Fools Rush In

January 5, 2004
Munk's entry to the growing list of books about the AOL Time Warner merger provides a thorough recap of the debacle, with the author coming to her own conclusion on the causes behind the merger's failure. After more than 100 pages of the obligatory background on AOL and its chairman, Steve Case, and Time Warner and chairman Jerry Levin, Munk begins to make her argument that Case and Levin, who ran their companies with few checks and balances, bear the greatest responsibility for orchestrating a deal that had little chance to succeed. She presses her case by hitting hard on the fact that few Time Warner executives knew about the pending deal until hours before it was announced, and that even fewer executives supported the proposal. That due diligence for the $165-billion merger only took three days and that many of the merged company's top managers sold large chunks of stock (including Case who sold shares worth $100 million) shortly after the deal closed is further proof to Munk that the combination was not well thought out and that many managers had doubts about its success from the very beginning. For readers looking for a quick review of events surrounding the AOL Time Warner merger, Munk's book fits the bill, but for those who are already well versed on the subject, Munk (a contributing editor at Vanity Fair
) adds little new information.

Starred review from February 1, 2004
This account by Vanity Fair writer Munk is the latest chronicle describing the AOL Time Warner megamerger. Following Alec Klein's Stealing Time and Kara Swisher's There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere, this is unquestionably the best book on the subject to date. Munk has done a superb job of solidly researching the background, as well as thoroughly interviewing all the participants. In trying to find out what went wrong, the author points out that each company lacked any kind of internal system of checks and balances that could have helped put the brakes on the merger. The scenes just prior to the merger announcement on January 10, 2000, especially crackle with excitement and Machiavellian intrigue. Two villains clearly stand out here: AOL's Steve Case and Time Warner's Jerry Levin both deserve to be nominated to the corporate "Hall of Shame" for setting in motion the chain of events that led to a loss of over $200 billion in shareholder value and the near-demise of the company, now known as Time Warner. Perceptive and well written, Munk's account is highly recommended for all libraries.-Richard Drezen, Washington Post/New York City Bureau

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