William Morrow The Deals That Made the World: Reckless Ambition, Backroom Negotiations, and the Hidden Truths of Business

It's a good read, but I'm not sure that the claim of exposing "secret deals" is entirely accurate - and that's the reason for the three stars. Most of the forces that he shows to be shaping the markets are described as broad market strategies (so, not individuals or lone corporates). There are probably only two chapters where I felt that the "secret deal" claim was valid.The common themes throughout are: (1) social inequality is accelerating at unprecedented rates, and (2) it's in the interests of the controlling players to increase their control. I found the ways in which share / control / ownership is changing in each sector interesting, and I'm glad to have read the book for that reason. Peretti generally takes the voice of the "little man", i.e. Us, and outlines why he's worried about "Them".Suggest you read this as an interesting set of essays about how a very small number of people might make shed loads of cash from Us. The writing is concise and focussed, and as an investigative journalist Peretti is certainly accomplished.[One minor issue is that while he uses the term "singularity" within the context of technological progress, he uses it more to describe how everything is converging to become the same - i.e. singular. This is not how it has been coined by Vinge, Kurzweil, etc. For them, it is a descriptor of technological pace of change - more about the inability to forecast accurately due to change becoming too rapid, and self-propagating]

Thank goodness for investigative journalism and this guy, Jacques Peretti is among the best! And I say that being totally objective as I don't know him and have not seen or read any of his prior work.This is one incredibly fascinating book and I have to admit that I'm only about half way through it thus far. But every Chapter I've read is an eye opener and I consider myself a fairly well read individual who normally consumes one business book a week.Chapter One is all about cash and why, if certain interests have their way, it will not be in wide usage for too much longer. Perorate presents well researched facts and sources that had me highlighting points made on nearly every page. And Chapter Six on Drugs is one I would love to send to everyone I know who works in the medical profession to show them precisely how BigPharma has so influenced their mindsets.I cannot say enough good things about this book and I don't even remember how I happened upon it . . . as I live in Canada and had Amazon ship me a copy over here.

One of the best books I have read in a long time. I try and be as critical as possible reading things like this, and in some cases for sure there are exagerations or a ideas presented in a way that is a little be sensationalist. However, it makes for an entertaining read, and the core concepts presented really do make you think and I do agree with most of them to differing degrees. It's really easy and entertaining to read, and makes you want to keep reading chapter after chapter. It will make you examine the world around you in a way you havent before. It can be almost a little bit depressing in places, but take it as a chance to examine daily life from a new perspective. It's very well researched and referenced as well.

This book really exposes some very interesting and hidden facts. Its well written, easy to read and is really worth buying. A great Christmas present that many men in particular would be happy to receive.

Seriously disappointed. The blurb and intro suggested this book would give thrilling inside accounts of some of the most seminal business deals in our recent history. In fact, the author does this for 10% of the book and uses the other 90% as a subjective and often evidence-free opinion piece on their views on the current world order