A-B author may add epilogue to book

20-Jan-11
Published in: St. Louis Business Journal
Author: Christopher Tritto
Description:

Julie MacIntosh, the author of "Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, An American Icon," says recent events could call for an new epilogue to her book. The death of 27-year-old Adrienne Martin at former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV's Huntleigh mansion Dec. 19 is drafting yet another tragic and complicated chapter in the Busch family saga.

Frontenac police are investigating, and the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office is still completing its report on a cause of death. Many questions remain unanswered about the circumstances surrounding Martin's death. The timeline of when she died, when she was found and when police were notified is not clear. Little is publicly known about who else was at the home during the hours leading up to Martin's death and in the time after her body was discovered. Toxicology results are yet to be released. And the fact that Martin's body was cremated five days after her death, before revelations she may have suffered from a heart condition were shared with the medical examiner, has also raised eyebrows - a physical examination of her heart is no longer possible.

"August Busch IV has been in a delicate situation personally, and I hope he can keep things in check," MacIntosh said in an interview Wednesday with the Business Journal. "But I feel really strongly that it is important this investigation is conducted in a thorough and transparent way. The nation is watching. There are lots of questions. Adrienne Martin's family and the people of St. Louis deserve to know what happened."

Minutes after that conversation, MacIntosh captured the attention of a full house at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. She spoke as a guest of the university's Walker Speaker Series about her experiences interviewing brewery insiders, drawing out telling anecdotes and reconstructing the pivotal moments that ultimately led to Anheuser-Busch's $52 billion takeover by Belgian brewer InBev in late 2008.

"Dethroning the King" has been flying off local bookshelves. It ranked No. 2 on the Wall Street Journal's best-seller list for the St. Louis region during the week ended Jan. 9. MacIntosh, 32, confirmed she is in talks to sell the movie rights to her book, but said negotiations have mostly been on hold during the past month as Hollywood, and the rest of the country, waits to learn how the latest twist in the Busch story will end.