The Taking of Getty Oil: Pennzoil, Texaco, and the Takeover Battle That Made History Paperback – November 14, 2017

Steve Coll puts you inside every conversation and negotiation in this scintillating book. The writing is outstanding and the level of detail is remarkable. Characters jump off the page. The hapless Gordon Getty is both naive and "dumb like a fox". Lasky, Lipton, Miller, Winokur are masters of their lawyerly trade.

Tons of insider detail and conversation describing the turmoil that racked and ultimately wrecked J. Paul Getty's huge oil legacy. Takeover artists, Wall Street hawks, and industry giants play key roles in the 1970s-80s environment that made Getty Oil a target. Steve Coll's narrative is most readable and compelling--only a few necessary side trips to explain important financial issues.

Book arrived to my home as scheduled, and loved the content, and subject matter.

This was a really good book. It was well researched and the author did a good job of bringing the characters involved to life where you understood decisions that without context might not make sense. Overall, it was well worth the time I put into reading it and would recommend it to others.

I had read a bio of J Paul Getty and his complex life, which was quite interesting. I decided to read this to find out what happened to the company his father had built and he had carefully managed and grew over the years. I could see why Gordon was not his choice to handle the trust alone. Undoubtedly, J Paul would be angry and disappointed at how the company was destroyed. The management team had done an admirable job of running the company, but with the death of an influential company lawyer, things quickly grew out of control. Gordon's lack of business instinct led to situations that out the company in danger. He was unaware and didn't care. I felt sympathy for Sid Peterson, the exec in charge, trying to protect the company and manage Gordon's increasingly unusual requests wanting to "enhance shareholder value." His misguided efforts led to numerous lawyers ( for him, for the company, for the trust, then the merger and valuations). It finally reached the point where the company was forced to find a buyer and fend off takeover attempts. Predatory businessmen and lawyers came for the feeding frenzy. You need a scorecard to keep track of all the players. Gordon, the Getty Trust, Getty Museum, other family members, the board of directors of Getty Oil, Pennzoil, Texaco and an army of lawyers. This led to one of the largest mergers and largest lawsuit damages at the time. This was a long book even for me to get through. The first half flew, my favorite parts being the board vs Gordon. It bogged down for me during the trial. I read this book using immersion reading. Narration by Steven Cooper was straightforward and rote.

Great story telling! A very enjoyable read. As a corporate lawyer I throughly enjoyed it. Yes there are a lot of characters but they are vividly described. The way the negotiations, board meetings, meetings with counsel are described are realistic. Having grown up in Los Angeles I loved the references to local landmarks. It made me wonder what these places were like back then. Recommended for millenial and soon gen Z attorneys as a glimpse into a historic area in American finance. Law and finance needs will love it

Reads like a suspense novel. Author Does a great job keeping the reader engaged and keeping track of all the characters in the story.

After starting this book, I had serious doubts that I could continue. The names, alone, were confusing enough. But, continue I did. I am old enough to remember some of the story, but the textbook like style of writing was sometimes off-putting. In the end, however, I have to give the author his due, if only for his persistence. The afternotes put another whole view in my mind and, if nothing else, I am glad that I continued, but also glad it is finished.