William Knoedelseder

Although I was afraid this would be something of a throwaway puff piece, Knoedelseder gives one an effective life and times of Harley Earl, the man who, for better or worse, made styling as important as engineering to mass-market American automobiles. As for the subtitles, for there to be a rise of General Motors, there had to be a fall of the Ford Motor Company, and business strategy is a strong secondary element of the story being told. As for the glory of Detroit, that barely lasted a show more generation, and justifies some of the sociological angles that the author explores in this book. If nothing else, I find a lot of car books undercut by their authors' uncritical enthusiasm for their subject, whereas Knoedelseder comes both to praise and critique in equal measure, as required. I really have no salient complaints about this work. For those who want more nuts and bolts, well, other books exist for that. show less

Prior to Bitter Brew I knew nothing about the Busch family, didn't even realize there was a connection to Busch Gardens, thus my cultural ignorance. So this was a great education on the history of the company and family behind Budweiser. I'm of the same Generation X as Bush IV, who began taking up microbrews and imports and considered American to be piss water, epitomized by Budweiser and it's uncertain variants (light, ice etc). So this Schadenfreude of a book went down smooth. In all show more fairness this is not a legitimate history, it's really a "greatest hits" of the Busch family craziness and mistakes (the successes a given). It was entertaining, thought provoking and in the case of Busch IV, very sad, his days on this earth appear numbered unless he is able to get off drugs. Knoedelseder doesn't explore the obvious irony of a family whose success was built on encouraging increased alcohol consumption, but whose favored son is brought down by drug addiction, part of a bigger story about addiction problems in the modern world. show less

I approached this book from an investor's point of view, as I knew it would be an illustration of the consequences of poor corporate governance. What a surprise to discover it's also a great read! The members of these multiple generations of the Busch family are characters as rich as in any great work of fiction. The story ranges from Prohibition-era history to contemporary politics and business, but in a most engaging way. I think most readers will be surprised by how much they learn. I show more also observed that the author is meticulous about sourcing. Unlike a lot of biographies I read, he does not attempt to describe what the family members were thinking. He relies solely on interviews, letters and documents. In fact, the motivations of some of the primary figures in the book remain frustratingly elusive, but it's because the author did know presume to know why they acted as they did. I appreciate such restraint in non-fiction work. Overall, this is a fascinating, well crafted and important story. show less

I lived in St. Louis for 35 years, so I came to know the story of the Busch family very well, and also got to know some of the lessor members of the Busch family. So I was familiar with many of the stories told in this book about the rise and fall of the great American brewery.

What I didn't know, however, because I had left the city before it happened was what led to the company's purchase by InBev in the early 2000's. It is almost unbelievable to me how the board of directors could allow show more August Busch IV to become the CEO of the company when he was not only clearly incompetent, but also a drug addict and an alcoholic.

It's a sad story, and only too common these days, how the rich are enabled and protected from being responsible. This man was not only responsible for the collapse of the company and the loss of over 2000 jobs in St. Louis, but he also caused the deaths of two women. He walked away with millions and left others to pick up the pieces. This is a cautionary tale. show less