Martha, Inc., by Christopher M. Byron
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Martha, Inc., by Christopher M. Byron
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This New York Times bestselling book chronicles the dramatic rise of Martha Stewart from Connecticut caterer to founder and CEO of a vast media empire. Stewart's story is part Horatio Alger success story and part Citizen Kane drama, reaching from the modest homes of Nutley, New Jersey, to the palatial estates of Long Island, from the suburban kitchens of Connecticut to the boardrooms of Wall Street. At each step of the way, Byron gets inside Martha's world, from her troubled working class upbringing to her years of peddling speculative stocks on Wall Street in the go-go sixties. Thereafter, Byron follows Martha through the ordeal of her failing marriage to the launch of her magazine. Finally, we accompany Martha in her triumphant and climactic return to Wall Street at century's end to sell stock in her company in an IPO that would make her a billionaire. Byron attends, through fly-on-the-wall sources, executive meetings with some of the most powerful individuals in American business to watch as they try to deal with a woman who emerged from nowhere to overpower them all. He eavesdrops as they bad-mouth her as she leaves the room, often with a fabulous deal in her hand. He watches as they discover, only too late, this former housewife outsmarts them at their own game. Martha, Inc., gets up-close-and-personal with the personality of Stewart, one of the most complex and driven people in the history of business.
Martha, Inc., by Christopher M. Byron - Amazon Sales Rank: #429997 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-03-25
- Released on: 2015-03-25
- Format: Kindle eBook
Martha, Inc., by Christopher M. Byron Amazon.com Review There's probably no woman in America who is as famous--or controversial--as Martha Stewart. In Martha Inc. Christopher Byron gets past the public persona to tell how "the quiet little girl from the house on Elm Place" became the "richest self-made businesswoman in America." While Byron acknowledges that Stewart has a good side, there's not much evidence of it here; much of the book focuses on the darker aspects of Stewart's private life that were first popularized in Jerry Oppenheimer's mean-spirited Just Desserts. Unlike Oppenheimer's account, however, Byron keeps the mudslinging in check by also chronicling her amazing business success as "one of the most potent and effective brands in the history of American marketing." He details her relationships with Kmart, Group W, and Time-Warner, noting that her maneuvering to buy her company back from Time-Warner was "easily the greatest financial coup in the history of American publishing." The result is an interesting and often scandalous story of a woman who proves to be far more complicated than the image her media empire projects. --Harry C. Edwards
From The New Yorker An irony underlies this splendid biography: although Mary Shelley revered the memory of her mother, the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who died shortly after giving birth to her, she was dominated by men all her life, beginning with her father, the impecunious radical William Godwin. She eloped with Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was then married to another woman, and she catered to the rebellious poet's whims until his death, in 1822. As a twenty-four-year-old widow with one surviving child, she depended on her unsympathetic father-in-law, who provided scant support on the condition that she not publish Shelley's poetry or write about him. She eked out a living as a hack writer, but her notorious novel, "Frankenstein," brought in only a pittance. Her reconstruction of her husband's image proved more successful, however. By the time she died, in 1851, her son had inherited the Shelley estate, and Mary, evading her father-in-law's prohibitions, had invented a dreamy, saintlike Shelley, more acceptable to Victorians than her turbulent husband had been. Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
Review The queen of home entertaining, and much else domestic, is writing her autobiography for Clarkson Potter, the Crown imprint that has publisher her throughout her successful career. Meanwhile, a journalist who once intended to collaborate with Stewart on her personal book is doing a study of his own. Martha's book, signed with the author by Crown president Chip Gibson and Potter editorial director Lauren Shakely, will be, said Stewart, a study-"bumps in the road," imperfections and all-of her progress to the chairmanship of her own prosperous multimedia company and her position as the doyenne of home how-to. It will be, she added, "the ultimate recipe book for success." Crown bought world rights to the tale, tentatively titled Martha: Really and Truly, and plans to publish in 2003.Beating her own book into the stores by some distance, however, will be one by New York Observer and Bloomberg financial commentator Christopher Byron, whose Martha Inc. promises an investigative look at the lady and her company. It's being written for John Wiley, where senior editor Pamela Van Giessen signed it from agent Joni Evans at William Morris, and it will be published, they say, as soon as next April. Byron, who has been a not-unsympathetic observer of Stewart and her Omnimedia company, said he originally had planned to do the book with her, but that she had backed out when she apparently became "uncomfortable" with some of the questions his researcher was asking. Byron added that she decided to do her own book only after it became clear that he would go ahead without her. Crown responded that Steward had always planned to do her own memoir. (Publishers Weekly, June 25, 2001)
"Martha Stewart is a success story you either love or hate--but until now you've only heard her side of it. In "Martha Inc.", author Christopher Byron chronicles the whole story..." (New York Post, April 8, 2002)
"Mr. Byron will not disappoint those who crave even more evidence of [Martha's] excess." (New York Times Business section, April 14, 2002).
