Named one of the Best Business Books of 2021 by The Wall Street Journal
In Japan it's called the "Ghosn Shock"-the stunning arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the jet-setting CEO who saved Nissan and made it part of a global automotive empire.
Even more shocking was his daring escape from Japan, packed into a box and put on a private jet to Lebanon after months spent in a Japanese detention center, subsisting on rice gruel.
This is the saga of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. Ghosn spent two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault that looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.
Journalists Hans Greimel and William Sposato have followed the story up close, with access to key players, including Ghosn himself. Veteran Tokyo-based reporters, they have witnessed the end of Japan's bubble economy and attempts at opening Japan Inc. to the world. They've seen the fraying of keiretsu, Japan's traditional skein of business relationships, and covered numerous corporate scandals, of which the Ghosn Shock and Ghosn's subsequent escape stand above all.
Expertly reported, Collision Course explores the complex suspicions around what and who was really responsible for Ghosn's ouster and why one of the top executives in the world would risk everything to escape the country. It explains how economics, history, national interests, cultural politics, and hubris collided, crumpling the legacy of arguably the most important foreign businessman ever to set foot in Japan.
This gripping, unforgettable narrative, full of fascinating characters, serves as part cautionary tale, part object lesson, and part forewarning of the increasing complexity of doing global business in a nationalistic world.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"...it provides a fascinating case study of international business for students and industry professionals alike." - CHOICE, the publication of the American Library Association
"This book should be essential reading for those seeking to understand Japan and Asia more generally." - Australian Institute of International Affairs
"Greimel and Sposato...deliver a vivid account of the escape..." - London Review of Books
Named to the Longlist for Porchlight's Best Business Book Award in the Narrative & Biography Category
"Collision Course is the brilliant capture of the interplay of various forces that led to the celebrated CEO's downfall and its ripple effect." - Business Standard
"Messrs. Greimel and Sposato's book is less a tale of Mr. Ghosn's rise and fall than an examination of the differences in corporate, legal and political cultures between Japan and the West. How is it that such advanced economies and societies can so often misunderstand each other? And was Mr. Ghosn simply a victim of this historic pattern?" - The Wall Street Journal
"a much needed plausible cause-and-effect account that helps explain a complex, often bewildering story." - Financial Times
"Because of that clandestine escape, Collision Course by Hans Greimel and William Sposato, two Tokyo-based journalists, at times reads like a spy thriller. But their main aim and achievement is to give the clearest account yet of the deep-rooted causes of Mr Ghosn's predicament." - The Economist
Advance Praise for Collision Course:
"This book is brilliantly conceived and written. Although factual, it reads like a fast-paced spy novel. The authors have created a dispassionate narrative that will be of lasting value not only to business professionals but also to those devoted to the study of the human sciences." - Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman, General Motors
"Collision Course is the definitive book on the Carlos Ghosn scandal, written by two experienced journalists who use their outstanding reporting and writing skills to take the reader inside the boardrooms of Renault and Nissan to learn in vivid detail what happened to the man who was considered the savior of the Japanese automobile industry until his arrest in November 2018. The book is a must-read, filled with details not previously published, including exclusive insights from Ghosn himself." - Myron Belkind, former President, National Press Club; former President, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan
"Greimel and Sposato have taken a very complex situation and made it clear. This book is one of the best I've ever read about the automotive industry. It's a must-read." - Mark Hogan, former Group Vice President, Advance Vehicle Development, General Motors; Member of the Board, Toyota
"In Collision Course, Greimel and Sposato stake a bold claim: that Carlos Ghosn, now an international fugitive sheltering in Beirut, is one of the most influential foreigners ever to set foot in Japan. The two journalists-who covered Ghosn's decade-long reign from a front-row seat in Tokyo-then lay out their case in meticulous detail, in an account that reads like a fast-paced whodunit." - Joseph Coleman, Professor of Practice in Journalism, The Media School, Indiana University; author, Unfinished Work
"The Carlos Ghosn saga is about so much more than his rise and fall from charismatic superstar CEO to Japan's most wanted. Anyone interested in leadership, corporate governance, and cross-cultural management-or just a first-rate human drama-will find this a thrilling read." - Jesper Koll, Senior Advisor, Monex Group, Tokyo; former Chief Economist, Merrill Lynch, Japan
"Sposato's long experience in Japan and Greimel's deep knowledge of the global automobile industry combine to reveal a tortured tale of cultural misunderstandings, government meddling, and plain old corporate backstabbing. It reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a business story." - Tony Winning, former editor for Asia and news editor for Europe, Reuters
"Collision Course is a cautionary tale about doing business in Japan, a country that clings to the United States for its national security but remains fundamentally ethnonationalist when it comes to international business and justice. This book is a must-read." - John West, author, Asian Century . . . on a Knife-Edge; Executive Director, Asian Century Institute
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 241 mm
Breite: 157 mm
Dicke: 31 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-64782-047-3 (9781647820473)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Hans Greimel is an award-winning American business journalist based in Tokyo, where he serves as Asia Editor for Automotive News, overseeing coverage from Japan, China, and South Korea. He has been writing about Nissan and the alliance for more than a decade and has interviewed Carlos Ghosn multiple times, including a one-on-one interview after Ghosn's arrest.
William Sposato is a Tokyo-based correspondent and consultant who has been active in Japan for more than twenty years, with senior roles at Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. He is currently a writer and regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine. He is also a consultant to corporations and government bodies on economics, corporate issues, and regional diplomacy.
You can find Hans Greimel and William Sposato on Twitter:
twitter.com/hansgreimel
twitter.com/williamsposato
