The Bronfmans - The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram (Hardcover)

The story of the Bronfman family is a fascinating and improbable saga. It is dominated by "Mr. Sam," the single greatest figure in the history of the liquor business, the man who made drinking whiskey respectable in the United States and who in the 1950s and 1960s built Seagram into the first worldwide empire in wine and spirits.
After Sam's death in 1971, his oldest son, Edgar, maintained the business, though he was distracted by his matrimonial problems. Nevertheless, in the 1980s he masterminded a major coup when he translated a small investment in oil made by his father into a 25 percent stake in the mighty DuPont company.
But in the 1990s, Edgar allowed his second son, Edgar Jr., to indulge his ambition to become a media tycoon. The stake in DuPont was sold, and the money reinvested in Universal, the film and theme-park empire. Edgar Jr. then paid more than $10 billion to buy Polygram Records and thus fulfill his fancy to be king of the world's music business. But at the same time, he remained in charge of the liquor business, which started to stagnate--indeed, to fall apart. Then came the final disaster when the increasingly divided family sold out to Jean-Marie Messier, overreaching empire builder of Vivendi, the French conglomerate.
But the story of this amazing family over the past century is about more than booze and business. "The Bronfmans "is a spectacular account that details the larger-than-life personalities and bitter rivalries that have made the family so famous and, sometimes, so infamous. ""The Bronfmans" is a wonderful addition to the library of family biographies, and in particular to the small shelf on the Canadian-grown Seagram whiskey empire.Splendidly written and researched--particularly on the alcoholic beverage side, of which Nicholas Faith is a distinguished expert--this book is a rollicking good story, a perceptive analysis of the Bronfmans' stunning business success, a tribute to their hard work and acumen--and a cautionary tale about what can happen, even to the greatest."
--Michael R. Marrus, author of "Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Mr. Sam"
""The Bronfmans" is an intriguing odyssey of a fabled and star-crossed celebrity family, filled with engrossing tales of the secrets of the international booze business, backroom billion-dollar shenanigans, dilettante playboys and rakes, rediscovered Jewish heritage, and an unusual champion of human rights."
--Selwyn Raab, bestselling author of "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires"
Praise for Nicholas Faith's Other Books
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"The Winemakers of Bordeaux"
"Anyone wanting an introduction to this inexhaustible subject will be delighted by Mr. Faith, who knows how to tell a story with vivacity."
--Theodore Zeldin, author of "An Intimate History of Humanity"
"An absorbing book."
--Frank Prial, "The New York Times"
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"Safety in Numbers"
"An interesting dossier on assorted bad judgment, chicanery, and loose practices."" "
--John Kenneth Galbraith
"Investigative journalism of the highest order."
--"Barron's"
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"""Useful and readable tour through the dark side of Swiss banking."
--"BusinessWeek"