The Business of America: Tales from the Marketplace--American Enterprise from the Settling Fo New England to the Breakup of At&T

Rating:
Summary: Deserves 10 Stars
Review: As my review of The Great Game indicates, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and enjoyed reading this book every bit as much. Gordon combines the skills of an disciplined historian with those of a consummate storyteller. In this volume, he provides "tales from the marketplace -- American enterprise from the settling of New England to the breakup of AT&T." The scope and depth of coverage provide the reader with a unique perspective on subjects which range from "The Early Days of the American Dream" until "The Telegraph, Telephone and Television."

In the last of ten Parts, "After Hours,"Gordon shifts his attention to:

"The American Game" in which he explains that, "Like all great team sports (except basketball, baseball arose spontaneously from the human race's collective genius for play. Its ultimate origins lie in a game called rounders, played by village boys in England since time immemorial. Variations of rounders were known in both England and America by many other names, and one called baseball is even mentioned by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey, written about 1798."

Also to "Saint [Nathan] Straus" who, along with other members of his family, did so much to improve the quality of life in America. "In the course of his crusade [to provide pasteurized milk to as many children as possible], Straus established at his own expense 297 milk stations in 36 cities. Over the course of 25 years, 24 million glasses and bottles of safe milk were dispenses. The national death rate for children fell from 125.1 per 1,000 in 1891 to 15.8 per 1,000 in 1925, mostly thanks to pasteurization. Altogether it is estimated that the efforts of Nathan Straus directly saved the lives of 445,8000 children."

And to "The Philanthropist" (Peter Cooper). Having accumulated vast wealth, Cooper reached "the third stage of his life, the phase devoted to good works. He had always served on endless boards established to improve the quality of life in New York City. Now he resolved to do something more concrete. He established the Cooper Union in 1857 `for the advancement of science and art.' The building itself was interesting, being the first `fireproof' building erected in the country (using cast-iron beams manufactured, of course, by Peter Cooper). In 1860, Abraham Lincoln gave his `House Divided' speech there."

There are hundreds of other brief excerpts from which I could also have selected a few to indicate how interesting, indeed compelling historical information can be when presented by one so gifted as Gordon. He has a keen eye for the especially meaningful detail, the defining moment, and the transcendent situation. Those who are interested in learning more about the subjects covered are provided with a comprehensive Bibliography. This is an immensely entertaining as well as informative book. Were a higher rating available, I would give it to this book as well as to Gordon's The Great Game.

Rating:
Summary: Interestic Vignettes of american Business History
Review: I just finished a book by a really great writer. His name is John Steele Gordon. He writes about economic history but it's all very interesting. My wife and I saw him on TV a while back so I picked up his book, The Business of America. It's really a collection of articles he wrote for American Heritage magazine. It may seem a bit dry but it's interesting stuff. John Steele Gordon infuses his articles on Economic history with bits of humor and irony that make it seem fun to read. He's extremely knowledgeable and witty, a combination which makes for a swift read. I especially enjoyed the piece on Desi Arnez.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent prose and great examples of U.S. Econommic history
Review: I rank this book as a solid four star book. I didn't rank the book with a five star rating because it didn't cause me to have a "paradigm shift" or see the world from a different perspective. However, those interested in American History or economic history should thoroughly enjoy this book. I loved reading the book because Mr. Gordon's work clearly shows his in-depth knowledge of American history and his excellent storytelling capabilities.

These 47 articles, gathered from Gordon's 10 years as an American Heritage columnist, cover the post-Revolutionary period through the 1950s. Each article is written, as the title portrays, from an American perspective. Mr. Gordon talks, for example, about the railroads and the characters behind them in the American boom but rarely does he specifically address who invented a product / technology, unless an American did. Additionally, I found that little attention was given to air conditioning, as it has impacted migration patterns dramatically in the U.S.

...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent prose and great examples of U.S. Econommic history
Review: I rank this book as a solid four star book. I didn't rank the book with a five star rating because it didn't cause me to have a "paradigm shift" or see the world from a different perspective. However, those interested in American History or economic history should thoroughly enjoy this book. I loved reading the book because Mr. Gordon's work clearly shows his in-depth knowledge of American history and his excellent storytelling capabilities.

These 47 articles, gathered from Gordon's 10 years as an American Heritage columnist, cover the post-Revolutionary period through the 1950s. Each article is written, as the title portrays, from an American perspective. Mr. Gordon talks, for example, about the railroads and the characters behind them in the American boom but rarely does he specifically address who invented a product / technology, unless an American did. Additionally, I found that little attention was given to air conditioning, as it has impacted migration patterns dramatically in the U.S.

...

Rating:
Summary: Deserves 10 Stars
Review: I so enjoyed this book I didn't want it to end. Please, Mr. Gordon, write another. My normal read is gory mystery thrillers, so this was quite a departure. I saw Mr. Gordon on C-Span and thought "The Business Of America" might be interesting. This book went far beyond interesting; it made the history of dull finance be as exciting as my normal gory thrillers!

Rating:
Summary: Economic history is educational and interesting
Review: Ten years' worth of writing, these forty-seven essays capture illumuniating anecdotes about economic history, captured in the stories of people, ideas and moments in time. Booms and depressions, clever inventions and failed plans, tough competitors and grandoise government schemes all receive their due.

There is the story of King Cotton and how the gin made it profitable. Gordon reports on the California Gold Rush, the first television syndication (that's how Desi Arnaz earns a cover picture on an economic history book), war economies, the decision to build the World Trade towers (an eerie story to read today), steamboat races, railroad competition and more, each in pithy, five-page synopses of major historic studies or records. Brief as they are, there is not always a full story, but the histories leave the read impressed and engaged.

Gordon highlights well-known phrases, e.g., "The business of America is business," "The public be damned!" and explains how they came about (and the myths around same). Before we spoke of people "going postal", Gordon writes about the now-lapsed term, "postalization", another idea entirely.

In "The American Game" he shows how baseball is unique in that it was a business and not just a sport from its early years. A strange business, yes, where today "semiserfdom" of ballplayers has produced average annual salaries of $2.38 million and an industry prone to "work stoppages" and seemingly on the brink of disaster.

The better stories are of the visionaries who made and managed business in America, including the man who spent his personal fortune to make milk safe to drink for millions and the unsung heroes who saved businesses from failure. This is a good education for those who don't understand or who doubt the power of free markets, an idea whose time has come, or simply the American dream as it has been lived.

Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining, should be required reading
Review: There are not enough stars to recommend this book.

Equal parts history and business, this book should be required reading prior to high school graduation. But don't take that as a limiting factor. You will enjoy this book. It is a highly entertaining weave of the basics of the business institutions that we take for granted today and the history that created them, destroyed their competition or may cause them to change in the future.

The format, a compilation of columns, allows the reader to enjoy the book is small bites. I, however, couldn't put it down once I started to read it.

Try it, you'll like it!

Rating:
Summary: Intresting book
Review: This book is quite intresting. It tells how a group of people started an economic revloution within America. This book was really boring at some points in the book. However, Gordon came back and made it very intresting to read. i recommend this book to people who have time on their hands who wants to go into business and who just want to learn how America got started in an economic sense.