The Partnership

THE PARTNERSHIP, a corporate history of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment firm, adopts an unrelentingly glowing, even fawning, tone. Norman Dietz matches it with a reading that seems to add "How wonderful!" to every statement--even when the company finds itself in financial trouble. While Dietz's upbeat take is fitting, both book and listeners might have been better served by a drier tone. Still, his ability to bring expressive enthusiasm to over 30 hours of sometimes-numbing detail is remarkable. Dietz even makes vivid a list of names in the acknowledgments. But despite his yeoman's job of heartfelt narration, those outside the industry may find the book's detail dull, its frequent use of unexplained technical terms confusing, and its tone off-putting. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

August 18, 2008
In this history of investment bank Goldman Sachs, Ellis (Winning the Loser's Game
) covers the same ground as Lisa Endlich's Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success
—with notable stylistic differences. From Marcus Goldman's purchase of his first commercial paper in 1869 to the firm's current success, Ellis's account is lively and engaging where Endlich's is accurate but dry. Ellis sheds light on events through dialogue and detailed descriptions of people's thoughts and feelings, embellishments that the author terms “recreations” in his epilogue. The effect of infusing such narrative techniques into the history of Goldman Sachs is entertaining, but it pushes the envelope of nonfiction, especially since the author appears to have interviewed only former partners of the firm. More damagingly, Ellis fails to report much about actual business, and attempts to do so—such as a chapter on Rockefeller Center financing—require lengthy digressions and are incomprehensible due to the complexities of the transactions. Without links to business, boardroom conflicts take on the air of petty squabbles. More a composite memoir of senior Goldman partners than a traditional history, this book will satisfy readers curious about the philosophies and personalities of the firm.