Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire

This biography of business magnate Lewis is based on his unfinished autobiography; he died in 1993 at age 50 from brain cancer. Walker, who writes for the ``Money'' section of USA Today, completed the book after interviewing Lewis's family, friends, colleagues and employees. Lewis, growing up in an African American family in segregated Baltimore, attended parochial school, worked his way through college and Harvard Law and became a successful attorney and highly visible business executive, capping his career with the leveraged buyout of conglomerate Beatrice International Foods for $985 billion in 1987. His personal fortune was $400 million, we learn in this inspiring bio/business study, which deftly conveys Lewis's concerns not only about his work but also about his family, race and his own death. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Black Enterprise. (Nov.)