First published 1996
Ross Perot defies easy categorization. Critics paint him as both a heroic rescuer who saved kidnapped employees from Iran and a ruthless executive who trampled his own workers. They see him as a computer visionary who built a billion-dollar empire and as a schemer who exploited government contracts for unfair profits. Some call him a patriot who funded private missions to help prisoners of war in Southeast Asia. Others label him a conspiracy theorist obsessed with CIA plots and drug trafficking. Gerald Posner spent two years conducting hundreds of interviews and examining documents to separate fact from fiction. His investigation traces Perot's path from childhood through his current attempt to build a third political party. The book reveals how Perot accumulated his wealth, examines his influence on multiple presidents, and explores his feuds with George Bush. It exposes the private battles Perot fought against officials and competitors he deemed corrupt. Most importantly, it answers what drives this polarizing figure and whether he possesses the temperament to lead the nation.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, politics, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
Hardcover · Random House Trade