Business Book of the Year

Financial Times Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year - 2007

(Lazard LLC), William D. Cohan (2007). The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co. (New York, NY: Doubleday, 752 p.). Six Years at Lazard Frères, Later Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase. Lazard Freres & Co.--History; Banks and banking--New York (State)--New York--History; Bankers--New York (State)--New York--Biography; Banks and banking--France--History; Bankers--France--Biography. Portrait of Wall Street through tumultuous history of this company - from its origins in 1848 in New Orleans, LA as a dry goods store through its dominant personalities (Andre Mayer, Felix Rohatyn, Michel David-Well, Steve Rattner, Bruce Wasserstein) and controversial 2005 initial public offering. Judges believed the book provided "the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues," in keeping with the goal of the award.

Cohan was awarded 30,000 pounds. He beat five other titles, including "The Age of Turbulence" by Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Previous winners include:

Thomas L. Friedman (2005). The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. (New York: NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 496 p.). Three-time Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Foreign Affairs Columnist (The New York Times). Diffusion of innovations.; Information society.; Globalization--Economic aspects; Globalization--Social aspects.

James Kynge (2006). China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Breakneck Rise and Troubled Future and the Challenge for America. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 288 p.). Former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Financial Times. China--Economic conditions--2000- ; China--Foreign economic relations. China's hunger for jobs, raw materials, energy, and food and its export of goods, workers, and investments drastically reshape world trade and politics.