Jacquie McNish and Sinclair Stewart
Wrong Way is a story of corporate intrigue, backroom dealings, shareholder activism — and the spectacular fall from grace of newspaper tycoon Conrad Black.
Black seemed untouchable with a newspaper empire that spanned three continents and a seat in Britain’s House of Lords. In the fall of 2003, his carefully constructed world crumbled when his company accused him of siphoning off millions of dollars of corporate money. He now found himself the target of U.S. regulators, an object of ridicule in the international press, and a self-described “pariah” among the rich and famous he once called his friends.
In this comprehensively researched chronicle of the unraveling of Black, authors McNish and Stewart provide an inside glimpse as to how the seemingly invincible tycoon was brought down by his own shareholders and ousted as the head of his company, Hollinger International Inc. Published by Penguin Group (Canada), this novel is a story of corporate intrigue, backroom dealings, shareholder activism — and, ultimately, Conrad Black’s fall from grace. McNish and Sinclair Stewart have dug deep into Black’s career by interviewing leading players and gaining behind-the-scenes accounts of his corporate machinations. The authors chart the press baron’s dramatic rise to power, his shrewd old-boy networking to gain a British peerage, and high-profile marriage to a glamorous right-wing columnist Barbara Ameil.
About the authors
Jacquie McNish has been a business journalist in Canada and the United States for twenty-four years. She was a financial reporter for The Wall Street Journal and is currently a senior writer for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, ON. She has won numerous journalism awards including a National Newspaper Award in 1993 and 2003.
Sinclair Stewart is a Globe and Mail business reporter, where he covers financial services. He was formerly a financial reporter with The National Post.
Recent Reviews
“McNish and Stewart have produced a nimble account of Black’s final years… It’s an engaging tale, well told.” The New York Times, January 2, 2005
“The authors’ access to private letters/emails is astonishing. However they got their hands on them, it is gripping stuff.” The Times of London.
