Books explaining the history of takeover bids seem to focus on the personalities that put the entire process into motion - otherwise there wouldn't be a book to write. It's fascinating to hear how the least likely executives, lawyers, and bankers come together to make history. As one person in the book said: "Who do you think will play you in the movie version?"
Although I didn't get nearly as much theoretical know-how from this book as I did from the one on Anheuser-Busch, this one focused more on the ego-stroking and game-playing aspect of the takeover, from an NYC perspective. The types of people who get into ivy league schools and onto Wall Street do not sound like the type of people I'd like to associate with, from what this book shares.
The story happens in several stages - the first being internal conflict at Getty, from the point of view of Gordon Getty & Management, then taking on the Wall Street Banker-Lawyer types' angle. Finally, the book does some less capable shifting over to Texaco and Pennzoil's point of view, which is the weakest part of the book.
I think this book has simultaneously a lot and nothing to do with the subject of hostile takeovers - on one hand, one learns little about the technicalities and processes that go into a takeover. On the other hand, I feel much richer for having read this book and delving into the world of human motivation in the world of high corporate finance.
8/10