My latest book, Private Equity Deals, Lessons in Investing, Dealmaking, and Operations from Private Equity Professionals, arrives next week.

I was fairly sure I would never write a second book after my first one, and just about pledged my firstborn,

well, actually both, they're twins, after the second one. So I wanted to share how this third

book came to be and offer a glimpse at what's inside. Over the last 20 years, private equity is

transformed from a cottage industry to a powerful juggernaut

that controls approximately $6.5 trillion in assets. There's no more important sector to

understand for investment portfolios. Private equity-owned businesses are everywhere around us

and touch every aspect of our daily lives.

David Swenson dubbed private equity a superior form of capitalism.

Private equity managers have long-term capital, control, and drive returns through management,

operations, and financing.

They bring deep industry knowledge, dealmaking, and operations experience,

vast resources, and creativity to add value at each stage of their investment.

Bottom line, private equity has delivered outstanding returns

that have significantly contributed to institutions meeting and exceeding

their spending needs. Yet the public perception of the industry is terrible. Those outside the

investment world think of private equity managers as the same predators and corporate raiders that

Connie Brooke wrote about 35 years ago in the Predators' Ball.

Even though a lot has changed since then, last year, two journalists used the word plunder in book titles about the industry.

Private equity is far from perfect, but criticisms of the industry often miss the big picture.

Those throwing darts typically highlight poor investments that comprise a tiny non-representative

subset of the industry or short-term cyclical challenges that will work their way out over time.

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