John Brooks (writer)

John Brooks (December 5, 1920 – July 27, 1993) was an American journalist specialized on business topics, his articles were usually published by the New Yorker.

Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

 * The Internal Revenue Code of 1954, a document longer than "War and Peace", is phrased -inevitably, perhaps- in the sort of jargon that stuns the mind and disheartens the spirit.


 * (A newspaper columnist who disagreed with the judge´s finding was to remark that the guesses had been so educated as to qualify for summa cum laude.)


 * I find that companies are inclined to be at their most interesting when they are undergoing a little misfortune, and therefore I chose the fall of 1966 as the time to have a look at Xerox.


 * I found that business life is full of creative original minds -along with the usual number of second-guessers, of course.


 * A man´s study reflects himself as he wishes to be seen publicly, but his journal, if he is honest, reflects something else.


 * ...both company managements and stockholders might well consider a lesson King Lear learned -that when the role of dissenter is left to the Fool, there may be trouble ahead for everybody.


 * In the law of torts there is the maxim: Every dog has one free bite.


 * Basel has several first-rate restaurants, and it may be that in the view of the central-bank delegates this advantage outweighs the travel inconvenience, for central banking -or at least European central banking- has a firmly established association with good living.


 * ...Complains that his son has a low opinion of business; attributes this to ´reverse snobbery´


 * On Thursday, March 14th, panic was added to chaos. London gold dealers, in describing the day´s action, used the un-British words "stampede", "catastrophe", and "nightmare".