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American Entrepreneur: The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United States
By Larry Schweikart, Lynne Pierson Doti. 2010
This book vividly illustrates the history of business in the United States from the point of view of the enterprising…
men and women who made it happen.Ever since the first colonists landed in the New World, Americans have forged ahead in their quest to make good on promises of capitalism and independence. Weaving stirring narrative with economic analysis, this historical deep dive recounts the successes and failures of some of the most iconic business people to grace our history books--from the founding of our country to the present day.In American Entrepreneur, you&’ll learn about how:Eli Whitney changed the shape of the American business landscape;the Civil War impacted the economy, and how it was renewed by the subsequent dominance of Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan;Asa Candler, W. K. Kellogg, Henry Ford, and J.C. Penney led the rise of the consumer marketplace;and Warren Buffett&’s, Michael Milken&’s, and Martha Stewart&’s experience in the &“New Economy&” in the 1990s--and how that economy continues today.It is an adventure to start a business, and the greatest risk takers in that adventure are entrepreneurs. This is the epic story of America&’s entrepreneurs and how they created the economy we enjoy today.Rowntrees: The Early History
By Paul Chrystal. 2021
The Rowntree family, especially Henry and the younger Joseph Rowntree are, along with the Fry’s, Cadbury’s, Mars and Terry’s, synonymous…
with the birth and growth of the chocolate industry in Britain. Between them, they were the chocolate industry in Britain. This book charts the fascinating story behind the birth and development of the chocolate empire that was Rowntrees. Background information to this astonishing business comes by way of chapters on the early history of the Rowntrees, contemporary York, the relationship between Quakers and chocolate, and the Tuke family – without whom there would have been no Rowntrees, and no Kit Kats. Henry, it is usually forgotten, was the founder of Rowntree’s – he made the momentous decision to sign the deal with the Tukes and we join him in those very early days of the fledgling company and watch how he helped it through some very dark, and sometimes humorous, times in what was then a very shambolic set up – cash strapped and making it up as the company lurched from crisis to crisis. Joseph, his elder brother, it was, who became the driving force to eventual global success, mixing his hectic business life with acts of compassion and a benevolent management model, all of which paved the way for decent wages, pensions, insurance and mutual respect in the workplace. Charity work extended beyond the factories to lift workers and others out of the slums of York to a life in a healthy model village, to provide a good social life, an extensive park, swimming pool and education for children and adults. More context is given with chapters on Joseph’s relentless industrial espionage, the advancements in chocolate production and 20th century rivals in the domestic and export markets, and mergers and acquisitions. Rowntree’s role in the two world wars is also covered along with the struggle Joseph Rowntree had accepting the importance of advertising. Altogether this book gives two fascinating biographies of two exceptional and driven brothers who came together to form one of our greatest companies - producing some of our best loved confectionery products.The Man Time Forgot: A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine
By Isaiah Wilner. 2006
Friends, collaborators, and childhood rivals, Briton Hadden and Henry R. Luce were not yet twenty-five when they started Time, the…
first newsmagazine, at the outset of the Roaring Twenties. By age thirty, they were both millionaires, having laid the foundation for a media empire. But their partnership was explosive and their competition ferocious, fueled by envy as well as love. When Hadden died at the age of thirty-one, Luce began to meticulously bury the legacy of the giant he was never able to best.In this groundbreaking, stylish, and passionate biography, Isaiah Wilner paints a fascinating portrait of Briton Hadden—genius and visionary—and presents the first full account of the birth of Time, while offering a provocative reappraisal of Henry R. Luce, arguably the most significant media figure of the twentieth century.Isaiah Wilner is a writer for New York magazine. He attended Yale University and was editor in chief of the Yale Daily News. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.Threshold Resistance: The Extraordinary Career of a Luxury Ret
By A. Taubman. 2007
In this candid memoir, A. Alfred Taubman explains how a dyslexic Jewish kid from Detroit grew up to be a…
