Endless Novelty [Hardcover]

Philip Scranton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691029733 | ISBN-13: 978-0691029733 | Publication Date: October 13, 1997 | Edition: First Edition

"A tremendously important book, one that attempts to redirect the thrust of scholarship in the area of business and economic history."--John N. Ingham, University of TorontoFlexibility, specialization, and niche marketing are buzzwords in the business literature these days, yet few realize that it was these elements that helped the United States first emerge as a global manufacturing leader between the Civil War and World War I. The huge mass production- based businesses--steel, oil, and autos--have long been given sole credit for this emergence. In Endless Novelty, Philip Scranton boldly recasts the history of this vital episode in the development of American business, known as the nation's second industrial revolution, by considering the crucial impact of trades featuring specialty, not standardized, production. Scranton takes us on a grand tour through American specialty firms and districts, where, for example, we meet printers and jewelry makers in New York and Providence, furniture builders in Grand Rapids, and tool specialists in Cincinnati. Throughout he highlights the benevolent as well as the strained relationships between workers and proprietors, the lively interactions among entrepreneurs and city leaders, and the personal achievements of industrial engineers like Frederic W. Taylor.Scranton shows that in sectors producing goods such as furniture, jewelry, machine tools, and electrical equipment, firms made goods to order or in batches, and industrial districts and networks flourished, creating millions of jobs. These enterprises relied on flexibility, skilled labor, close interactions with clients, suppliers, and rivals, and opportunistic pricing to generate profit streams.They built interfirm alliances to manage markets and fashioned specialized institutions--trade schools, industrial banks, labor bureaus, and sales consortia. In creating regional synergies and economies of scope and diversity, the approaches of these industrial firms represent the inverse of mass production.Challenging views of company organization that have come to dominate the business world in the United States, Endless Novelty will appeal to historians, business leaders, and to anyone curious about the structure of American industry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . Scranton has helped to make the story of the American economy safe for diversity once again. -- Kenneth Lipartito, Technology and Culture

: "A tremendously important book, one that attempts to redirect the thrust of scholarship in the area of business and economic history." -- John N. Ingham, University of Toronto

By subverting the deterministic narrative of mass production, Scranton has helped to make the story of the American economy safe for diversity once again. -- Review

From the Inside Flap

"A tremendously important book, one that attempts to redirect the thrust of scholarship in the area of business and economic history."--John N. Ingham, University of Toronto

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (October 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691029733
• ISBN-13: 978-0691029733
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,378,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Economically Exciting, December 4, 1999

By 

G. Hoeppner (Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Endless Novelty (Hardcover)

I read this book several months ago for a critical essay assignment for one of my college econ. classes. Normally when I read books for reports, essays, or for anything other than entertainment, I find them to be painfully boring and longwinded. This book, however, was a pleasant surprise. The book details several companies in the Midwest and uses them to demonstrate the evolution of the American company. Scranton does an excellent job of giving examples of one or two companies in similar situations and then showing how different decisions led to good or bad results. The book seems to have emphasize the success or failure of compainies/entrepreneurs because of their own actions, as the book doesn't include much about the Civil War or major contracts. It was very easy to complete my assignment with this book, and I think it would even make for good recreational reading material.