Losing The Signal

The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry

by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff

Losing the Signal (2015) unravels the rollercoaster ride of Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind the iconic BlackBerry. From its humble beginnings as a small-time player in wireless communication during the mid-1990s, the book charts RIM's meteoric ascent to become the top dog in the mobile device market by the mid-2000s. But what goes up must come down, and this gripping tale reveals why RIM's star fell as quickly as it had risen.

About the author

Jacquie McNish, a Wall Street Journal senior correspondent, is a bestselling author with a knack for business storytelling. Sean Silcoff, who writes for The Globe and Mail, has earned his stripes as an award-winning business journalist.

The BlackBerry cautionary tale for tech titans

Remember Kodak? The photography giant that went belly-up after missing the digital boat? Well, they're not alone in the hall of tech failures. Enter BlackBerry and its parent company, RIM – another textbook case of a tech titan tumbling from grace.

Once upon a time, you couldn't walk into a boardroom without seeing executives furiously tapping away on their BlackBerrys. Fast forward a few years, and poof! They vanished into thin air. So, what gives? How did this tech darling go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye?

In this summary, you'll get the inside scoop on:

• The creative spark behind the BlackBerry name

• How the iPhone turned the tech world upside down

• Why keeping your books in order is more than just bean-counting