The showdown -- - The emergence of Carleton Sneed -- Inside the HP way -- Trouble in paradise -- The making of a star -- Searching for a CEO -- An eventful honeymoon -- Unraveling -- Compaq cometh -- The November surprise -- Proxy fight -- The lawsuit -- Epilogue.

Investor-driven "short-termism" is said to harm EU public firms' ability to invest for the long term, prompting calls for the EU to better insulate managers from shareholder pressure. But the evidence offered---rising levels of repurchases and dividends---is incomplete and misleading: it ignores...