A Note on Sources

Every story in this book comes from the real world. Most come from recorded interviews I did with the buyers themselves. A few draw on court records, public filings, and stories the buyers have told in public.

I promised these buyers one thing: their lessons would travel, but their names would not. So I changed names, companies, industries, and places. Where a story touches an open lawsuit, I changed more. I did not change the numbers that matter, the shape of each deal, or the way each one came apart.

If you think you recognize someone in these pages, you are probably wrong. The mistakes in this book are common. That is the point.