Sony: The Private Life

by John Nathan

An eminent expert on Japanese culture draws on unparalleled access to Sony's archives and executives to craft a revelatory portrait of the passions and loyalties that have driven Sony to its greatest triumphs and most notorious debacles.

John Nathan pulls the veil from one of the most spectacularly successful and secretive postwar corporations. From its inauspicious beginnings amid Tokyo's bomb-scarred ruins to its role as the world's chief purveyor of electronics and mass culture, Sony's is one of the signal fables of our age. Nathan dissects the fable and uncovers persuasive evidence that Sony's biggest triumphs (color TV, the Walkman) and most calamitous failures (the demise of Beta, the botched takeover of Columbia Pictures) emerged from the dizzying web of intense relationships that have always permeated its top ranks.

Nathan charts this emotional web as no other writer has or could, by drawing on his unmatched expertise in Japanese culture and his unique access to Sony's inner sanctum. The result is at once an engrossing chronicle of astounding entrepreneurship and a poignant account of loyalty's consequences. With authority and wit, Nathan dispels the myths that surround Sony and crafts corporate drama at its apex.

Genres: Business, Japan, History, Nonfiction, Technology, Biography

358 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2001

Reviews

[Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too detailed. Sometimes good and sometimes a drag.
Gives you insight into world leader in electronics and entertainment. How it was established, progresses and maintained integrity throughout good times and tough. You can learn how Japanese businesses are run, no matter what size, by personal hierarchy and command.

[Kenneth Cooke]

So far, so good. I really wanted to dig into this company who's products I've known my whole life but have never thought twice of.

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.

[Link Wei]

读的是中文版。

[Jamel Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and extremely well-written inside story of the founding and rise of Sony. The book focuses on Sony's glory years (when the Sony Walkman was the cultural and business equivalent of today's iPod.) It was published before the company's recent decline, when all its business units but the Playstation division lost money and it was so desperate that it appointed its first non-japanese CEO. The absence of these important developments makes the book no less interesting, but somewhat anticlimatic. It's sort of like reading a book about George W. Bush's presidency that was written before 9/11 happened. One of my favorite takeaways from the book was learning that "Sony" is not actually a Japanese word; the founders came up with that name because it was easy to pronounce in English.

[Anoop S Raj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly one of the most complicated and senseless way of writing about a business house I have read ever. From not following a chronological order in many places to going much deeper into unwanted details makes this book a very uninteresting read. Not recommended.

[Cessaly Denise Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Amazed at how hard these guys worked, from ashes of WWII, just punched it! Origins of co name is a bit amusing!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so surprised that this was as entertaining and memorable a book as it is!

[Glenn Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars