Under the Influence: Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty

Recently reread this older history of Anheuser Busch, written when it was still under the control of the Busch family Fascinating story.

A good read Really interesting stuff A great history lesson and fantastic behind the scenes insight Although it is unauthorized everything seems very well documented and the sources reliable A lot has happened to the family and the company in the 15 years since this book was written I am moving on to what appears to be the unofficial sequel from a couple years ago Bitter Brew The Rise and Fall of Anheuser Busch and America s Kings of Beer.

3.5 stars As a native St Louisian, this book could be pretty fascinating at times It was peppered with names I ve heard all my life, Lemp, Busch, Faust, Orthwein, etc The history of the city is closely tied to the breweries and you can t help but be awed by the scale of the whole thing The book is written in a balanced, not salacious manner, and does not read like a tell all, even if it is unauthorized After reading, I also downloaded the most recent version, which goes beyond the 1990 s and inc [...]

Excellent account of the history of the Busch family that started the beer company in the 1800 s The book traces the lives of all the old family patriarchs who ran the company over the years, and the successes, failures, and scandals that have occurred over the past 150 years This book was REALLY interesting Couldn t hardly put it down I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in how Budweiser Beer grew to dominate the market really dominate, with over 40% of all the total domestic sale [...]

As someone who was born and raised in St Louis, MO, I learned a lot from this book The Busch family, especially the patriarchs are not the great people that they are portrayed as being by most media Most of them are amoral, gun toting, paranoid, overtly entitled jerks.I m glad I didn t grow up in their family.The authors did a nice job of laying out the history as flatly as possible The book is a pretty easy read all in all The new version has been updated to include the takeover stuff as well a [...]

Anyone from STL should read this book VERY interesting It was written in 1991 You may need a score card to keep track of all the August s and Adolphus s, Sr Jr I,II,III,and IV It shows that TOO much does not always make a happy life.

Loads of St Louis history woven into this tale, and many surprises about a family who has had a tremendous influence on local history The famiy s story is pretty compelling all on its own, with plenty of intrigue and drama.

Very interesting, if you, like me, are from the St Louis area and grew up with the Bush family in the news from time to time.

This book has been updated since the takeover by InBev The book is long on history, maybe some of it a bit gossipy, but is an unvarnished look at the Busch family dynasty.

Very interestingads like a soap opera An especially good read for anyone from the St Louis area.

I loved reading this book about the Busch family Even though it is an Unauthorized story, I felt that it covered the family very well, especially the first, second and third generations.

Interesting read for those especially in St Louis longer in print Almost like the Kennedy clan.

this was excellent Really entertaining look into the family affairs as well as the business political aspects of their world Crazy

Too gossipy and not scholarly enough.

Ok, so every now and then it is good to read a little family gossip Well this book was well researched and well done What a family and what a mess Not trashy at all.

Historical perspective of the Busch family It jumped around a bit and was sometimes hard to follow Friends who read Bitter Brew seemed to like it better.

Good behind the family stories.

Unique story of the rise of the Anheiuser Busch family and the brewery they created Plenty of skeletons in that keg.

A great historical read in general, and about the Busch Family, beer industry specifically.