John De Lorean: The maverick mogul

by Hillel Levin

Biography with black and white illustations, index, 336 pages.

Genres: Biography

268 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Hillel Levin's reporting has appeared in The Nation, Playboy, New York magazine, Monthly Detroit magazine, Metropolitan Detroit magazine, and Chicago magazine. He was executive editor of Metropolitan Detroit and editor of Chicago. In 1984, he wrote Grand Delusions: The Cosmic Career of John De Lorean (Viking). In 2004, he wrote When Corruption Was King (Carroll & Graf) with Robert Cooley about Cooley's central role in the FBI investigation of mob influence on Chicago's courts and political system. “Area Two,” his Playboy article on Chicago police misconduct, co-written with John Conroy, won a 2011 Headline Club Peter Lisagor Award. His 2010 book In With the Devil (St. Martin’s Press), which he wrote with James Keene, was about Keene's undercover mission to crack a serial killer in a federal prison and was the basis for the Apple TV+ series Black Bird.

Reviews

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Grand Delusions" provides a great overview of Jonh Z. De Lorean's ventures (mainly his "ethical car" dream) and gives a lesson for how NOT to conduct a startup business.

Written in 1983, it is still a relevant and valuable piece for every visionary, small and big, about a man who managed to fuck up every bit of trust that lots of people, companies, and even governments had put into him and his ideas.

How? Lousy management skills, worst business decisions, giving responsibility to wrong people, poor treatment and alienating right people, overspending, appetite for excessive lifestyle, inclination to utter lies in business matters, overstatements, blaming others for own failures, etc., etc. Many of this is not so unfamiliar to me, although I'm genuinely grateful for the lessons I've had in the past (otherwise, I would not be where I am now).

The book (which may also be called "De Lorean De Mystified") made me reconsider my former view on a man who "would sell his soul for making his dream come true," and instead see a loner full of insecurities craving for recognition and betraying his own achievements (and there were many).

Although it describes the goings under the hood of a big-scaled enterprise, it would be an entertaining read for any startup owner.

[Pat McMullen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a frustrating book to read. It contains some fascinating stories about de Lorean, but they are told in such a way that I had trouble keeping focused. Some parts are intensely boring because there are multiple paragraphs more or less just listing instances of de Lorean and company's travel. The author seems to save all of his narrative for the Afterword which was written some 30 years after original publication. I was taken aback while reading the Afterword at the discussion of de Lorean's sexuality. Ironically, it was not included in the original publication due to the fact that it was based mostly on unsubstantiated gossip. But to include it now seems to be in pretty poor taste since the only evidence offered is a few conversations that the author had over the years with individuals with, at best, questionable motivations.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched book that delves into the life of John DeLorean, exposing his brilliance, as well as his more human qualities. Highly recommend if your interested in having another perspective on the DeLorean saga.