Book description
The never-before-told story of BHP Billiton's global conquests, told by
the key players. BHP is part of Australia's DNA; but it remains an
enigma. The Big Fella: The rise and rise of BHP Billiton is the
compelling story of how BHP and its partner Billiton rose from the
humblest beginnings in the Australian Outback and on the Indonesian
island of Belitung to starry heights on the great bourses of the world.
Based on more than 60 exclusive interviews, it rips away the superficial
gloss to expose the political and industrial forces that really drive
Big Business in the 21st century. In an investigative tour de force,
authors Peter Thompson and Robert Macklin reveal the visions, the
schemes, the scandals and the corporate life-and-death struggles that
have characterised BHP's evolution from the first lucky strike by the
mysterious Charles Rasp at Broken Hill in 1883 to its merger with
Billiton in 2001 to its daring 0 billion bid for Rio Tinto six years
later. The result is a gripping story of foresight and blunder, of
nation-building and rampant ego, of greed and of grace, written by two
master storytellers with, for the first time, access to the key players
themselves. The Big Fella won the 2010 Blake Dawson Prize for Business
Literature. Born in Melbourne, Peter Thompson now lives in London,
having enjoyed a successful career as a journalist in the UK. He has
written biographies of Robert Maxwell and Jack Nicholson, among others.
His most recent books are Pacific Fury (Random House, 2008), and, with
Robert Macklin, The Big Fella: The Rise and Rise of BHP Billiton (Random
House, 2009), and Anzac Fury (Random House, 2010). He visits Australia
regularly.
