Most Popular Books by John Brooks

“Business Adventures remains the best business book I’ve ever read.” —Bill Gates, The Wall Street Journal What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety; these notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened. Stories about Wall Street are infused with drama and adventure and reveal the machinations and volatile nature of the world of finance. Longtime New Yorker contributor John Brooks’s insightful reportage is so full of personality and critical detail that whether he is looking at the astounding market crash of 1962, the collapse of a well-known brokerage firm, or the bold attempt by American bankers to save the British pound, one gets the sense that history repeats itself. Five additional stories on equally fascinating subjects round out this wonderful collection that will both entertain and inform readers . . . Business Adventures is truly financial journalism at its liveliest and best.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Business Adventures comes the chronicle of the stock market crash of 1929 and its aftermath Legend had it that anyone who passed through Golconda, a city in southern India, attained tremendous wealth. But Golconda, now in ruins, ran out of riches, and its glory vanished forever. Some have painted a similar picture of Wall Street between the two world wars. But there is more to the story of the bull market of the 1920s and the ensuing economic devastation that befell the United States. In fascinating detail, distinguished journalist John Brooks recounts the euphoric financial climb of the twenties as well as the vertiginous crash of 1929. From the heady days of economic prosperity to the sobering time after the collapse, Brooks’s rendering of this tale of vast fortune and then tragic misfortune is both dramatic and percipient. Profiling some of the era’s most famous—and infamous—bankers, traders, and hucksters, Brooks gives a stunning and colorful account of this period of boom and bust.

A major new account of the Battle of Jutland based on contemporary sources, examining the influence of technology, tactics and leadership.

"An award-winning, candid, and compelling story of an adoptive father''s search for the truth about his teenage daughter''s suicide: "Rarely have the subjects of suicide, adoption, adolescence, and parenting been explored so openly and honestly" (John Bateson, Former Executive Director, Contra Costa Crisis Center, and author of The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge). Early one Tuesday morning John Brooks went to his teenage daughter''s room to make sure she was getting up for school and found her room dark and "neater than usual." Casey was gone but he found a note: The car is parked at the Golden Gate Bridge. I''m sorry. Several hours later a security video was found that showed Casey stepping off the bridge. Brooks spent months after Casey''s suicide trying to understand what led his seventeen-year-old daughter to take her life. He examines Casey''s journey from her abandonment at birth in Poland, to the orphanage where she lived for the first fourteen months of her life, to her adoption and life with John and his wife Erika in Northern California. He reads. He talks to Casey''s friends, teachers, doctors, therapists, and other parents. He consults adoption experts, researchers, clinicians, attachment therapists, and social workers. In The Girl Behind the Door, Brooks shares what he learned and asks "What did everyone miss? What could have been done differently?" He''d come to realize that Casey might have been helped if someone had recognized that she''d likely suffered an attachment disorder from her infancy--an affliction common among children who''ve been orphaned, neglected, and abused. This emotional deprivation in early childhood, from the lack of a secure attachment to a primary caregiver, can lead to a wide range of serious behavioral issues later in life. John''s hope is that Casey''s story, and what he discovered since her death, will help others. This important book is a wakeup call that parents, mental health professionals, and teens should read"--

"The wondrous invention that changed a world and spawned a corporate giant"--Jacket subtitle.

Do you like babysitting, running, landscaping, and last but not the least, doing plumbing and yard work? Well, reading this book might be the next best thing to do after finishing your chores. Journey with John is a compilation of short, real-life stories taken from the life of Pastor John Brooks. The stories will make you laugh at life’s little jokes, reflect on experiences, appreciate the small gifts from God, and love each moment of your life. Pastor Brooks writes very compelling and relatable stories as he narrates his experiences and mishaps in a humorous and witty way. He includes Bible verses at the end of every chapter as a way for readers to reflect and ponder on life and God’s ways. His words are full of positive energy, overwhelming with inspiring attitude. He will make you realize the significance of family and faith in God. John Brooks was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but claims he got to Texas as quick as he could. He is married to Terrie Shaver of Gurdon, Arkansas, and together, they have two children, Alicia Coats and Barry Brooks, as well as six grandchildren.

