Business Adventures Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

Ultimately, the way we look at business and the financial market is based on significant moments in history. And even the smallest decision can have a ripple effect, leading to major changes that impact finances and corporations.

Without history, people would make the same mistakes from the past. And with these lessons, we learn the best way to make a change and push business forward as well.

About the Author

John Brooks was an award winning writer. He worked as a financial journalist for The New Yorker. His books, which were mostly critically acclaimed, focused on Wall Street and the corporate world. He graduated from Princeton University in 1942, and joined the United States Army Air Forces, where he served as a communications and radar officer from 1942 until 1945.

He worked as a contributing editor for Time magazine. While working for The New Yorker, he contributed book reviews to Harper’s Magazine and The New York Times Book Review. He published fiction and non fiction books. His best known books focus on the scandal surrounding Wall Street banker Richard Whitney, on the speculative bubble of Wall Street in the 1960s, and on the merger mania of the 1980s.

The Business Adventures is one of Bill Gates’ favorite books.

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Business Adventures Book Summary Preview

What do many of the top companies in the business world have in common? For each of these companies, there is a specific moment in their history, either good or bad, that helped to define them.

In Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street, John Brooks looks at the defining moments of 12 iconic companies. Whether these moments were about fame or notoriety, each one helped to define the company in a way that is still relevant today.

This is a chance to get an in-depth look at some iconic companies, while also learning more about the intricacies of the corporate world as they were when each of these events took place.

Why Business Adventures is still critical reading today

No matter what business story the author looked at, from the 1962 market crash to a brokerage firm crashing, there is one thing that becomes clear - history often repeats itself.

In an effort to prevent history from repeating itself, it is important to learn from the mistakes of the past.

This is a chance to not only learn more about business, but also what they all have in common with each other. No matter how different each of these stories are, they still have a common thread that brings them together.

Stock Market crash of 1962 shows that the market is unpredictable and investors can be irrational

In 1962, a flash crash of the market left many investors in a panic, even as it proved how volatile the Stock Market can be. After six months of decline, on May 28, 1962, a crash was initiated when investors panicked over a 45 minute lag in stock price updates.

With the central office being late to update the price of stocks, investors panicked over fears that the price had dropped, which led to a large scale sell off of stocks. By selling off so many stocks so quickly, the investors ultimately created a downward spiral for the market.

However, this panic also led to the fast turn around for the market to recover. For investors, there is a common understanding that the Dow Jones Index which measures the value of the Stock Market should not drop below 500 points. As the selling frenzy crashed the market, and investors watch the market drop towards the 500 point mark, it led to those same investors quickly buying up stocks.

In just three days, millions of dollars were wiped out and then quickly replaced. All of this to prove that not only is the Stock Market unpredictable, but so are the people investing. The mood of the people is just as important as any other factor when it comes to the market.

Ford launches the Edsel and shows the world a product debut that is unsuccessful

In the late 1950s, Ford was getting ready to debut the Edsel, which was set to be the company’s flagship product of the time. However, it ended up being a massive failure for the company. The question is why.

In 1955, the car industry was booming and many...