Fallen Giant: The Amazing Story of Hank Greenberg and the History of AIG [ハードカバー]

Reading about some CEO in the insurance industry, even a colorful one like Hank Greenberg, would not normally be my first choice for spending a leisurely afternoon by the fire. But I am certainly glad I chose to pick up this book.

Ron Shelp's tale of Hank Greenberg and AIG is utterly fascinating. The rise and fall of Greenberg, an extraordinary man who despite his present troubles is obviously greatly admired by the author (a former senior officer of AIG who reported directly to Greenberg for 12 years), has elements of Greek tragedy. At age 80, Greenberg had everything one could possibly want in the world, and he had earned it all. One would think his highest priority should have been to protect his legacy and his well-deserved reputation as one of the world's great businessmen.

But he was tripped up by inattentiveness to his own vulnerability and that of his company in a post-Enron world. The free-wheeling ways of the international insurance industry, and the dubious financial engineering methods and questionable accounting practices that must have been growing like a cancer inside AIG over a number of years, never seemed to have sounded any warning bells in his mind. It was business as usual. But after Enron, the world had changed, and Greenberg had the bad luck to have as an adversary an energetic, determined and effective crusader against corporate malfeasance -- the Attorney General of New York (and now Governor-elect) Eliot Spitzer.

The rest is history. Ongoing litigation will determine the final chapter of this story. Greenberg's alleged misdeeds, even if they are proved in court, are trivial in comparison to the crimes committed at Enron and by many of the more egregious corporate bad guys of our era. Punishment, if the prosecutors prevail, will likely be a lot less severe than in some other high profile cases. But those alleged misdeeds have already been enough to destroy a great man's reputation, and that must be a stunning personal tragedy for the leading character of this excellent book.

Had it not been for the current "bailout" which in January 2009 is still playing out I would never have thought of buying this book. It was published in 2006, in -as other reviewers here have pointed out - was a real hurryup year long task just to get it on the shelves. The author is an insider for whom Starr and Greenberg are real heroes and his personal insight is invaluable. If only he could now team up for another edition with a first class institutional historian and a great Wiley editor there could be a terrific bestseller coming up.

What I found most interesting was the way Starr could, as a young America , who did not speak Chinese, go to China, not only found an insurance business, but found newspapers, then move literally all over he world - Latin America, Europe, the Phillipines - and expand the country. With insurance basically a "piece of paper" the company worked in many languages.

Starr also helped out the CIA and interfaced with the arts and philanthropy as did Greenberg.

The insurance business seemed to some how go on and recover through WWII and revolutions all over the world.

In spite of the less than perfect writing this is a facinating story and I end up admiring the author who himself so admired the company and the business.

What is the first word you think of when you hear the word "insurance"? "Boring", right? Well, who knew the history of an insurance company could be filled with tales of passion and intrigue? Oh yes, and multimillion-dollar deals. AIG, the huge global insurance company, has always been a bit of a mystery to the outsider. A reverse multi-national, born in China, AIG has a culture and mores somewhat different from those of its blue-blooded brethern from New York and London. Ron Shelp does a fine job of condensing the massive 80+ year history, power struggles, and new business exploits into a story filled with intrigue and adventure. It is an essential "AIG 101" for anyone who wants to understand how an organization that managed its affairs with such finesse, for so long, could have stumbled at the top of its game.