There are few companies with history as rich and complicated as IBM's. With their roots starting in the 1880s, they are certainly the oldest company in the technological industry. What made IBM tick was not mere products, but a vision from its founder, Thomas Watson Senior.

Wallstreet reporter, Paul Carroll, details the history of IBM and the industry that brought IBM to its knees in the early nineties. In the 80s and even today, it's hard to think of IBM as a company who almost lost it all. Their history and dominance made them seem impervious to anything.

What makes this book particularly interesting is not watching how this company came to its downfall, but how the vision propelled them. It includes so many of the minor details of those who ran the company, you understand how and why, as human beings, they made the decisions they did. You also scratch your head in wonder when you read about how such a vast corporation could accomplish so much with the self-imposed red tape.

Until the 1990s, IBM had never fired anyone. It was its goal: Once you're with IBM, you're with IBM for life if you want. They truly wanted to benefit the people they sold products to and those who worked with the company.

This book is not only a great book to read for its story, but great to read as a matter of history. There are plenty of plot and characters to keep anyone's imagination busy. It is also interesting to see how the book ends, in 1993, and how far IBM has come back to re-establish itself as a force in the industry, even if in a different light. I'm sure Thomas Watson Sr. would be proud.