Word: jovanovich
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Mark Helprin; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; 792 pages...
FISH EYES by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; $13.95). Children first learn arithmetic with their fingers. Then they look around for some new things to number. How about fish? Here, paper collages create a vast aquarium of imaginary underwater swimmers: one green, two jumping, three smiling, etc. The flipping, flashy, finny, skinny specimens help the volume live up to its subtitle, "A Book You Can Count...
...been able to slash one-third of its $6 billion debt by selling coal mines, refineries and even its headquarters. But these sell-offs become less attractive as too many companies rush to unload assets. With so much merchandise on the block, prices have been depressed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which incurred heavy debts fighting off a takeover bid, sold its Sea World theme parks last year for $1.1 billion, about $400 million less than many analysts expected. The market is expected to deteriorate further, which may force some companies to sell even more assets to raise the cash they need...
...complain that debt is more of a distraction than a disciplinarian. Managers can become so absorbed with cutting costs and staying one step ahead of creditors that they often neglect day-to-day operations. Some companies, including Harcourt, appoint executives whose sole duty is to manage debt. Says Peter Jovanovich: "The Superman approach doesn't work. If the CEO tries to do it all, deal with the bankers and run the business, he'll probably do it all badly...
...elder Jovanovich is renowned for his strong advocacy of intellectual liberty, but he ran HBJ in a Kremlin-like fashion, refusing to talk to most reporters or Wall Street analysts. Son Peter promises more glasnost. His first task is to remake the company's board, which overflows with yes-man academics handpicked by his father. "Academicians are not accustomed to dealing with billion-dollar junk-bond problems," says Charles Elbaum, an industry consultant. Observes a current HBJ director: "Trying to get these people to focus on financial issues is difficult." Even Jovanovich seemed to sense 30 years ago that...