A sharp and illuminating history of one of capitalism’s longest running tensions—the conflicts of interest among public company directors, managers, and shareholders—told through entertaining case studies and original letters from some of our most legendary and controversial investors and activists.

Recent disputes between shareholders and major corporations, including Apple and DuPont, have made headlines. But the struggle between management and those who own stock has been going on for nearly a century. Mixing never-before-published and rare, original letters from Wall Street icons—including Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, Carl Icahn, and Daniel Loeb—with masterful scholarship and professional insight, Dear Chairman traces the rise in shareholder activism from the 1920s to today, and provides an invaluable and unprecedented perspective on what it means to be a public company, including how they work and who is really in control.

Jeff Gramm analyzes different eras and pivotal boardroom battles from the last century to understand the factors that have caused shareholders and management to collide. Throughout, he uses the letters to show how investors interact with directors and managers, how they think about their target companies, and how they plan to profit. Each is a fascinating example of capitalism at work told through the voices of its most colorful, influential participants.

A hedge fund manager and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, Gramm has spent as much time evaluating CEOs and directors as he has trying to understand and value businesses. He has seen public companies that are poorly run, and some that willfully disenfranchise their shareholders. While he pays tribute to the ingenuity of public company investors, Gramm also exposes examples of shareholder activism at its very worst, when hedge funds engineer stealthy land-grabs at the expense of a company’s long term prospects. Ultimately, he provides a thorough, much-needed understanding of the public company/shareholder relationship for investors, managers, and everyone concerned with the future of capitalism.

Mr. Jefferson Philip Gramm, also known as Jeff, has been a Managing Director, Managing Partner, and Portfolio Manager at Bandera Partners LLC since August 2006. From October 2004 to July 2006, Mr. Gramm served as the Managing Director at Arklow Capital, LLC. He was employed at Mellon HBV from June 2002 to September 2004, serving as a Senior Research Analyst. Mr. Gramm has been an Independent Director of Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. since February 11, 2014. He served as a Director of Ambassadors Group Inc. since May 7, 2014 until October 20, 2015. Mr. Gramm served as a Director of Morgan's Foods Inc. from April 12, 2013 to May 27, 2014. He served as a Director of Peerless Systems Corp. from June 2009 to November 11, 2010. Mr. Gramm received an M.B.A. from the Columbia University in 2003 and a B.A. in Philosophy from University of Chicago in 1996.