He was, in fact, a brilliant manager and businessman. In this revisionist history of the early auto industry, Goldstone makes clear that Ford’s greatest strength did not lie in his limited talents as an inventor or mechanic. Drive! Henry Ford, George Selden, and the Race to Invent the Auto Age by Lawrence Goldstone
“Ultimately,” he writes, “Coke’s genius, its secret formula in many ways, was staying out of the business of making stuff.” That’s Coca-Cola Capitalism. Originally written as a doctoral thesis in history, this inquiry into the business practices of Coca-Cola paints a decidedly negative picture of the company that possesses “the most-recognized brand in human history.” In the author’s view, the company pioneered what has emerged as the most profitable approach to business in today’s world: a lean mass-marketing machine that outsources both production and distribution of virtually all its products. Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism, by Bartow J.
Herself a descendant of the illustrious Quaker family that built one of the world’s biggest chocolate manufacturers, Cadbury provides an intimate view of an extraordinary company and its rivals that pioneered a radical new approach to business. Now chocolate joins sand, cotton, and Coke as a key to explore the depths of business history: Deborah Cadbury‘s Chocolate Wars. And among the books I’ve found that have helped the most are The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization by Vince Beiser, Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert, and Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalismby Bartow J. One of the best ways I’ve found to explore the factors that influence the grand sweep of modern history is to examine the stories of individual companies, industries, and commodities. Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World’s Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury Below this list of my 10 favorites, where I include a larger number of titles separated by category. The titles in this list link directly to my reviews. My 10 favorite books about business history Although I’ve selected my top 10, don’t be misled: every one of the books listed here was compelling. I’ve listed books in no particular order within each category.
#Big business us history full
In one of the lists further below, you’ll find a one-paragraph note about each of those titles.Įach title below is linked to the full review I’ve posted here over the years. That list appears at the top but includes only each book’s title linked to my review.
I’ve attempted, somewhat arbitrarily, to pick the top 10 books on business history. This post was updated on August 24, 2022. If you have even a passing interest in the broad subject of business, you’re sure to find at least few books here that will prove rewarding. I’ve divided them somewhat arbitrarily into four categories: company histories, innovation, finance, and business & society.
Here, I’ve listed more than 40 of the best books about the history of business that I’ve read and reviewed in this decade. So it’s only natural that I should read a good deal about economic history and the history of business. I’ve spent more than half of my life in business and engaged in founding or leading a number of small companies.
0 kommentar(er)
