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American Business Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present (2 Volume Set)

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In his preface to what he hoped would be an encyclopedia for
general readers, Neil Hamilton admits that selecting which business
leaders to include was no easy task. Ultimately, he selected 413
visionary male and female "movers and shakers".

The well-known moguls of American industry are all here,
shoulder to shoulder with the lesser-known. Andrew Carnegie, Bill
Gates and John D. Rockefeller keep good company with Mary Spratt
Alexander, who built a mercantile empire in early Colonial America
while, at the same time, bearing ten children and supporting her
husband's political career, and Madame Sarah Walker, an
African-American who became a millionaire in the 1800's by building
a business based on hair care products for black women.

All the contemporary heavy hitters are represented, from Dick Clark
and Helena Rubinstein to Boone Pickens, Ross Perot and Ben & Jerry.

While the emphasis, naturally enough, is on American business
during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the encyclopedia
covers the period from the seventeenth century to the present day.
The areas of evdeavor include finance and banking, heavy industry,
food processing, broadcasting and communications, computers and
entertainment.

The entries, written in a lively and informative manner, are all
set within the social context of their times, and each is
accompanied by a bibliography.

A good source for researchers, browsers and those seeking inspiration,
this excellent and very readable work also offers an alphabetical
listing of business leaders, a preface, a list of leaders by field
of endeavor and an index.