billionaire retailing pioneer, an intimate of European aristocrats and Palm Beach socialites, a respected philanthropist and, at age 78, a federal prisoner. With a unique blend of humor and genius, Taubman shows how selling fine art and antiques really isn't that different from marketing root beer or football, and offers penetrating insights into that quintessential palace of commerce, the luxury shopping mall. Alfred Taubman may not have invented the modern shopping center but, in the words of The New Yorker, "he perfected it."Taubman's life has been a storybook success, with its share of unique challenges. A pioneer builder and innovative real estate developer, he was also a brilliant land speculator, operator of a quick-serve restaurant chain, and owner of a major department store company. But what seemed like the pinnacle of his career, buying and reinventing the venerable art auction house Sotheby's, would lead to his conviction in an international price fixing scandal.Despite the twists and turns, Taubman's life and business philosophy can be summed up in one evocative phrase: Threshold Resistance. Understanding and defeating that force—breaking down the barriers between art and commerce, between shoppers and merchandise, between high culture and popular taste—has been his life's work.A warm, wise, and wholly original memoir of survival, renewal, and transformation, by one of New York City’s most successful…
and respected special events coordinatorsWith her top-level events company, Save the Date, Jennifer Gilbert has worked with Fortune 500 companies, broadcast media giants, international nonprofit organizations, and celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Bill Gates and beyond. Yet few of her clients or colleagues have known, until now, that Jennifer not only a self-made success: she’s also a survivor. After a random, near-fatal attack left her body in critical condition on a crowded city street, and left her with emotional wounds that would take years to heal, Jennifer embarked upon a journey to reclaim her life.This is her story, in her own words: I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag, an intimate, poignant, inspiring memoir of perseverance, rediscovery, and hope.A Curious Discovery: An Entrepreneur's Story
By John Hendricks. 2013
In A Curious Discovery, media titan John Hendricks tells the remarkable story of building one of the most successful media…
empires in the world, Discovery Communications.John Hendricks, a well-respected corporate leader and brand builder, reveals that his professional achievements would not have been possible without one crucial quality that has informed his life since childhood: curiosity. This entrepreneur’s story takes you behind the scenes of some of the network’s most popular shows and greatest successes, and imparts crucial lessons from the network’s setbacks.With insights, anecdotes, photographs, and real-world wisdom, A Curious Discovery is more than a powerful autobiography and corporate history: It also a valuable primer for business innovators and entrepreneurs.World-renowned economist Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran provides a deeply insightful, brilliantly informed guide to the innovation revolution now transforming the world.…
With echoes of Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma, Tim Brown’s Change by Design, and Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel, Vaitheeswaran’s Need, Speed, and Greed introduces readers to the go-getters, imagineers, and visionaries now reshaping the global economy. Along the way, Vaitheeswaran teaches readers the skills they must develop to unleash their own inner innovator and reveals why America and other wealthy, privileged societies must embrace a path of inclusive growth and sustainability—or risk being left behind by history.&“[A] retelling of the careers and the personalities . . . who formed today&’s world of high finance.&” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch The…
2008 financial collapse, the expansion of corporate and private wealth, the influence of money in politics—many of Wall Street&’s contemporary trends can be traced back to the work of fourteen critical figures who wrote, and occasionally broke, the rules of American finance. Edward Morris plots in absorbing detail Wall Street&’s transformation from a clubby enclave of financiers to a symbol of vast economic power. His book begins with J. Pierpont Morgan, who ruled the American banking system at the turn of the twentieth century, and ends with Sandy Weill, whose collapsing Citigroup required the largest taxpayer bailout in history. In between, Wall Streeters relates the triumphs and missteps of twelve other financial visionaries. From Charles Merrill, who founded Merrill Lynch and introduced the small investor to the American stock market; to Michael Milken, the so-called junk bond king; to Jack Bogle, whose index funds redefined the mutual fund business; to Myron Scholes, who laid the groundwork for derivative securities; and to Benjamin Graham, who wrote the book on securities analysis. Anyone interested in the modern institution of American finance will devour this history of some of its most important players.Me, Myself, & Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables
By Phil Vischer. 2007
This is a story of dreaming big and working hard, of spectacular success and breathtaking failure, of shouted questions, and,…
