RaveThe New York Time Book ReviewThis is a massive, and massively reported, book. But what’s most impressive is its refreshing balance and evenhandedness. Leonard does not judge the Kochs; he explains them ...
Almost as notable, from a journalist’s point of view, is the degree to which Leonard succeeds without the kind of cooperation all authors seek. He appears to have had only limited access to Koch executives, including, it appears, a single interview with Charles Koch. Tackling the biography of a secretive private company like Koch, which has little need to open itself to scrutiny, is a task of herculean difficulty ... writing the history of a private company without full access is akin to scaling El Capitan without handholds. But to a degree I’ve rarely seen, Leonard actually turns this lack of access into a strength. He does it by unspooling a series of granular set pieces and micronarratives, telling the stories of dozens of men and women inside and outside the company ... Each story illustrates one corner of a vast corporate empire ... Not since Andrew Ross Sorkin’s landmark Too Big to Fail...have I said this about a book, but Kochland warrants it: If you’re in business, this is something you need to read.
