The booms, busts and continual reinvention of Wall Street.

“Scott Bok combines the skills of a Wall Street dealmaker with the gifts of a born storyteller in this extraordinary account of what happens when the worlds of business, politics, and academia collide. Surviving Wall Street brilliantly describes how the University of Pennsylvania, a storied Ivy League university, was attacked by a group of ‘masters of the universe’ who deployed the tools of a hostile corporate takeover in their effort to transform the school. Those efforts—rife with boardroom intrigue, secret meetings, and bare-knuckle attacks—perfectly illustrate how the previously staid world of academia has become a culture wars battleground where the search for truth collides with the quest for power.”

“Scott’s book propels the reader into the midst of the complicated and unpredictable reality that is the world of Wall Street. His humble beginnings in Grand Rapids, Michigan contrast his experiences in this world where titans of industry become characters, personalities clash, and he sat center-stage to witness it all. However, his enormous success never stopped him from being involved in philanthropy and education, and the stewardship he exhibited during his tenure as the board chairman of the University of Pennsylvania—at the height of attacks against freedom of expression—was heroic and serves as an example of a champion of democracy.”