Cash McCall

by Cameron Hawley

This is Cameron Hawley's revealing novel of business and the associated worlds of law and finance. Cash McCall is a vastly intriguing man, a 20th century adventurer who carries on his successful buying and selling of companies behind a suspiciously secret screen of anonymity. But this is more than a novel of high finance. It is no less an eloquent love story, a discerning journey into the hearts and minds of business wives. Above all else, CASH MCCALL is an intelligent commentary on the morals and motives of our time.

Genres: Fiction, Finance

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

I arrived at this by a circuitous route. From the entry in Miss Liberty's Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium on "Executive Suite", I recognized it as one I had seen to end of in adolescence but could not identify. I not only got to see the whole movie, but learned that it and "Cash McCall" were from "novels by Cameron Hawley".

Ayn Rand must have loved Hawley's books... businessmen as heroes!

I was stunned when I realized Hawley's audacity in waiting until the book is more than a quarter done to actually bring the mystery man everyone has been talking about "onstage". I was surprised that it did not begin "Who is Cash McCall?"

I was also thrilled by the novel's lapidary descriptions of the characters and their surroundings. His incisive portrayal of the Philadelphia aristocracy makes the "Boston brahmins" look companionable.

Sadly, I found the film version with James Garner and Natalie Wood not nearly as good as that of "Executive Suite".... the screenplay slants it to look more like a romantic comedy than an encomium to American business. Read the book first, if you can find it.

[Carol Rioux · Rating 5 out of 5]

love and Big Business

I saw the movie first and that made me want to read the book. Set in the 1950’s, with interesting characters, this novel weaves the pursuit of love with the pursuit of mergers and acquisitions. If you are looking for something different from what you might normally choose to read, I urge you to read this book. After you finish the novel, find the movie and watch it.

[Sally Spoelstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy book

This is a thought provoking book. Instead of just corporate deals and romance, the author takes us into the minds of the characters. We learn about their thoughts and motivations. We see how they make decisions. A great novel. Thanks

[Y Liang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dive into mid-century business fiction.

[Henry Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book from the 1950s about a private equity millionaire playboy named Cash McCall. The story is interesting, though very predictable. This book reeks of 1950s social norms. There are only really two female characters in the book, and both of them are one-dimensional love interests of Cash. I enjoyed some of the philosophical musings about western society's taboo against making money even though that is what everyone did, but that was dampened by the boringness of the book.

To be honest, it was boring because it was 50-100 pages too long. Hawley added too much description between events. He used speech tags that were almost painful, with things like: "I hate you," he said angrily, frowning. Like we get it, you don't have to mention that he said it angrily. Duh.

[Peter Lento · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic story of business in the 1950's

I got this because I had recently seen the movie with James Garner and Natalie Wood, which was a really good adaptation. The book is a n excellent study of American business in the years after the war. The characters are believable and engaging. The description of the times and the way business was evolving is more like history than fiction.

An enjoyable read.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a movie I enjoy is based on a novel I haven't read, I always want to go back to the source. That's how I found out that Cameron Hawley wrote both 'Executive Suite' and 'Cash McCall'. Both are about business. The movie 'Executive Suite' was a little better than the novel. The novel 'Cash McCall' is better than the movie. Hawley's philosophy about business ethics is definitely still pertinent.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book because I loved the 1960 James Garner/Natalie Wood movie. The book basically was transferred accurately to the screen but I think the rewritten movie ending is actually stronger than Hawley originally wrote. Hawley also has a very dim view of the future of the fad of the day, television.

[Patricia Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the top ten list!