Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

By Bryan Burrough, John Helyar

Categories: Business & Money

Wall Street Journal reporters Bryan Burrough and John Helyar tell the story of the 1988 battle for RJR Nabisco, the tobacco and food giant behind Winston cigarettes and Oreo cookies, then the largest leveraged buyout in history. It began when chief executive F. Ross Johnson proposed taking the company private. Their 1990 book follows the executives, bankers and lawyers who joined the bidding war, including Henry Kravis of KKR, and captures the egos and excess of 1980s Wall Street.

Recommended by 4 people

• Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Of my absolute favorite business books, two are obvious classics that have already received their due but can’t be omitted: “Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco” by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar”
• Ryan Holiday
• David Sacks: “Barbarians at the Gate... it was a TV movie with James Garner. It was good... The book is excellent. The book is next level.”
• Keith Rabois: “Love this reference. Suggested reading this book this am on stage at Techweek.”