Motown Music, Money, Sex and Power by Gerald Posner

In 1959, twenty-nine-year-old Berry Gordy, who had already given up on his dream to be a champion boxer, borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and started a record company. A run-down bungalow sandwiched between a funeral home and a beauty shop in a poor Detroit neighbourhood served as his headquarters. The building s entrance was adorned with a large sign that improbably boasted Hitsville U.S.A. The kitchen served as the control room, the garage became the two-track studio, the living room was reserved for bookkeeping, and sales were handled in the dining room. Soon word spread that any youngster with a streak of talent should visit the only record label that Detroit had seen in years. The company s name was Motown....

This book is not only informative as regards the history of Motown and the inter relationships within the Motown family, but it is also one hell of a read....hard to put down once started.