A humorous and keen look at the roller-coaster boom and bust of the 1960s and 1970s by the New York Times–bestselling author of Business Adventures John Brooks blends humor and astute analysis in this tale of the staggering “go-go” growth of the 1960s stock market and the ensuing crashes of the 1970s. Swiftly rising stocks promised fast money to investors, and voracious cupidity drove the market. But the bull market couldn’t last forever, and the fall was just as staggering as the ascent. Including the astounding story of H. Ross Perot’s loss of $450 million in one day; the tale of America’s “Last Gatsby,” Eddie Gilbert; and the account of financier Saul Steinberg’s failed grab for Chemical Bank, this book is replete with hallmark financial acumen and vivid storytelling. A classic of business history, The Go-Go Years provides John Brooks’s signature insight into the events of yesteryear and stands the test of time.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

A collection of true stories about money, the stock market, and high finance from the Gerald Loeb Award–winning “unbelievable business writer” (Bill Gates). For decades, author and New Yorker staff writer John Brooks was renowned for his keen intelligence, in-depth knowledge, and uniquely engaging approach to the dramas and personalities of the financial and business worlds. With a style of prose that “turns potentially eye-glazing topics . . . into rollicking narratives,” Brooks proved that even the bottom line can be moving, hilarious, and infuriating all at once (Slate). Here are three of his most fascinating works, which still resonate today. Business Adventures: This collection of entertaining short features is a brilliant example of Brooks’s talents, covering subjects such as the Edsel disaster, the rise of Xerox, and how corruption may be an irreparable part of the corporate world. “Brooks’s deeper insights about business are just as relevant today as they were back then.” —Bill Gates, The Wall Street Journal Once in Golconda: An incisively examined chronicle of the euphoric financial climb of the twenties, the ruinous stock market crash of 1929, and the unbelievable hardship and suffering that followed in its wake. “Brooks is truly willing to give up his own views to get inside the mind of all his subjects.” —National Review The Go-Go Years: A humorous look at the staggering “go-go” growth of the 1960s stock market and the ensuing crashes of the 1970s in which fortunes were made overnight and lost even faster. “An unusually complex and thoughtful work of social history.” —The New York Times

This new book reviews critically recent studies of fire control, and describes the essentials of naval gunnery in the dreadnought era.With a foreword by Professor Andrew Lambert, it shows how, in 1913, the Admiralty rejected Arthur Pollen''s Argo system for the Dreyer fire control tables.

In the southwestern corner of the country once known as France, the future looks bleak for Earth’s survivors. Without any borders or countries, there are only tribes trying to stay alive. Following numerous disasters, the remaining people have established themselves as hunters and gatherers. They are also warriors, ready to defend and kill when necessary. Garr, together with her brother, were once fearsome warriors. After meeting a wise older man who guides her into maturity, Garr’s life is changed forever. She becomes the partner of a nomadic tribe’s leader and works to change the future. The stunning futuristic novel The First Rays of Sun follows Garr in this new world order where the rules of society are being rewritten. The story takes Garr forward from a world of base survival and brutality, to the growth and development of a functioning kingdom. An adventure of mind and spirit, the story repeats the journey taken by societies and peoples throughout history. What will this new world look like?

The works of African American authors and artists are too often interpreted through the lens of authenticity. They are scrutinized for “positive” or “negative” representations of Black people and Black culture or are assumed to communicate some truth about Black identity or the “Black experience.” However, many contemporary Black artists are creating works that cannot be slotted into such categories. Their art resists interpretation in terms of conventional racial discourse; instead, they embrace opacity, uncertainty, and illegibility. John Brooks examines a range of abstractionist, experimental, and genre-defying works by Black writers and artists that challenge how audiences perceive and imagine race. He argues that literature and visual art that exceed the confines of familiar conceptions of Black identity can upend received ideas about race and difference. Considering photography by Roy DeCarava, installation art by Kara Walker, novels by Percival Everett and Paul Beatty, drama by Suzan-Lori Parks, and poetry by Robin Coste Lewis, Brooks pinpoints a shared aesthetic sensibility. In their works, the devices that typically make race feel familiar are instead used to estrange cultural assumptions about race. Brooks contends that when artists confound expectations about racial representation, the resulting disorientation reveals the incoherence of racial ideologies. By showing how contemporary literature and art ask audiences to question what they think they know about race, The Racial Unfamiliar offers a new way to understand African American cultural production.

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