"...it's clear [Byron] is a fan of Stewart's business acumen...[the book is] a riveting twist on an old story." (USA Today's, April 15, 2002)
"makes for a fascinating...read...a meaty account" (BusinessWeek, April 22, 2002)
Though gleefully heralded in the press as a hatchet job, this biography of Martha Stewart turns out to be surprisingly evenhanded. The author's mixture of distaste and respect for his subject is informed by his own contact with her: nodding acquaintances for years, they briefly were friends after Byron wrote an admiring article. But when his questions headed in uncomfortable directions Stewart's enthusiasm for the book turned to hostility. Byron, a business columnist for the Post, is most persuasive when he describes her professional maneuverings-particularly her genius for using any partnership to her advantage, from her marriage to her Kmart deal. Byron sifts the now familiar elements of Stewart's personal life-impoverished upbringing, bullying dad, cohorts of betrayed friends-and arrives at the plausible if predictable conclusion that character problems like ruthless egotism are at the root of her business success. Given that her net worth is $650 million, we should all have these problems. (The New Yorker, April 22 & 29, 2002)
"Studying the two faces of Martha makes for a good, if opinionated, read." (The Economist, April 20, 2002)
"...many intriguing questions [are] posed in Byron's hot new business book/biography, which is among the most talked-about and successful books of the spring." (Connecticut Post, April 21, 2002)
"...more than perfunctory kudos go to Christopher Byron for assembling so much information about his subject, and a few more pats on the back for presenting it in so readable a form." (Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2002)At a 1995 dinner for Princess Diana, an unfortunate soul mistook Martha Stewart for someone else. "If you don't know who I am, then you don't deserve to be at this table!" she responded.
Modern conversation owes much to the bizarre behavior and outrageous rhymes-with-witch-icisms of Martha Stewart. And the new Martha Inc. by Christopher Byron is full of both-plus plenty on Stewart's astounding business acumen. The New York Post business columnist cites countless classic Martha Moments, such as how she maneuvered Kmart into paying for her new home and its restoration. And how, on the eve of her $121 million IPO, she snubbed magazine editor Tina Brown, answering a "How are you?" with a curt "I'm rich." Sadly, the book's index makes no mention of Stewart's 15 pet chinchillas. Perhaps in Martha: Really and Truly, the autobiography she plans to write. —Holly J. Morris (U.S. News & World Report, April 22, 2002)
[MARTHA INC. is] "a can't-put-down read" (Detroit News, April 27, 2002)
"Byron connects the dots between Martha the private person and Martha the brand, ending up with a book that is as much in the celebrity gossip genre as it is a business biography.... More fascinating is what lies behind the curtains that Byron pulls back..." (The Strait Times (Singapore), April 28, 2002)
"...takes readers on a fascinating journey into the making of the domestic demigoddess.... Byron writes with a lively and informative hand. He zeroes in with facts..." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 2002)
"Byron has written a balanced book that highlights both [Martha's] strengths and her abundance of warts. That makes Byron's book credible..." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 3, 2002)
There's enough dish to feed Martha Stewart lovers and loathers alike in this scrupulously reported bio. The author says he spoke to more than 100 people, but most of the revelations feel unsurprising.Byron paints Stewart as a remote mother to her daughter and a cold wife who berated her husband until he walked out on her 25 years later. (She once called him "f------ stupid" in front of guests when he failed to stack firewood to her liking, a friend of the pair's said.) And (gasp!) power has made her no sweeter. Walking through the corridors of her corporate offices one day, she stopped to watch her dog poop on the carpet, telling an assistant, "I just wish I could get my employees to do that when I say."The book goes on too long though, and Byron, a New York Post business columnist, wastes ink endlessly reworking his idea that Stewart is a sour apple who didn't fall too far from the tree: Her dad emerges as a nasty bully. Byron does nail Martha's undisputed genius for exploiting women's domestic fantasies, and the stories of how she wiped the floor with some of America's top male execs at Kmart and Time Warner go down like a delicious dessert. (People Magazine, May 13, 2002)
"...a dishy book...a few more pats on the back for presenting it in so readable a form." (Wall Street Journal (Europe), 24 April 2002)
"The most fascinating parts of "Martha Inc." focus on Martha's dealings with Kmart and Time Warner. These sections showcase Byron's understanding of the business world. His ability to analyze the needs and wants of major corporations and Martha's demands make good reading." (The Capital Times, May 17, 2002)
