The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co (Paperback)

This astute, if not entirely cohesive, debut - from investigative journalist and former banker Cohan - chronicles the long metamorphosis of Lazard Freres. Converted from a private partnership to a diversified, publicly traded company in 2005, it was the last great American investment bank to do so.

That story intertwines with the career of Felix Rohatyn, Lazard's most famous and influential banker.

Readers expecting a comprehensive financial history in the style of Ron Chernow ("The House of Morgan") will find the company's history from its founding as a New Orleans dry goods retailer in 1848 to the early 1960s covered in only two of the 21 chapters. Cohan discusses the following quarter century in more detail, but concentrates almost exclusively on Rohatyn and draws on the general business press.

The chapters on the last 20 years contain fascinating and novel information, and rely extensively on the author's personal recollections (he worked at Lazard for six years) and interviews with associates. The result is three incompletely integrated works: a competent history of Lazard, a well-written biography of Rohatyn and an exciting insider's account of Wall Street infighting.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier.

Available at B2S

The New Age Of Innovation

By Prahalad & Krishnan

This book is the new global standard for innovation from the world's most influential management thinker - CK Prahalad. With this new landmark work, Prahalad and MS Krishnan suggest a major shift in organisational structure - one where information technology and the respective management structure form the fundamental foundation of a corporation.

The future growth of every business depends on it. Once an organisation can recognise this, it will be able to innovate processes and products that mobilise and deploy both technology and global resources. This will result in unique customer experiences that will delight the end consumer of the future.

Available at Asia Books