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592 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
Detailed - and downright shocking - display of the egos and attitudes of hundreds of real people involved in the biggest private equity buyout of its day (and until relatively recent days). Describes far too many people to follow and too much detail, but the sheer magnitude of greed, excess and penis envy is amazing.
The DVD of the same title gives the abridged version of the story. It's quite hard to follow the story without knowing the background from the book. DVD also emphasizes Linda Robinson's character and her role compared to the book.
After dinner a beaming Linda Robinson brought out her husband’s birthday cake, which she had designed herself. A carrot cake with white frosting, it was decked with Oreos; graham crackers; and honey, cinnamon, and chocolate Teddy Grahams, Nabisco’s popular new cookie. But the pièce de résistance was the candles, or what at first glance appeared to be candles. On closer inspection one could see they were actually Winston and Salem cigarettes, each merrily lit atop the cake and wafting curls of smoke.