As we watch Welch's spectacular rise through the ranks at GE, we see his impetuousness, his aggressiveness, his lightning strikes. We see the making of an extraordinary leader who is a catalyst for change, who anticipates events rather than merely reacting to them, and who confronts complacency with blitzkrieg action.

But success for a company can come at a price for the community. As the story of Welch's seventeen-year tenure unfolds, we see him eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, buy and sell hundreds of businesses, and shift the company's focus from long-established manufacturing businesses to entertainment and finance. GE has also been caught up in legal difficulties involving industrial waste, radiation in the workplace, and fraud in military contract procurement. All the while, shareholders have reaped enormous gains -- but, the author asks, at what cost?

Thomas F. O'Boyle has given us an unprecedented look at GE, at the Welch revolution, and at the American way of big business.