The Deal from Hell
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Published By PublicAffairs
Format Hardback
Number Of Pages 416
Publication Date 06/28/2011
ISBN 9781586487911
Dimensions 6.25 inches x 9.25 inches
“James O'Shea occupied a privileged, and unusual, seat during the [newspaper] implosion. In The Deal From Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers, O'Shea shares what he saw and heard… His book stands out, though, because of its unforgettable details about what happened to diminish great journalism at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. The more general indictments about the newspaper industry seem like weak gruel in comparison.”
“The Deal From Hell" is a scrupulously reported account of how hubris, bad judgment, arrogance, bad timing and, yes, greed eviscerated one of the most prestigious media companies in American history… In a class with the best books that document the Wall Street crisis of 2008, "Deal From Hell" is the best account of what has happened to newspapers in the past decade.”
Cleveland Plain Deal, July 6, 2011
“The Deal From Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers" is a detailed, inside look at how greed, incompetence and hubris gutted two of the nation's leading newspapers…It was, indeed, a deal from hell, and O'Shea gives us a clear look at the devils involved in it.
“The ‘Deal from Hell' gives us a serious and informed view of the destruction of an American journalistic institution (or two of them, in this case). O'Shea shares some fascinating inside stories based on his front-row seat as editor in chief and his long-time relationships with people who gave him interviews for the book.”
Publishing Perspectives, July 5, 2011
“Mr. James O'Shea's beguiling admixture, the eyewitness-cum-memoirist, combined with his Pulitzer-laden editorial pedigree makes for jaw-dropping vignettes, hilarious asides and harrowing portraits of pinstriped idiocy. But is The Deal from Hell important? Hell, yes. Every citizen in the republic — and every C-suite publishing executive — should hear what this book has to say, if only to discover how desperately besieged is our fount of Public Discourse.”
Irish Voice, July 21, 2011
“O'Shea's book is a fascinating fly-on-the-wall account of how powerful executives injured the newspaper industry.”
Tucson Citizen, August 2, 2011
“If you watched in dismay at the recent gutting of the Arizona Daily Star, this new book should be at the top of your summer reading list…How Wall Street bankers plundered great American newspapers to line their pockets is a story that will make most readers burn with rage. Based on exclusive interviews and testimony from bankruptcy proceedings, this narrative is filled with examples of backstabbing, double dealing, and outright insidious behavior or how big business is often conducted in modern America.”
Neiman Reports, June 15, 2011
Financial Times, July 7, 2011
“This woeful story has never had such a good unpacking as James O'Shea, a former editor at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, has given it in The Deal From Hell… In an exhaustively reported book, O'Shea makes a compelling case that greed, mismanagement and a lack of foresight had as much to do with the destruction of American newspapers as did the rise of the web…The Deal From Hell is a well-reported book, and O'Shea is armed with compelling statistics and vivid, damning anecdotes to make his point…Ultimately this is a book for people who, like O'Shea, love newspapers.”
“The star-crossed merger is the right newspaper-decline story to tell, and Mr. O'Shea is arguably the eyewitness most qualified for the task.”
New York Journal of Books, June 28, 2011
Crain's Chicago Business, June 15, 2011
“Journalists will enjoy reading about the veteran newsman's early days in the business, and industry watchers get a behind-the-scenes look at Wall Street's role…. He takes the reader all over the world — to the newsrooms of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune and on a private jet to meetings with correspondents in the Middle East. And he names names.”
Time Out Chicago, June 20, 2011
“Former Chicago Tribune managing editor Jim O'Shea's long-awaited book about what really went on inside Tribune Co..; does not disappoint. Blessed with an insider's perspective and a journalist's eye for detail, The Deal From Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers includes stunning new revelations about Zell's hand-picked CEO, Randy Michaels.”
“Journalists and students of the practice will appreciate this detailed insider account of the forces that are remaking newspapers and the specifics of how the Tribune ended up bankrupt. O'Shea's narrative skills will engage readers in this compelling story.”
Kirkus, June 1, 2011
“Numerous books have covered endangered daily newspapers, but few relate the sad saga from the perspective of a top editor with investigative reporting experience… Given O'Shea's level of detail and candor, some journalism icons will almost surely lose respect within their field…A spirited, fascinating insider's account of a troubled realm.”
New Statesman, January 7, 2011
“This book is a passionate and heavily researched account of the case against the cyber-utopians.”
“The insider's tale O'Shea tells is that of an epic business disaster, placed in the context of the whole industry driving itself off a cliff…I'm 50 pages in and riveted. I expect to stay that way”
“Loaded with Tribune Tower mayhem and monkeyshines, bankruptcy testimony, sexual innuendo, triggered security alarms, and a hysterical Tribune terrace escapade involving former Tribune honcho Randy Michaels, the book's publication comes on the heels of a Tribune desperately trying to revamp itself and its image.”