Eagle on the Street

  Watergate scandal, 12, 65

  Wharton School, 92

  Wheeler, John, 128–29

  Whittaker, Bob, 87–88

  Wick, Charles, 8

  Wigton, Richard, 342, 344

  Wilkis, Robert, 307, 311, 315

  Williams, Harold, 3, 28, 66, 245

  Williams Act, 11

  Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, 316

  Winans, R. Foster, 251

  Wirth, Tim, 82

  Wood, Kimba, 373–75

  Wyden, Ron, 337

  Wynn, Steve, 267–68

  Acknowledgments

  This book is the result of the generosity of our sources—the more than 250 people who agreed, despite busy schedules and wariness of reporters, to help us understand and explain the relationship between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Wall Street during the 1980s. Many of these sources sat for long and repeated sessions, enduring persistent and personal questions without any guarantee that they would like the result in print. We thank them for their trust, patience, guidance, and time. Of course, they are not responsible for our errors and opinions.

  From the beginning of our interest in this subject, the Washington Post unfailingly trusted our instincts and provided us with the resources to pursue them. Four unusually talented editors—Peter Behr, Tom Dimond, Bob Woodward, and Steve Luxenberg—supervised the newspaper series “The Man from Wall Street: John Shad’s Reign at the SEC,” from which this book is drawn and for which we received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. We could not have done it without them. They protected us from distractions, taught us a great deal, and helped to craft the final articles. Behr, the Post’s assistant managing editor for business coverage, allowed us to pull back from daily reporting while we pursued our newspaper series. We cannot thank him enough. Later, Behr, executive editor Ben Bradlee, managing editor Leonard Downie, Jr., and assistant managing editor Michael Getler gave us the support and time we needed to research and write our book, reminding us again why the Post is such a wonderful place for journalists to work.

  In addition to his considerable contribution to our newspaper series, Luxenberg provided valuable editorial advice and criticism that helped shape the book. We are grateful to him for being so unselfish with his time and ideas.

  Olwen Price at the Post cheerfully and accurately transcribed hours and hours of tapes from our interviews with sources. Staff researcher Melissa Mathis contributed immensely to our reporting. Among other things, she assembled the labyrinthine charts of past and present SEC employees that served as important maps for our reporting.

  Melanie Jackson, our literary agent, worked relentlessly and loyally to make this book happen. At Scribners, publisher Barbara Grossman brought enthusiasm and a talented eye to the manuscript. Her assistant Hamilton Cain was also a great help.

  Our wives, Lori Vise and Susan Coll, provided us the love and support we needed to write this book as well as the judgment and wisdom that helped us see it to the end.

  About the Authors

  David A. Vise is the bestselling author of four books. He spent over twenty years at the Washington Post, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for a four-part series on the Securities and Exchange Commission during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The award-winning series became the basis for Eagle on the Street (1991), coauthored with Steve Coll. Vise’s other books include New York Times bestseller The Bureau and the Mole (2001) and national bestseller The Google Story (2005), which was published in more than two dozen languages. He currently serves as a senior advisor to New Mountain Capital, a New York–based private equity firm.

  Steve Coll is a staff writer at the New Yorker, the dean of the Columbia Journalism School, and the bestselling author of seven books. Previously he served as president of the New America Foundation and worked for two decades at the Washington Post, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for a four-part series on the Securities and Exchange Commission during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The award-winning series became the basis for Eagle on the Street (1991), coauthored with David A. Vise. Coll’s other books include New York Times Notable Book The Deal of the Century (1998); Ghost Wars (2004), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction; The Bin Ladens (2009), winner of the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction; and Private Empire (2012), winner of the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  Copyright © 1991 by Steve Coll and David A. Vise

  Cover design by Ian Koviak

  ISBN: 978-1-5040-4502-5

  This edition published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

  180 Maiden Lane

  New York, NY 10038

  www.openroadmedia.com

  STEVE COLL

  FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA

  Find a full list of our authors and

  titles at www.openroadmedia.com

  FOLLOW US

  @OpenRoadMedia