With unparalleled access to the firm's leadership, Ellis chronicles the brilliant individuals who built one of the world's largest investment banks.

Beginnings -- Disaster: Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation -- The long road back -- Ford: the largest IPO -- Transition years -- Gus Levy -- The wreck of the Penn Central -- Getting great at selling -- Block trading: the risky business that roared -- Revolution in investment banking -- Principles -- The two Johns -- Bonds: the early years -- Figuring out private client services -- J. Aron: ugly duckling -- Tender defense, a magic carpet -- The uses and abuses of research -- John Weinberg -- Innocents abroad -- Breaking and entering -- How BP almost became a dry hole -- Changing the guard -- Transformation -- False starts in investment management -- Robert Maxwell, the client from hell -- Making arbitrage a business -- J'accuse -- Building a global business -- Steve quit! -- Collecting the best -- Jon Corzine -- Long-term capital management -- Coup -- Getting investment management right -- Paulson's disciplines -- Lloyd Blankfein, risk manager.