My Books

The Next American Economy
At a time when debate is raging about how to create jobs and revive the American economy, veteran business writer William J. Holstein argues that the best way for us to recover our economic footing is to do what Americans do best-innovate and create new industries.

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Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform a American Icon
Bill has conducted hundreds of interviews not only in the United States, but also in Germany and China, to zero in on what really is happening inside this giant corporation. He interviewed Rick Wagoner on two occasions in Detroit, and then spoke with him again following his ill-fated testimony before the Senate and House Committees in November 2008. READ MORE

The Japanese Power Game: What It Means to America
The event that triggered interest among book editors was the Recruit scandal, which toppled several powerful figures in Japanese politics and in its corporate world. But Bill broadened the book to become an inquiry into the structure of economic and political relations between the two countries. It received wide critical acclaim when it appeared in 1990. READ MORE

Rags to Riches: How Corporate Culture Spawned a Great Company
In 2002, Bill spent many months with Richard T. Farmer, who transformed his father’s and grandfather’s rag company into a modern uniform and services company called Cintas. Together they produced a history of the company. READ MORE

Memo to the CEO: Manage the Media (Don't Let the Media Manage You)
In this book, Bill argues that two major trends have completely transformed the way that chief executive officers have to think of communicating—the rise of shareholder activist coalitions, and the power of Internet-based communications. He contends that CEOs have to rethink the way they themselves and their entire organizations communicate. They need to shape both their message architecture and the playing field of ideas. To do anything less, Bill says, is to let others define their companys’ future. READ MORE