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The Deal of the Centur...
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The Deal of the Century: The Breakup of AT&T
by
Steve Coll
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
January 1st 1988
by Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster
(first published 1986)
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A surprisingly entertaining look at the breakup of Ma Bell, and an almost perfect case study of modern deregulation.
Most deregulatory tales are told by political scientists or economists, and they tend to focus on the cost structures of different businesses or capitalization rates, but Steve Coll tells the story as only a dedicated journalist could. With over a hundred interviews with the most important players, he manages to convey the chaos, miscommunication, and legerdemain inherent in the s...more
This was surprisingly entertaining. It's the story of how AT&T got broken up -- which is arguably the biggest event in the history of American telecom.
One interesting tidbit is how contingent the breakup was. The suit was filed in 1974 when Nixon DOJ officials were distracted. The Reagan administration wanted to drop it, but top two officials had to recuse themselves. Sort of a miracle it happened. It's also a good inside look at how the lobbying world looks on a microlevel circa late 1970s...more
One interesting tidbit is how contingent the breakup was. The suit was filed in 1974 when Nixon DOJ officials were distracted. The Reagan administration wanted to drop it, but top two officials had to recuse themselves. Sort of a miracle it happened. It's also a good inside look at how the lobbying world looks on a microlevel circa late 1970s...more
Very readable account of how the world's largest and most powerful corporation was split up (against the will of the populace and the majority of the government, including the president) by a comparatively small group of Justice department lawyers and politically connected competitors. Washington Post reporter Steve Coll's story is naturally strongest when covering the D.C.-based government story and a bit weaker when discussing the Bell System business issues. I found it a fascinating primer on...more
Super good, and there's a guy in it named De Butts. What else can I say?
Inside baseball for telecom nerds, but still with it. He makes antitrust accessible.
AT&T was an incredible machine and was totally lost when the government forced it to break up. A bit dry in terms of writing, but content was good to know
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Steve Coll is President & CEO of New America Foundation, and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. Previously he spent 20 years as a foreign correspondent and senior editor at The Washington Post, serving as the paper's managing editor from 1998 to 2004.
He is author six books, including The Deal of the Century: The Break Up of AT&T (1986); The Taking of Getty Oil (1987); Eagle on t...more
More about Steve Coll...
He is author six books, including The Deal of the Century: The Break Up of AT&T (1986); The Taking of Getty Oil (1987); Eagle on t...more
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