Business Classic: Barbarians at the Gate

The 1980s are the prototypical Wall Street decade. The country had emerged from a lengthy slumber marked by stagnant growth and a bear market.

Many of the high profile deals of the 1980s were in fact part of a massive industrial reorganization of America. It was the age of the junk bond, leveraged buy-outs and hostile takeovers.

Barbarians at the Gate covers one aspect of that story: the machinations surrounding the massive 1988 RJR Nabsico leveraged buy-out. It's a titanic struggle of egos between CEOs and corporate raiders as both sides want to take the company private and line their pockets as well.

Read this book to better understand corporate finance, learn about the origins of modern Wall Street dealmaking, and read a business book you will be expected to know. Plus, it's a good time with classic real-life Wall Street sleazeballs!