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  • Power Failure

  • The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
  • Written by: William D. Cohan
  • Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
  • Length: 28 hrs and 17 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Power Failure

Written by: William D. Cohan
Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
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Publisher's Summary

The dramatic rise—and unimaginable fall—of America's most iconic corporation by New York Times bestselling author and pre-eminent financial journalist William D. Cohan

No company embodied American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial power more spectacularly and more consistently than the General Electric Company. GE once developed and manufactured many of the inventions we take for granted today, nearly everything from the lightbulb to the jet engine. GE also built a cult of financial and leadership success envied across the globe and became the world’s most valuable and most admired company. But even at the height of its prestige and influence, cracks were forming in its formidable foundation.

In a masterful re-appraisal of a company that once claimed to “bring good things to life,” pre-eminent financial journalist William D. Cohan argues that the incredible story of GE’s rise and fall is not only a paragon, but also a prism through which we can better understand American capitalism. Beginning with its founding, innovations, and exponential growth through acquisitions and mergers, Cohan plumbs the depths of GE's storied management culture, its pioneering doctrine of shareholder value, and its seemingly hidden blind spots, to reveal that GE wasn't immune from the hubris and avoidable mistakes suffered by many other corporations.

In Power Failure, Cohan punctures the myth of GE, exploring in a rich narrative how a once-great company wound up broken and in tatters—a cautionary tale for the ages.

©2022 William D. Cohan (P)2022 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“This page-turner should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the spectacular crash of one of America’s most-vaunted corporate success stories.” —JANE MAYER, author of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

“With the sweep and authority of an accomplished historian, the digging of a fearsome investigative reporter, and the storytelling skills of a novelist, Bill Cohan takes us from the nineteenth-century birth of GE, to its rise as America’s most-valued company in the twentieth, to its near death in the twenty-first. With incredible access to Jack Welch and the major actors in this drama, he paints a panoramic view of America and of capitalism, how it has changed and still must.” —KEN AULETTA, bestselling author and contributor to The New Yorker

“General Electric was once the most important, powerful, and influential company on Earth—and this is the definitive story of how it got that way and what happened next. William Cohan takes us inside the company’s boardrooms and factories with a rollicking and fascinating tale of corporate brilliance, bitter infighting, business daring, and monied folly that illuminates not just General Electric but the world and economy it helped create.” —CHARLES DUHIGG, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

What listeners say about Power Failure

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  • Brannon Crawford
  • 2022-12-26

Much better than other GE books

THIS is the GE story. I read “the man who broke capitalism” about jack welch at GE earlier this year and found it a very slow and boring listen, this is infinitely better.

A comprehensive autopsy of the American conglomerate

2 people found this helpful

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  • CM
  • 2023-03-09

Cohan does it again

Engrossing tale of GE’s executives and its rise and fall. Cohan does an amazing job of making business numbers and figures understandable and interesting. As much a business leadership book as it is a history. He had great access to the players and they seem to pull no punches. Loved it.

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  • Thom Pierson
  • 2023-03-05

Whinny men

Imagine what the title of this book would have been if all the main players were women. I can imagine titles like “Too Emotional and Overwrought,” “Cat Fights,” “Daggers Out.”

This entire book is about insecure men who act like babies. The suggested titles that I listed are perfect fits for this book.

A bunch of backstabbing, insecure, overly emotional, and overwrought whinny and overpaid men.

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  • Brad
  • 2023-02-18

An electric read

A towering achievement fit for the subject itself. Illuminating and enlightening, a tragedy of modern capitalism

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • lisa
  • 2023-02-14

Interesting Ode to Jack Welch

Jack Welch was a very good, shrewd and ruthless CEO. He was also one of the luckiest people on earth being born at the right place and right situation. Could someone else have had the accomplishments he had, given the certain time and situation, I have little doubt. This notion is glossed over quickly in this book as is how Jeff Immelt may have been the unluckiest CEO ever. But to continue Cohan’s posthumous love letter to Jack it must be so.

As far as performance, I felt like I was hearing 30 hours of the news by Walter Cronkite.

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  • Marilee DiBernardo
  • 2023-02-11

Fantastic

I am impressed with this writing.
The story unfolded in such an unexpected manner, that I couldn’t stop listening. I just had to hear what happens next.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2023-02-07

Balanced Review

Enjoyed the recounting of an iconic American company. I felt like the author worked hard to provide a fair view of the rise and decline of GE. He provided ample opportunity for the executives to share their respective viewpoints. He corroborated or refuted the views based on publicly available research. I also enjoyed the narrator. It’s a long book. I never tired of his voice and presentation style. The author tried to get interviews with other individuals that would have been interesting to hear from. Too bad they wouldn’t participate.

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  • Brian Edwards
  • 2023-02-05

Good

What it will take to keep you company at the top and how each decisions will affect the company but your legacy.

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  • Robert
  • 2023-02-02

Impressive History of an American Capitalist Powehousr

Cohan’s range throughout this century-long epic is spellbinding and thought-provoking in its first-hand record of events.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2023-01-29

A comprehensive and exciting account of GE’s journey through the decades

A very well written account of GE’s history, leading to it’s controversial journey through the last 2 decades.
The story is well researched though some facts quoted may be debatable. There is a distinct portrayal of Immelt as the cause of the company’s failure but more could have been said about the general apathy from the board and senior management if this in fact was true.
In summary, a great read with many lessons in good and bad leadership.