War At The Wall Street Journal: Inside the Struggle to Control an American Business Empire

A tale about big business, an imploding dynasty, a mogul at war, and a deal that epitomized an era of change

While working at the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Ellison won praise for covering the $5 billion acquisition that transformed the pride of Dow Jones and the estimable but eccentric Bancroft family into the jewel of Rupert Murdoch’s kingdom. Here she expands that story, using her knowledge of the paper and its people to go deep inside the landmark transaction, as no outsider has or can, and also far beyond it, into the rocky transition when Murdoch’s crew tussled with old Journal hands and geared up for battle with the New York Times. With access to all the players, Ellison moves from newsrooms to estates and shows Murdoch, finally, for who he is—maneuvering, firing, undoing all that the Bancrofts had protected. Her superlative account transforms news of the deal into a timeless chronicle of American life and power.

How did one of America’s most respected newspapers fall into the hands of its most controversial media titan?

• Hostile Takeover: Follow Rupert Murdoch’s relentless, multi-year campaign to capture his ultimate prize, and the newsroom clash that followed.
• The Bancroft Family: Get a rare look inside the eccentric and divided Bancroft family, the reluctant guardians of a media empire who were unprepared for Murdoch’s final assault.
• Battle of Media Empires: Witness the simmering war between two of New York’s great newspaper dynasties—the Murdochs and the Sulzbergers—as they prepared for a battle for supremacy.
• Definitive Business History: Drawn from unparalleled access to the boardrooms, newsrooms, and private estates where the deal was forged and fought.