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The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors
The Deal Maker How William C Durant Made General Motors Author:Axel Madsen The rollercoaster life of the flamboyant creator of General Motors The early twentieth century witnessed the meteoric career of a deal maker that easily rivals that of modern legends like Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, and Bill Gates. Thriving on the art of the deal and moving at warp speed, Durant was buying companies at the rate of one every thir... more »ty days at the peak of his career. By 1910, Durant had allied twenty-five automobile firms into what would become General Motors. Then, gambling on a run on GM stock, Durant was forced into a buyout and never again had the financial wherewithal to succeed. He died a poor man. Featuring some of the most important figures in the history of the automotive industry and American business, including Henry Ford, David Buick, Albert Champion, Louis Chevrolet, Alfred P. Sloan, and Pierre Du Pont, Deal Maker is a fast-paced, rousing tale of Durant's dizzying success and abject failure. Axel Madsen (Los Angeles, CA) has written fourteen biographies, including Chanel: A Woman of Her Own; Gloria and Joe: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Gloria Swanson and Joe Kennedy; Cousteau; and Stanwyck: A Biography.« less