at long last, whispered answers. With trademark wit and heart, Phil Vischer shares how God can use the death of a dream to point us toward true success.Larry. Bob. Archibald. These VeggieTales stars are the most famous vegetables you'll ever eat. Oops, meet. Their antics are known around the world. But so much of the VeggieTales story hasn't been told. In Me, Myself, and Bob, Phil Vischer, founder of Big Idea and creator of VeggieTales, gives a behind-the-scenes look at his not-so-funny journey with the loveable veggies. From famed creator to bankrupt dreamer, Vischer shares his story of trial and ultimate triumph as God inspired him with one big idea after another.Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business
By Marshall Terrill, Greg McDonald. 2023
A fresh biography of legendary entertainment manager Colonel Tom Parker, with a contrarian and corrective point of view.Colonel Tom Parker,…
often reviled in his time, led the strategy from the earliest days of Elvis's career. Together, they built the most legendary partnership in show business. For the first time, Colonel Parker's story is told by an insider, Greg McDonald, who worked under Parker for years. Never-before-heard stories of Parker's collaboration with Elvis reveal the man behind the legend and the strategies that made Elvis a commercial groundbreaker.Ingrained lore has it that Parker took advantage of "poor country boy" Elvis to sign the singer who became "The King". But Elvis and the Colonel shows that Elvis was not foolish when it came to business arrangements. This book is full of stories of innovations Parker made with his star client, including:--ingenious merchandising (eg, selling both "I love Elvis" and "I hate Elvis" buttons)--licensing and branding, from suits to toys, ashtrays to guitars--establishing The King as an artist-in-residence in Las Vegas--creating televised concert events, like Elvis' Christmas specialMany of the practices Parker established are still deployed today by most major agencies. Parker's experience as a carny and an immigrant shaped his management style when he was at his peak, showing how he adapted big top practices to the big time. The heart of Elvis and the Colonel is the long, strong, warm and complex relationship between two iconic men.Wilhelm Ropke: Swiss Localist, Global Economist
By John Zmirak. 2001
Wilhelm Röpke is probably the most unjustly neglected economist and social critic of the twentieth century. Exiled by Hitler's regime,…
Röpke was a passionate critic of socialism and the welfare state who was nonetheless keenly attuned to the limits of capitalism. John Zmirak's Wilhelm Röpke, written with the touch of an accomplished writer and journalist, ably demonstrates that Röpke's humane yet sophisticated "Third Way" economics can play a vital role in shaping appropriate policies to reflect the growing communitarian consensus.Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon . . . and Beyond
By Beverly Gray. 2003
Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon… and Beyond, the first full-length biography of Ron Howard, takes an in-depth look…
at the Oklahoma boy who gained national fame as a child star, then grew up to be one of Hollywood's most admired directors. Although many show biz kids founder as they approach adulthood, Ron Howard had the advantage of brains, common sense, and two down-to-earth parents who kept him from having an inflated view of his own accomplishments. He also had a longstanding goal: to trade the glare of the spotlight for a quieter but equally creative life behind the camera. This biography tracks his career from 1960, when he debuted as six-year-old Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show through 2002, when he accepted his Academy Award® as Best Director for A Beautiful Mind.Author Beverly Gray, an entertainment industry veteran, has spoken to teachers, friends, and professional colleagues from all phases of Howard's career. She has also combed the archives to gain further insight into this very private man whose accomplishments have brought pleasure to so many.Warren buffett: Investor and entrepreneur
By Todd Finkle. 2023
Warren Buffett is perhaps the most accomplished investor of all time. The CEO and chair of Berkshire Hathaway has earned…
admiration for not only his financial feats but also the philosophy behind them. Todd A. Finkle provides striking new insights into Buffett's career through the lens of entrepreneurship. This book demonstrates that although Buffett is thought of primarily as an investor, one of the secrets to his success has been running Berkshire as an entrepreneur. Finkle-a Buffett family friend-shares his perspective on Buffett's early life and business ventures. The book traces the entrepreneurial paths that shaped Buffett's career, from selling gum door-to-door during childhood to forming Berkshire Hathaway and developing it into a global conglomerate through the imaginative deployment of financial instruments and creative deal making. Finkle considers Buffett's investment methodology, management strategy, and personal philosophy on building a rewarding life in terms of entrepreneurship. He also zeroes in on Buffett's longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, and his contributions to Berkshire's success. Finkle draws key lessons from Buffett's mistakes as well as his successes, using these failures to explore the ways behavioral biases can affect investors and how to overcome themHollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence
By Ken Auletta. 2022
A vivid biography of Harvey Weinstein—how he rose to become a dominant figure in the film world, how he used…
that position to feed his monstrous sexual appetites, and how it all came crashing down, from the author who has covered the Hollywood and media power game for The New Yorker for three decadesTwenty years ago, Ken Auletta wrote an iconic New Yorker profile of the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was then at the height of his powers. The profile made waves for exposing how volatile, even violent, Weinstein was to his employees and collaborators. But there was a much darker story that was just out of reach: rumors had long swirled that Weinstein was a sexual predator. Auletta confronted Weinstein, who denied the claims. Since no one was willing to go on the record, Auletta and the magazine concluded they couldn&’t close the case. Years later, he was able to share his reporting notes and knowledge with Ronan Farrow; he cheered as Farrow, and Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, finally revealed the truth. Still, the story continued to nag him. The trail of assaults and cover-ups had been exposed, but the larger questions remained: What was at the root of Weinstein&’s monstrousness? How, and why, was it never checked? Why the silence? How does a man run the day-to-day operations of a company with hundreds of employees and revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and at the same time live a shadow life of sexual predation without ever being caught? How much is this a story about Harvey Weinstein, and how much is this a story about Hollywood and power? In pursuit of the answers, Auletta digs into Weinstein&’s life, searching for the mysteries beneath a film career unparalleled for its extraordinary talent and creative success, which combined with a personal brutality and viciousness to leave a trail of ruined lives in its wake. Hollywood Ending is more than a prosecutor&’s litany; it is an unflinching examination of Weinstein's life and career, embedding his crimes in the context of the movie business, in his failures and the successes that led to enormous power. Film stars, Miramax employees and board members, old friends and family, and even the person who knew him best—Harvey&’s brother, Bob—all talked to Auletta at length. Weinstein himself also responded to Auletta&’s questions from prison. The result is not simply the portrait of a predator but of the power that allowed Weinstein to operate with such impunity for so many years, the spiderweb in which his victims found themselves trapped.Maeve rising: Coming out trans in corporate america
By Maeve DuVally. 2023
When Maeve DuVally came out as a transgender woman while working as a corporate communications manager at Goldman Sachs, she…
knew she couldn't do it quietly. DuVally intimately documents her struggle to be herself in this environment, initially keeping her identity a secret with wardrobe changes in the lobby bathroom after work. Eventually she declares herself and, to her surprise, Goldman Sachs embraces the effort. Surgery follows. When DuVally finally takes those first steps on heels through the corridors of this institution on the way to her first meeting as a woman, the listener cheers. A New York Times story helped her realize she could become a role model for other transgender people and branded Goldman Sachs as a model for corporations assisting their transitioning employees. Before she found her courage, DuVally's life was mired in depression and unconscious struggle. Raised in an Irish Catholic family with a sadistic pathologist father, her upbringing dropped her into an adulthood plagued by alcoholism. At Goldman Sachs, she ascends to a top communications position before her drinking begins to encroach upon her work. Finally, DuVally hits bottom, becoming sober after a lifetime in and out of AA and rehab. Clear at last, she begins to understand the source of her lifelong struggle and takes the bold step to become the woman she is nowThe Cell Game: Sam Waksal's Fast Money and False Promises—and the Fate of ImClone's Cancer Drug
By Alex Prud'Homme. 2004
"It began with a promising cancer drug, the brainchild of a gifted researcher, and grew into an insider trading scandal…
that ensnared one of America's most successful women. The story of ImClone Systems and its "miracle" cancer drug, Erbitux, is the quintessential business saga of the late 1990s. It's the story of big money and cutting-edgescience, celebrity, greed, and slipshod business practices; the story of biotech hype and hope and every kind of excess.At the center of it all stands a single, enigmatic figure named Sam Waksal. A brilliant, mercurial, and desperate-to-be-liked entrepreneur, Waksal was addicted to the trappings of wealth and fame that accrued to a darling of the stock market and the overheated atmosphere of biotech IPOs. At the height of his stardom, Waksal hobnobbed with Martha Stewart in New York and Carl Icahn in the Hamptons, hosted parties at his fabulous art-filled loft, and was a fixture in the gossip columns. He promised that Erbitux would "change oncology," and