Who would not envy Martha Stewart? The 60-year-old lifestyle doyenne has sold more than 10 million books, publishes a monthly magazine with a circulation of more than 2 million, is the host of a six-day-a-week television show and, as a result of the initial public offering of her company in 1999, the aptly named Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is a multimillion-dollar concern. Christopher M. Byron, a business reporter who is also Stewart's neighbor in Westport, Conn., as well as a former friend (they got to know each other after Byron published a column calling her forthcoming stock offering "the deal of all time"), attempts to present a picture of "the richest self-made businesswoman in America." "Martha Inc." is balanced, and Byron's financial analysis of the company is sophisticated. Nonetheless, his argument that Stewart's success is driven by anger at her cruel father and resentment of her working-class up-bringing seems simplistic. Occasionally Byron describes Stewart as "two different people" --there is successful Martha, and the "Other Martha," who is bitter and vengeful off camera. One wishes Byron had constructed a more nuanced portrait of this woman who, like most moguls, is a great but flawed character. As Byron himself wrote in a column on Stewart, "The lady deserves better." (New York Times Book Review, Sunday June 9, 2002)
"...viciously entertaining biography..." (Barron's, 1 July 2002)
Here's a business book that's right at home on the beach. It's got juicy anecdotes: After one of her dogs defecates on the carpet in her corporate offices, Martha quips, "I just wish I could get my employees to do that when I say." And some pop psychology: In the "relationship script" she learned from her domineering father, Byron writes, "the authority figure maintains control by yelling the loudest and oppressing the most harshly while insisting on undifferentiated love and blind obedience."All this is fun--and even relevant, since what Martha so brilliantly sells is herself. But the most interesting part of this book is its account of how she transformed her association with K Mart from a tool to promote the discounter into a tool to promote Martha--both as a brand and as a financial juggernaut. According to Byron, when Martha bought out Time Warner's majority stake in her company, $ 16 million of the $ 18 million cash portion of the price came directly from K Mart. Her out-of-pocket cost: $ 2 million. The value of her stock the day the company went public: $ 1.27 billion. Now that's crafty. --DENISE MARTIN (MONEY Magazine, August, 2002)
Speaking of scandals, does Martha Stewart know how to keep her name before the public or what? For a scathing portrait of the domestic diva, check out Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Wiley) by journalist Christoph...
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86 of 94 people found the following review helpful. Just Desserts Is Better By A Customer Martha Inc. is a balanced biography of Martha Stewart, but short on recent details. I was hoping to read more about her life after she started Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, but most of the material is a re-hash of many events that one can read in Just Desserts. The epilogue contains information about Martha and Kmart after the tech bust and Kmart's bankruptcy, which is a nice follow-up. The author, Christopher Byron, seems a bit star-struck by Martha, too, calling her a "beautiful blonde" a few too times in the book. Martha Inc. is a good read for Martha followers like me -- subscriber to the magazine, viewer of her TV show, consumer of Martha products -- but to the reader who wants even juicier details, read Just Desserts first.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful. Finally, a more balanced look at Ms. Martha. By David J. Gannon Unlike the more recent "biography" books about Martha Stewart (see Jerry Oppenheimar's Just Deserts), this isn't simple an exploitative, mean spirited hatchet job. In Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Christopher M. Byron makes an effort to be at least somewhat balanced about the lady. True, he does dwell on the negatives, but at least some positives are considered.What seems clear is that Ms. Stewart is no longer a pleasant middle class housewife-is this really so surprising? The woman leads the largest Woman run media empire in America. When would she have time to be average anything?And, since when are corporate titans nice guys? Michael Eisner at Disney may project warm fuzzies out the wazzou on camera-it's clear from what's been writtten it's s different story when the camera is pointed elsewhere. Is that OK for a man nut unacceptable for a woman? Puh-leeeeease!Of course, it's starting to become clear that Ms. Martha may never have been pleasant, even when she undeniably was a middle class house wife. There appears to be a mean streak there that is congenital-maybe that's what you need to be like to make it to the top, but it's not necessarily a hatchet job when you point out the truth.And what is the truth according to Byron? That Martha is a very successful gal-bydint of very hard and ceaseless work. That such hard work took a major toll on her private life (Gee, another surprise, eh?) and some of those left behind don't remember her fondly.The truth also is that Martha saw-and exploited-the available synergies between print, media and internet well before anyone else did-and has done so at a level few others have approached(Looked at the value-using that word loosely-of AOL/Time Warner stock lately? Where has integrated media gotten them?) In other words, the woman was a visionary, something Byron makes clear.The writing is OK-nothing special. And the balance-while better then most-still is lacking. But this is probably the best look at Martha out there, and is probably more honest and balalced than her own planned memoir will be.If you're interested in Martha, this is the book to read.
