The book is based upon a series of articles written by the authors for The Wall Street Journal.

Those opposed to Johnson's bid for the company, Henry Kravis and his cousin George R. Roberts, were among the pioneers of the leveraged buyout (LBO).

The side effect of the augmented buyout price to the shareholders was the creation of a high level of debt for the company.

The title of the book comes from a statement by Forstmann, in which he called Kravis' money "phoney junk bond crap" and declares him and his cousin as "real people with real money," also stating that to stop raiders like Kravis: "We need to push the barbarians back from the city gates."

Friedman spoke with the authors about the two-decade history of the book and of their ensuing careers (the two undertook no further joint projects).