Three Fun Books on Business History

Three Fun Books on Business History

Some of us still have too much time alone and at home, so it is a good time to get some reading in.  In a prior newsletter, we recommended Alfred Chandler’s Visible Hand as the single most important book to read on business history.  Anyone who is literate about...
What Became of My Bank?

What Became of My Bank?

No industry has seen more name changes and mergers and acquisitions than America’s banking industry.  Many people don’t realize that BankAmerica, Chase Manhattan, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo – all among the ten largest banks thirty years ago – were each absorbed...
Who Makes Our Balls?

Who Makes Our Balls?

In these troubling times, it’s important to remember something called “fun.” Our weekly newsletters tend to cover big industries like retailing and automobiles.  But we also find smaller, niche industries fascinating. Here is a look at who makes the balls used by...
And the Answers Are….

And the Answers Are….

Last Friday we sent you a link to a business history crossword puzzle, which many of you visited. We promised the answers today, so here they are. If for any reason you missed the puzzle, you can still take it here and fill it out right in your browser. Or look at the...
And the Answers Are….

Stuck at Home?

Like everyone else, we at the American Business History Center have no sports to watch, fewer restaurants to patronize, and even a shortage of exciting primary elections to follow.  So what better time to entertain and educate ourselves through reading and...
A Great New Book About the Future

A Great New Book About the Future

As you know, I love books and live in a personal library of more than 57,000 of them.  Only a few – say 2-300 of them – really capture my excitement and enthusiasm.  Fewer, Richer, Greener by Larry Siegel is one of those books.  It just...
The Data-Driven Visionary

The Data-Driven Visionary

In 1941, Fred Lazarus, Jr., had some time to kill in Houston.  He had come to visit his son Ralph who was serving in the Army at nearby Ellington Field.   Twelve years earlier, Lazarus and his family had united their family-owned Lazarus department...
Understanding How Tech Companies Work

Understanding How Tech Companies Work

Tech companies from Apple to Dell, from Adobe to Oracle, work each day to outsmart their competitors, to develop innovative products and services, and to best market and sell their products and services. No technology company in history has been more successful in...
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