it happen. Readers learn what it was like to be a part of Governor Andersen's administration--including details about the dramatic vote recount that ended his term. Swain's dedication to education and sports shine through as he speaks of his service at the University of Minnesota. Over the years in positions ranging from ticket manager in the athletic department to vice president, Swain got to know Gopher coach Bernie Bierman and three University of Minnesota presidents--Nils Hasselmo, Mark Yudof, and Robert Bruininks. Twenty-three years at the St. Paul Companies gave him profound insight into the state's oldest corporation. Whether he's describing the hard work behind the scenes of the massive civic celebration of the state's centennial or growing up in 1930s and 1940s Minneapolis, Swain's passion for making Minnesota a better place comes through in these remembrances, told with warmth, respect, and not a small amount of wit. Citizen Swain will be an inspiration to anyone seeking to make positive change through active citizenship.By Jerry Della Femina, Charles Sopkin. 2010
It was a meeting of the agency's top people to find an advertising theme for Panasonic, a major new Japanese…
electronics firm. Suddenly the new $50,000-a-year creative supervisor leapt to his feet in a frenzy of simulated inspiration. 'I've got it!' he cried, 'I see this big headline: FROM THOSE WONDERFUL FOLKS WHO GAVE YOU PEARL HARBOR!' From the publishers that brought you Homicide comes another classic piece of writing that inspired a hit TV show. Mad Men is the series that's got everyone talking - and with good reason, having won 9 Emmys, 5 Golden Globes and beating The Wire to the 'Best International Award' at the 2009 Baftas. Jerry Della Femina's advertising classic, first published in the US in 1971, is the original guide to life on Madison Avenue in the 1960s - and it was an inspiration for series one of Mad Men, with Jerry an advisor to the show. Packed full of eccentric characters and interesting anecdotes it is a gloriously gossipy and irreverent account. It is also full of fascinating advertising campaigns: the Volkswagen 'Think Small' campaign which gave the company their big break in the US ; the cake mix which relied on the breaking of a single egg; or Marlboro Man in Marlboro Country - an all time classic. With a new Mad Men inspired cover and a campaign to rival those of Madison Avenue this is the non-fiction treat of the summer.By Sam Polk. 2016
In 2014, a former hedge fund trader's New York Times Sunday Review front page article about wealth addicition instantly went…
viral. This is his unflinching memoir about coming of age on Wall Street, fighting to overcome the ghosts of his past--and the radical new way he now defines success.At just thirty years old, Sam Polk was a senior trader for one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, on the verge of making it to the very top. When he was offered an annual bonus of $3.75 million, he grew angry because it was not enough. In that moment he knew he had lost himself in his obsessive pursuit of money. And he had come to loathe the culture--the shallowness, the sexism, the crude machismo--and Wall Street's use of wealth as the sole measure of a person's worth. He decided to walk away from it all. For Polk, becoming a Wall Street trader was the fulfillment of his dreams. But in reality it was just the culmination of a life of addictive and self-destructive behaviors, from overeating, to bulimia, to alcohol and drug abuse. His obsessive pursuit of money papered over years of insecurity and emotional abuse. Making money was just the latest attempt to fill the void left by his narcisstic and emotionally unavailable father. As in Liar's Poker, Polk brings readers into the rarefied world of Wall Street trading floors, capturing the modern frustrations of young graduates drawn to Wall Street. Raw, vivid, and immensely readable, For the Love of Money explores the birth of a young hedge fund trader, his disillusionment, and the radical new way he has come to define success.By James D. Scurlock. 2012
When globalization pioneer and reclusive billionaire Larry Hillblom disappeared in 1995, he left behind an international fiasco that is still…
unraveling today. King Larry is a three-part journey, beginning with the early years of a mercurial young man who grew up fatherless on a peach farm outside of Fresno, California. Months after graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1969, Hillblom cofounded DHL--three years before FedEx was formed--and it quickly became the fastest-growing corporation in history. Hillblom's expatriate life began twelve years later, when he retreated to a small tax haven in the Western Pacific. There, James Scurlock reveals, Hillblom led the resistance to American meddling in the Mariana Islands, rewrote the tax code and real-estate laws, and became a Supreme Court justice--among other unlikely exploits. Hillblom's voracious appetite for underage prostitutes is another facet of his convoluted story, illuminating the realities of the sex and human-trafficking industries in Southeast Asia. But Hillblom's amoral, thrill-seeking nature finally caught up with him when his vintage seaplane disappeared off the coast of Anatahan in May 1995, and he left behind an estate worth close to a billion dollars. Weeks later, five impoverished women and their attorneys came forward to challenge Hillblom's will, his former business partners, and his alma mater, provoking a legal battle that has raged for over fifteen years. From Howard Hughes to Mark Zuckerberg, the public has always been fascinated by larger-than-life entrepreneurs and their eccentricities. Now, James Scurlock engages us with the riveting story of one such man, who dressed in rags and lived in relative obscurity, but who has had a profound and lasting influence--a pioneer who shrank the globe, toppled the postal monopoly, anticipated electronic mail, and, most important, envisioned a world driven by economics rather than by laws.By Alissa Translations, Eder Holguin. 2017
Camino Hacia la Esperanza es una historia conmovedora que en la que el autor se relata de como pasó de…
vivir en las calles a convertirse en un empresario exitoso. El libro aporta una lección para todos y demuestra que, aunque la vida pueda ser cruel y brutal, incluso los más desfavorecidos se puede superar las probabilidades y encontrar la felicidad: Su propia Camino Hacia la Esperanza. La narración que capta la atención y suena con autenticidad; A menudo es triste, chocante, pero al final edificante y motivador.By Janet Wallach. 2012
A captivating biography of America's first female tycoon, Hetty Green, the iconoclast who forged one of the greatest fortunes of…
her time. No woman in the Gilded Age made as much money as Hetty Green. At the time of her death in 1916, she was worth at least 100 million dollars, equal to more than 2 billion dollars today. A strong believer in women being financially independent, she offered valuable lessons for the present times. Abandoned at birth by her neurotic mother, scorned by her misogynist father, Hetty set out as a child to prove her value. Following the simple rules of her wealthy Quaker father, she successfully invested her money and along the way proved to herself that she was wealthy and therefore worthy. Never losing faith in America's potential, she ignored the herd mentality and took advantage of financial panics and crises. When everyone else was selling, she bought railroads, real estate, and government bonds. And when everyone was buying and borrowing, she put her money into cash and earned safe returns on her dollars. Men mocked her and women scoffed at her frugal ways, but she turned her back and piled up her earnings, amassing a fortune that supported businesses, churches, municipalities, and even the city of New York itself. She relished a challenge. When her aunt died and did not leave Hetty the fortune she expected, she plunged into a groundbreaking lawsuit that still resonates in law schools and courts. When her husband defied her and sank her money on his own risky interests, she threw him out and, marching down to Wall Street, quickly made up the loss. Her independence, outspokenness, and disdain for the upper crust earned her a reputation for harshness that endured for decades. Newspapers kept her in the headlines, linking her name with witches and miscreants. Yet those who knew her admired her warmth, her wisdom, and her wit. Set during a period of financial crisis strikingly similar to our current one, acclaimed author Janet Wallach's engrossing exploration of a fascinating life revives a rarely-mentioned queen of American finance.