Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Automobile Insurance: Samuel P. Black, Jr. and the Rise of Erie Insurance, 1923-1961 (Garland Studies in Entrepreneurship) [Hardcover]

Samuel P. Black (Author), John Paul Rossi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0815329156 | ISBN-13: 978-0815329152 | Edition: 1

This study explores the development of automobile insurance through the career of one of the industry's entrepreneurs, Samuel P. Black, Jr., and Erie Insurance, the company he helped build.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Samuel P. Black is one of the pioneers of automobile insurance companies. John Paul Rossi is in the Department of Human and Social Sciences at Penn State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815329156
• ISBN-13: 978-0815329152
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,679,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Insurance > Automobile

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Samuel P. Black JR., an Amazing Man, December 9, 2011

By 

TMM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Automobile Insurance: Samuel P. Black, Jr. and the Rise of Erie Insurance, 1923-1961 (Garland Studies in Entrepreneurship) (Hardcover)

Starts out like a text book but once you start reading in Sam's words it gets much better. Sam told his story in detail and sometimes repeated himself to get his point across. He was truly an amazing man. I wish I could say I had met him but until reading this book, I had no clue what this man had achieved in his lifetime and after reading this book, I wish it was 1947 again.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sam Black: A Truly Great Man, June 4, 2004

By 

Christopher W. Black (Erie, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Automobile Insurance: Samuel P. Black, Jr. and the Rise of Erie Insurance, 1923-1961 (Garland Studies in Entrepreneurship) (Hardcover)

My late grandfather, Samuel Patton Black, Jr., was the hardest working man I have ever known. He and Prof. John Rossi (Penn State Erie) spent years working on this part narrative, part history of the growth of the auto insurance industry in its early years. It is an important work because it preserves the living memories of business when America was still growing and vital, before becoming the regulatory super-state we have now. While some so called academics might point out the 'lack of substantiation of Black's account,' these kinds of first hand narratives play a critical roll for historians who want to understand the past through living humans, rather than academes' impersonal citations upon citations. I would not buy this book for casual reading. It can be a bit dry. However, if you want to read about the growth of the American automobile insurance industry, then this is a very informative read. My grandfather always emulated the "bootstrap" Americans of real life and of literature like Horatio Alger. He recounts this influence in the context of the wide-open years of insurance underwriting. Prof. Rossi does a good job of capturing the sprit of this man who's tenure with the Erie group of insurance companies lasted 70 years from 1927-1997, and saw the company grow from the original investment from H.O. Hurt and Ollie Crawford (the Founders of Erie Insurance) to the multi-billion dollar corporation it is today (listed as the 1748th largest company in the world today in the 2004 Forbes 2000 Index). Grandpa, I will always love you and miss you.