would soon be making $1 billion a year.But as Waksal partied late into the night, desperate cancer patients languished, waiting for his drug to come to market. When the FDA withheld approval of Erbitux, the charming scientist who had always stayed just one step ahead of bankruptcy panicked and desperately tried to cash in his stock before the bad news hit Wall Street.Waksal is now in jail, the first of the Enron-era white-collar criminals to be sentenced. Yet his cancer drug has proved more durable than his evanescent profits. Erbitux remains promising, the leading example of a new way to fight cancer, and patients and investors hope it will be available soon.Recounting his three years in Korea, the highest-ranking non-Korean executive at Hyundai sheds light on a business culture very few…
Western journalists ever experience, in this revealing, moving, and hilarious memoir.When Frank Ahrens, a middle-aged bachelor and eighteen-year veteran at the Washington Post, fell in love with a diplomat, his life changed dramatically. Following his new bride to her first appointment in Seoul, South Korea, Frank traded the newsroom for a corporate suite, becoming director of global communications at Hyundai Motors. In a land whose population is 97 percent Korean, he was one of fewer than ten non-Koreans at a company headquarters of thousands of employees.For the next three years, Frank traveled to auto shows and press conferences around the world, pitching Hyundai to former colleagues while trying to navigate cultural differences at home and at work. While his appreciation for absurdity enabled him to laugh his way through many awkward encounters, his job began to take a toll on his marriage and family. Eventually he became a vice president—the highest-ranking non-Korean at Hyundai headquarters.Filled with unique insights and told in his engaging, humorous voice, Seoul Man sheds light on a culture few Westerners know, and is a delightfully funny and heartwarming adventure for anyone who has ever felt like a fish out of water—all of us.Hetty: The Genius and Madness of America's First Female Tycoon
By Charles Slack. 2004
When J. P. Morgan called a meeting of New York's financial leaders after the stock market crash of 1907, Hetty…
Green was the only woman in the room. The Guinness Book of World Records memorialized her as the World's Greatest Miser, and, indeed, this unlikely robber baron -- who parlayed a comfortable inheritance into a fortune that was worth about 1.6 billion in today's dollars -- was frugal to a fault. But in an age when women weren't even allowed to vote, never mind concern themselves with interest rates, she lived by her own rules. In Hetty, Charles Slack reexamines her life and legacy, giving us, at long last, a splendidly "nuanced portrait" (Newsweek) of one of the greatest -- and most eccentric -- financiers in American history.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst: A True Story of Inside Information and Corruption in the Stock Market
By Jennifer Reingold, Dan Reingold. 2006
Here is the true story of a top Wall Street player's transformation from a straight-arrow believer to a jaded cynic,…
who reveals how Wall Street's insider game is really played.Dan Reingold was a top Wall Street analyst for fourteen years and Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman's chief competitor in the red-hot sector of telecom. Reingold was part of the "Street" and believed in it.But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir written with accomplished Fast Company senior writer Jennifer Reingold the author describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s.Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic -- and ultimately tragic -- periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to the world of Wall Street leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages.Reingold spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from Wall Street bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's CEO, John Mack, and CSFB's über-banker Frank Quattrone.Reingold describes instances in which confidential deals are whispered days before their official announcement. He recalls the moment he learns that Bernie Ebbers's WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he is shocked to have been an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Jack Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill.Some of Reingold's stories are outrageous, others hilarious, and many are simply absurd. But, together, they provide a sobering exposé of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego, a place brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve.He shows how government investigators, headlines notwithstanding, never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era. And how they completely overlooked Wall Street's pervasive use of inside information, leaving investors -- even sophisticated professionals -- cheated. The book ends with a series of important policy recommendations to clean up the investing business.In the tradition of Liar's Poker and Den of Thieves, Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst is a no-holds-barred insider's account that will open the eyes of every investor.