[.ca] Testosterone Inc: Tales of CEOs Gone Wild (ISBN 047170623X)

hidden envy fuels the pen:
Christopher Byron is a barely-contained little nut of rage whose transparent drive to make fun of or denigrate the powerful, seems his way of touching the hem of powerful, successful people. He appears to be in great need to vent his envy and impotence. Worthless read.

an entertaining little hissy fit:
This was an entertaining little hissy fit on the part of the author. I have never read, even in college texts a book with such lengthy footnotes. Sometimes I felt like I was reading two different books on the same page. I finally gave up reading the footnotes, and that made for a very fast read. This book is about 75% trash Jack Welch, 25% trash everyone else. I'd like to have learned what ultimately became of Al Dunlop, the most loathsome of the bunch. No cancer or raging impotence stories to cheer us up? This is the kind of book to take to the beach to read, but you might want to put a different jacket on it so no one knows of your guilty pleasure.

Nice angle, terrible book....:
Hoping to gain some insight into the behavior of Corporate Exec gone bad, I picked up this book........ MISTAKE! This book is the National Enquirer of books. Ridiculous pop psychology that would make a first-year psych. student howl with laughter (It was the testosterone! No. Wait. It was because his mother called him a punk!) The footnote system is insane. Memo to Mr. Bryon: the use of metaphors (such as Lillith) typically do require footnotes to explain them. Conclusions and assumptions made by others are pushed aside to give more room to Mr. Byron's equally fallacious assumptions and illogical conclusions. Poorly written. Poorly edited. All this, plus, Mr. Byron sets the men's movement back 20 years with his male-bashing biological reductionism and stereotyping. Too bad. An insightful book on this topic is sorely needed. Anyone know of one?

Great cover, but inside mediocre:
Although the author had some great material to work with, I found it a very one-sided viewpoint. I bought the book expecting "dirt" on these CEOs, but was still disappointed. Maybe it was the writing style or maybe the lack of balance, but I found myself questioning all of his assertions and statements when one footnote on page 100 said that Ronald Reagan was best known for hosting some TV show. His extensive documentation made me distrust his comments about these guys rather than making me trust that he researched the issues thoroughly. However, as one other reviewer mentioned, it was a nice break from all the self-aggrandizing business biographies.

A lesson in what NOT to do as a CEO!:
This book has an important message for all women who aspire to the corner office, and those who already sit there: You still have a chance to make a difference by NOT taking lessons in management and leadership from "CEOs Gone Wild." Stay in control of your own destiny by having a clear understanding of who you are, what you have accomplished (or want to accomplish), and what strengths as well as weaknesses you possess. And don't forget to remember the many wonderful folks who show up every day at work and who put their hearts and souls into making the company strong. YOU represent them as well as the stockholders! Public image can make or break a company, and it can make or break YOU as its CEO. If you strive to be an "Icon," keep in mind that someone may write your story one day. What do YOU want it to say? (Reviewed by Marion E. Gold - author of the "Personal Publicity Planner: A Guide to Marketing YOU" and "TOP COPS: Profiles of Women in Command).