#16 in Business
Barbarians at the Gate
- 563
- Pages
- about 10 h
- Reading time
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Our view
The fight for RJR Nabisco becomes a gripping, closely reported drama in “Barbarians at the Gate”. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar rebuild the autumn of 1988 on Wall Street from the testimony of those who were there, with a sharp eye for the egos involved. Some readers find its more than five hundred pages padded by long backstories of minor players. A fine choice for anyone curious about how the largest deals are struck.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Over six months on the New York Times bestseller list, Barbarians at the Gate is the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's gripping record of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 is the story of deal makers and pulicity flaks, of strategy meetings and society dinners, of boardrooms and bedrooms, giving us not only an unprecedentedly detailed look at how financial operations at the highest levels are conducted but also a richly textured social history of wealth at the twilight of the Reagan era. As compelling as a novel, Barbarians at the Gate is must reading for everyone interested in the way today's world really works.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 91 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 38% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Business average of 7.9. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.2 | 9 | 10% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 82 | 90% |
Frequently asked
How long is Barbarians at the Gate?
It has 563 pages — longer than 89% of the ranked books in Business.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Business — with scores between 7.8 and 8.2, closest to this book.
