that was billy durant. sloan had a letter typed on general motors stationery that focused on his own reasons for writing his book and made no direct reference to anything in durant's letter. that exchange of letters was the last known direct contact between the former colleagues. while catherine remand lovingly at her husband's side through all the triumphs and tragedies, they had no children of their own. after the crash of 1929 they had less contact with his daughter marjorie and their son from billy's first marriage. cliff who gained fame as a california playboy and race driver with no steady job died of a heart attack in 193710 years before his father. ironically, his first ex-wife led to the legendary after divorcing cliff quietly began ending them money to help with their living expenses. the money came from a trust fund that billy set up for her as a wedding gift when she married. he daughter marjorie who'd gone through three divorces and struggled to maintain the image and lifestyle of the debutante

that precedent was set by billy durant. and there are several other, stories.scinating just one story i haven't told durant and it has really made me think, since the book has been finished. first person to read the advanced galleys of the book published was a who ise david cole arguably the most respected auto analyst in the world. was reading it, he called me several times to give then when heand finished, we got together for lunch. we ended up talking about three durant and sloan and what's happening at general motors today. things he the first said was, you know, looking at did, theg that durant way he would start companies, companies, absolutely be obsessed with the idea of the deal, and then fail to manage them, the way sloan managed durant think that billy attentionad a.d.d., deficiency, before anybody knew about it. and that really made me think. if you accept that, even as a just think -- i mentioned the howard hughes' story. what durant had to overcome in his own mind to accomplish as much as he did. an incredible