This book spends way too much time on a bunch of nobodies within the Bancroft family initially. This makes the first quarter of the book quite hard to get into, and, by the time you see how each member reacts against, first the proposal then the vote, you already forgot their backstory and the drama between family members. Sarah also lacks M&A insights/knowledge and so the details of the WSJ journal deal(and those made by Murdoch previously) were lackluster. Not a lot of insight/investigative journalism with regards to the Murdoch side. Lot of public information about WSJ staff and their behaviors after the merger. Read if you want to learn about the Bancroft and the public outcome of the WSJ staff.

This book was written very well. It tells the story of Rupert Murdoch's take over of the Wall Street Journal. The book is written as if it were a novel, and even though the ended (ie the fate of the Wall Street Journal) is known by all who pick it up, the book still holds your attention with just how difficult and bloody the whole ordeal is going to be. Sarah Ellison doesn't pull any punches, and shows the people in the story not in a great light or a horrible light, but in the blinding noon light of day. While I don't know these people personally, I have the feeling that I know who they really are and why they made the choices that they did. My opinion of Rupert Murdoch remains unchanged. As a businessperson he is one of a kind, as a right wing owner of the number one newspaper in nearly every major first world country, he scares the hell out of me. If the world of journalism interests you and you would like to see some of Murdoch (and other important journalstic people) in the light of this huge event, please pick up this book.