Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It

About the book

Published in 2007 and written with Robert J. McVicker, the book combines Roberts's firsthand company history with a portrait of Singleton and an introduction to Teledyne Technologies.

Why read it

Best if you want a close, company-level account of Henry Singleton and Teledyne, especially from a longtime associate rather than a detached outside narrator

Evidence and original sources

David says Distant Force was hard to find and worth every penny.

• A Few Lessons From Warren Buffett — David directs listeners to Founders #110 for his coverage of Distant Force.
• Henry Singleton (Teledyne) — The episode is built around George Roberts's memoir of Henry Singleton and Teledyne, described as unusually detailed because Roberts was Singleton's longtime associate.
• Alfred Sloan (General Motors) — The host references a prior Founders episode covering Distant Force (about Teledyne's Henry Singleton), reading an excerpt describing how Singleton learned an acquisition strategy from Sloan's book.
• Charles Schulz (Charlie Brown) — David connects the Schulz discussion to Distant Force, which he covered earlier on Founders.
• Robert Noyce (Intel) — David quotes Henry Singleton from Distant Force, which he covered on Founders #110.
• Charles de Gaulle — David says he read Distant Force on Founders #110.