Sony: A Private Life

by John Nathan

Named one of the best business books of the year (by Fortune and Newsweek), SONY is the "intimate biography of one of the world's leading electronics giants" (San Francisco Chronicle) as well as one of the most fascinating and complex of all corporate stories. Drawing on his unmatched expertise in Japanese culture and on unique, unlimited access to Sony's inner sanctum, John Nathan traces Sony's evolution from its inauspicious beginnings amid Tokyo's bomb-scarred ruins to its current worldwide success. "Richly detailed and revealing" (Wall Street Journal), the book examines both the outward successes and, as never before, the mysterious inner workings that have always characterized this company's top ranks. The result is "a different kind of business book, showing how personal relationships shaped one of the century's great global corporations" (Fortune).

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Japan, History, Technology, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2001

Reviews

[Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too detailed. Sometimes good and sometimes a drag.
Gives you insight into world leader in electronics and entertainment. How it was established, progresses and maintained integrity throughout good times and tough. You can learn how Japanese businesses are run, no matter what size, by personal hierarchy and command.

[Kenneth Cooke]

So far, so good. I really wanted to dig into this company who's products I've known my whole life but have never thought twice of.

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.

[Link Wei]

读的是中文版。

[Jamel Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and extremely well-written inside story of the founding and rise of Sony. The book focuses on Sony's glory years (when the Sony Walkman was the cultural and business equivalent of today's iPod.) It was published before the company's recent decline, when all its business units but the Playstation division lost money and it was so desperate that it appointed its first non-japanese CEO. The absence of these important developments makes the book no less interesting, but somewhat anticlimatic. It's sort of like reading a book about George W. Bush's presidency that was written before 9/11 happened. One of my favorite takeaways from the book was learning that "Sony" is not actually a Japanese word; the founders came up with that name because it was easy to pronounce in English.

[Anoop S Raj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly one of the most complicated and senseless way of writing about a business house I have read ever. From not following a chronological order in many places to going much deeper into unwanted details makes this book a very uninteresting read. Not recommended.

[Cessaly Denise Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Amazed at how hard these guys worked, from ashes of WWII, just punched it! Origins of co name is a bit amusing!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so surprised that this was as entertaining and memorable a book as it is!

[Glenn Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars