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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Book review: ‘Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!’
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Book review: ‘Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!’

An entertaining story, but not quite the explosive business book it might have been

An aerial view of the Yahoo! headquarters in the US. Photo: David McNew/Newsmakers/Getty ImagesPremium
An aerial view of the Yahoo! headquarters in the US. Photo: David McNew/Newsmakers/Getty Images

On the first reading, Marissa Mayer And The Fight To Save Yahoo! seems like a genuine piece of research by Nicholas Carlson, chief correspondent of the Business Insider magazine and winner of Longform.org’s best business story for 2013 (for “The Cost Of Winning: Tim Armstrong, Patch, And The Struggle To Save AOL"). We marvel at the complexities of conceptualizing, creating and running big business and we root for—or disparage, as the case may be— the people at the helm.

The book profiles the rise and (repeated) fall of Yahoo! and the many attempts at course correction by the founders, directors, several CEOs and other stakeholders. The narrative finally rests in the latter part of 2014 and, rightly, reserves 30% of space for the life, career and current tenure of Marissa Mayer as CEO.

Marissa Mayer And The Fight To Save Yahoo!: Hachette India, 356 pages, Rs 599
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Marissa Mayer And The Fight To Save Yahoo!: Hachette India, 356 pages, Rs 599

An engaging read, Carlson’s book employs a here’s-what-you-need-to-know method: His preferred format is the five-paragraph essay—short excursions to make important points before returning, quickly, to the main narrative. But the book falls well short of being a masterpiece.

The joy of reading a business book is often in being able to put yourself in the shoes of the company chiefs and, based on the information provided, figure out the way ahead. Carlson’s way of first outlining what the players did and then laying out the information that was used or ignored makes the experience frustrating. Marissa Mayer And The Fight To Save Yahoo! Hachette India,356 pages, 599.

In the second chapter, for instance, Carlson outlines the period during which Terry Semel was CEO. After highlighting an instance of failed negotiations, Carlson writes: “The truth was, Terry Semel was always going to fail at Yahoo." And only then does he proceed to list the various reasons, including Semel’s tech ignorance and the organizational structure that he had inherited.

Carlson’s coverage of Mayer is his main failing. Too little effort has gone into analysing her psyche and its manifestation in her style of work and far too much is made of painting her as an anti-feminist robot who found herself in a job beyond her capabilities.

The author also seems to have a strange fascination for the hair of every character in the book: “Koogle had long silver hair and a New Age vibe"; “Rosensweig had dark, close-cropped, curly hair that was thinning up top"; “Coleman was usually in an Oxford shirt. He wore glasses on a round face and had thinning hair on top".

Mayer’s hair gets special treatment—there are three instances where she appears in public with wet hair that Carlson finds worth mentioning.

Should you pick up the book? If Yahoo!, Alibaba (the online retail behemoth in which Yahoo! invested early), Google and Mayer intrigue you, then absolutely. The book is well-written and light enough to finish during a short flight. If you have any other hopes, though, expect to be disappointed: The book reads like an extension of Carlson’s long-form pieces. And while each of those pieces is a commendable effort of reporting, a book they do not make.

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Published: 14 Mar 2015, 12:54 AM IST
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