Steven Rattner

If you managed to lose track of the great bail-out of GM and Chrysler in the early days of the current administration this is not the worst book in the world that you could read to get up to date. Keep in mind that the author never misses an opportunity to pat himself on the back whenever possible, while casting disdain on the constitutional and procedural processes designed to keep those of his ilk in Wall Street at bay (the author was eventually caught up in his own seedy little ethics show more mess). To say that Rattner operates under the "great man" theory of history would be putting it mildly. Still, the one thing I can agree upon with Rattner is that all the scorn he casts upon the old management at GM was greatly deserved. If you were following this bailout the most interesting points are probably in regards to Chrysler, which was overshadowed by the battle to save GM; that Daimler-Benz's management of the firm verged on the criminal could have been played up more. show less

Actually, a real page turner. Rattner, an ex-New York Times reporter, is a good writer, and the story is an interesting one if you're interested in business or economic policy. I became fascinated in this story when I read that 31-year-old Brian Deese, just out of Yale Law, was helping run the Auto Task Force. Rattner actually seems to respect Deese...

A very understandable revelation of what happened when and why in the bailouts of Chrysler and GM. Mr Rattner was in a very visible position to tell us all about it. The inside story he tells drops the word billions all over the place. It does tell us once again that good management is essential to any endeavor, and good managers can function even with an absence of product knowledge.

Insider's view of one of the biggest economic restructurings in modern history. It really is too soon to determine how well the program is working, but the greater workings of politics and boardrooms are all laid bare here. Worth it.