39 of 43 people found the following review helpful. The Best and the Worst in a Unique Combination By Robert Morris Byron does indeed tell an "incredible story" about one of the most successful businesswomen in the world. How much of it is credible? Is she really as brilliant and resourceful as he suggests? Is she also as spiteful and mean-spirited as he suggests? As I read this book, I sometimes had a difficult time determining what Byron makes of the material he shares. His attitude seems ambivalent as indeed do those who have worked for and with Stewart over the years. Much of the material was provided by friends, enemies, acquaintances, business associates, and employees. He and most of those interviewed seem to admire what she has achieved. However, he and many of them also seem to deplore her values, attitudes, and (especially) her mistreatment of others.Byron met Stewart in Westport (CT) and knew her only casually as a neighbor whom he encountered infrequently. At that time, he was advancing his career as a journalist, writing for the Wall Street Journal. He became intrigued by the rapid development of her own career and decided to write a book about her. Initially Stewart agreed to cooperate with him but later reconsidered. At no point in the narrative does Byron express any animosity toward her (or about anything else, for that matter) but many others do, notably Kathy Tatlock and Norma Collier. Along the way, Byron also examines Stewart as wife and mother. He observes: "As Martha's fame grew, and she became increasingly absorbed in making it grow still more, she seemed to have less and less time for her personal relationships -- not just with [husband] Andy and [daughter] Alexis, but with her employees, her neighbors, and anyone else she might encounter day to day. A brusque efficiency began to take over her conversations." Eventually her husband left her and other personal relationships deteriorated further as she continued to pursue and achieve her various business objectives. Today, she owns Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. (How she regained control should guarantee her immediate induction into the "Business Hall of Fame.") She is among the wealthiest and most influential people (male or female) in the United States and, if consumer markets continue to expand in underdeveloped countries, it seems certain that both her wealth and her influence will increase exponentially.Throughout his book, Byron shares lots of opinions and evaluations of Stewart (his and others') as he attempts to understand her character and personality, her life and career. He seems to try very hard to be circumspect. The Stewart who emerges by the end of the book reminds me of what Walt Whitman once said of himself: "Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes." For whatever they may be worth, here are a few of my own reactions to the material in this page-turner of a book. First, I wonder how much criticism of Stewart there would be if she were a male. Is she held accountable to the same standards as, for example, Jack ("Neutron") Welch? Also, often mentioned in the same context as Oprah Winfrey, Stewart seems much more interested in lifestyle; Winfrey in quality of life. Big difference. Most people love Oprah; few seem to love Martha. How to explain that? Also, at a time when "branding" is an especially hot business topic, Stewart seems to be among the very few celebrities who IS the brand...rather than any merchandise (magazines, books, videos, television programs, etc.) associated with her.Finally, I am intrigued by the number of high-powered male corporate executives who underestimated her, who (in Byron's word) made the mistake of "chick-ing" Stewart. How else to explain the fact that she was able to regain total control of a variety of media assets (e.g. Martha Stewart Living magazine and a series of spin-off books called "The Best of Martha Stewart Living") from Time Inc. in 1997 for $2 million out of her own pocket, about three days worth of the assets' revenue. She then created a new company (Martha Stewart Living Multimedia LLC), took it public in October 1999, and saw the company's stock price nearly triple during its first day of trading. That gave "the one-time Connecticut caterer a personal net worth of more than $1 billion." Hers indeed is one of the most extraordinary business careers in American history, one which accelerates with increasing impact and profitability. As presented by Byron, Martha Stewart the businesswomen and Martha Stewart the person eventually became essentially the same person, and will continue to be the same person, for better or worse.
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