Barbarians at the gate the fall of rjr nabisco is a 1989 book about the leveraged buyout lbo of rjr nabisco written by investigative journalists bryan burrough and john helyarthe book is based upon a series of articles written by the authors for the wall street journal the book was made into a 1993 made for tv movie by hbo also called barbarians at the gate. Barbarians at the gates is a fascinating tale about the rise and fall of food giant nabisco ross johnson was head of nabiscos rival standard brands they show how he used his affable personality and his ability to befriend coworkers bosses and over seeing boards to propel himself to standards ceo while winning a battle against his superior and getting his superior ousted. A 1 new york times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written barbarians at the gate is the classic account of the fall of rjr nabisco an enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by bryan burrough and john helyar it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double dealings up to date twenty years after the famed deal. A 1 new york times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written barbarians at the gate is the classic account of the fall of rjr nabisco an enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by bryan burrough and john helyar it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double dealings up to date twenty years after the famed deal