Ray & Joan

The Man Who Made the McDonald's Fortune and the Woman Who Gave It All Away

By: Lisa Napoli

Narrated by: Lisa Napoli

The dramatic relationship between Ray Kroc, the man who amassed a fortune as chairman of one of America's most controversial and iconic companies - McDonald's - and the passionate woman - his wife, Joan - who then gave that fortune away.

Ray & Joan is a quintessentially American tale of corporate intrigue and private passion: a struggling Mad Men-era salesman with a vision for a fast-food franchise that would become one of the world's most enduring brands and a beautiful woman willing to risk her marriage and her reputation to promote controversial causes that touched her deeply.

Ray Kroc was peddling franchises around the country for a fledgling hamburger stand in the 1950s - McDonald's, it was called - when he entered a St. Paul supper club and encountered a beautiful young piano player who would change his life forever. The attraction between Ray and Joan was instantaneous and instantly problematic. Yet even the fact that both were married to other people couldn't derail their roller coaster of a romance.

To the outside world, Ray and Joan were happy, enormously rich, and giving. But privately Joan was growing troubled over Ray's temper and dark secret, something she was reluctant to publicly reveal. Those close to them compared their relationship to that of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. And yet this volatility paved the way for Joan's transformation into one of the greatest philanthropists of our time. A force in the peace movement, she produced activist films, books, and music and ultimately gave away billions of dollars, including landmark gifts to the Salvation Army and NPR.

Together, the two stories form a compelling portrait of the 20th century: a story of big business, big love, and big giving.

©2016 Lisa Napoli (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Napoli's narrative skills are outstanding. She depicts Ray and Joan in vivid detail and with deep sympathy, something that's especially difficult given how neither Kroc was an especially appealing person.” (Chicago Tribune)

“Journalist Lisa Napoli’s Ray & Joan is remarkable…a playful, even waggish work of biography.” (Christian Science Monitor)

“Napoli weaves together the Krocs’s personal and business dramas with considerable intelligence…[her] portrait of Joan in her final two decades, impulsively writing multimillion-dollar checks and dispatching her private jet 'like a pickup truck' to run personal errands for friends, is charming and engaging.” (Boston Globe)

Inspirational

I selected this for my book club - about someone who is a philanthropist. I liked that this book drilled down to how the Kroc fortune was attained. I appreciated that it wasn’t always flattering, the author kept it real. Joan’s generosity is an inspiration.

I enjoyed learning about McDonald's.

The story was well told. There is so many interesting people and events that came together to make this empire. I will never look at the Golden Arches the second again.

Fascinating story, however a dissed jointed writing of the story and fax.

I enjoyed learning about both Ray and Joan, especially Jones philanthropy. The author used a style that seemed very dissed jointed introducing many different facts without a seeming smooth thread.

Absolutely fantastic book

I have really enjoyed this book since I grew up in the late 50s and early 60s when McDonald’s were starting in my various hometowns gradebook

It's Worth It For the Story of MacDonald's

Ms. Napoli’s book works when she either details Ray Kroc’s life or Ray and Joan interacting together. Read it to find out how MacDonald's Inc. evolved--Ms. Napoli does a good job explaining that. After Ray dies the books turns, well, boring. Eventually it turns into one of those “it’s about us girls” books in which it’s assumed men cannot comprehend the experience of being an independent female. The author inherits a problem in that neither Ray nor Joan are particularly likable. Read the first three-fourths and don’t feel guilty if you skip the last fourth and go on to something else.

Great as author; as narrator not so much

I saw this author on Book TV which prompted me to get this book. Napoli was great on the TV interview, but as a reader it's a chore to listen to her. I am hanging in because it IS an interesting story, but her manner of speaking is like chalk on a blackboard (not sure of digital equivalent). It sounds to me like a cross between somebody reading to elementary school children (I can picture them sitting in a semi-circle) and the local gossip breathlessly whispering her latest news.

I'm on chapter 6 now and hope I will be able to finish -- it may be a 5-star book, but for now it's a 4.

Interesting and well read, but felt abrupt and focused more on the starting of McDonalds

This was a really great story, but felt like it was more the story of McDonalds than Ray and Joan. It really focuses on that for about the first half of the book, and then quickly covers some of the couples story and abruptly ends. Wasn't what I expected, but it was interesting and kept me listening until the end. Worth a listen.

Great book!

This book is a fascinating history of McDonalds and the people who
made it happen. Ray and Joan, like their restaurant chain, were larger than life. It's inspiring and fun to read about their enormous generosity and passionate living. Ms. Napoli weaves an engrossing tale. She is a great writer.

interesting

I found it interesting to learn about the beginning of Rays success and how it transformed over the years. Same for Joan, to hear how blessed she was to acquire her money.