"Hewlett-Packard, the venerable computer maker, was seeing hard times for the first time in its six-decade history. In an effort to shake things up, the company brought in an outside CEO - the daring and charismatic Carly Fiorina. Fiorina brought style and new thinking to HP, but she also brought change. Her efforts at rapid reform frequently collided with the familiar "HP Way," the egalitarian corporate culture and integrity that Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard had instilled in the company from its very beginning. Many say her initiatives brought little immediate improvement in the company's fortunes. Then came the single biggest move that would change HP forever: a proposed merger with Compaq. Rubber-stamped by the board, it semed the deal would go through without a hitch. But board member and family scion Walter Hewlett saw HP's merger with Compaq as potentially disastrous." "Backfire tells the inside story of HP's struggle to regain its former glory, and of the high-stakes battle between Fiorina and Hewlett over how best to achieve that goal."--BOOK JACKET.