The Alexander Complex

Probes the motivations and means of achievement of six of the wealthiest, most ambitious men in the business world, tracing a common drive to "possess the world" in all of their undertakings

The Greeks described the drive that carried Alexander the Great to world conquest in his 30s as "divine restlessness." Newsweek editor Meyer finds that same quality in six of America's most famous 20th-century entrepreneurs, visionaries able to communicate their vision to a team that helps make it reality. He looks at Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, now with a company called NeXT; H. Ross Perot of Electronic Data Processing, who reportedly lives by a series of copybook maxims; James Rouse, an urban planner who has revitalized several U.S. cities; Robert Swanson, head of Genentech, a leading bioengineering company; Ted Turner, communication mogul whose self-proclaimed new mission is to "save the world"; Daniel Ludwig, billionaire shipping magnate who lost half of his fortune in a land-grab of the Amazon rain forest. Each story emphasizes the tycoon's philosophy of life. Students of business should find these accounts stimulating.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this book, Meyer, a business editor at Newsweek , highlights six business leaders who have the "Alexander complex," a vision of empire in the tradition of Alexander the Great. They are Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and NeXT Computer; Ross Perot, founder of Electronic Data Systems; James Rouse, creator of the Columbia, Maryland town complex and other festival marketplaces; Robert Swanson, founder of Genentech; Ted Turner, founder of TBS and CNN TV; and Daniel Ludwig, who tried to plant "trees like corn" in the Amazon jungle. This work is not really a profile of these individuals, but rather a way of showing traits such as vision, leadership, willfulness, and focus--all factors beyond the desire for money--that are needed by great empire builders. Recommended for all but the smallest business collections.
- Michael D. Kathman, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.