This corporate history of BASF offers a view of the functioning of an industrial organization that has managed to thrive and expand since 1865. Moreover, it reveals much about the reasons for the extraordinary economic dynamics of the German empire and the enormous expansion of the world economy before World War I. It permits the probing of the origins and spread of the knowledge society, in which science and research-based innovation have become the key determinants of economic growth and social development. Accordingly, BASF's history developed at the core of Germany's wartime economy during both world wars and highlights its strengths as well as its weaknesses.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The authors are to be congratulated on a well-integrated study presented in a handsomely produced book with valuable graphs, tables, and illustrations." Technology and Culture, Kenneth S. Mernitz
"...the story that emerges from this volume is both scholarly and compelling, exposing the extensive detil of primary sources to further interpretation by informd and lay readers alike." Business History Review, Jeremy Leaman, Loughborough University, UK
"Well-written and researched, this volume has excellent indices of archives, corporations, persons, products and processes, and subjects, as well as a full bibliography. This is a major contribution to business history and the history of modern Europe."
Carl Strikwerda, The College of William and Mary, Journal of Social History
"this comprehensive new history of BASF will serve as the basis for subsequent research on the firm. It offers a cornucopia of information concerning not only the company's internal structure, personalities, and technological initiatives but also the relatively inaccessible area of anticompetitive behavior." - Alfred C. Mierzejewski, University of North Texas
"German Industry and Global Enterprise is informative. Business historians will certainly find it useful as a micro-study that provides insight into how this massive chemical concern developed and maintained a market for its goods for nearly a century and a half." - L. M. Stallbaumer-Beishline, Department of History, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, H-NET
"...the story that emerges from this volume is both scholarly and compelling, exposing the extensive detil of primary sources to further interpretation by informd and lay readers alike." Business History Review, Jeremy Leaman, Loughborough University, UK
"Well-written and researched, this volume has excellent indices of archives, corporations, persons, products and processes, and subjects, as well as a full bibliography. This is a major contribution to business history and the history of modern Europe."
Carl Strikwerda, The College of William and Mary, Journal of Social History
"this comprehensive new history of BASF will serve as the basis for subsequent research on the firm. It offers a cornucopia of information concerning not only the company's internal structure, personalities, and technological initiatives but also the relatively inaccessible area of anticompetitive behavior." - Alfred C. Mierzejewski, University of North Texas
"German Industry and Global Enterprise is informative. Business historians will certainly find it useful as a micro-study that provides insight into how this massive chemical concern developed and maintained a market for its goods for nearly a century and a half." - L. M. Stallbaumer-Beishline, Department of History, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, H-NET
Book Description
The corporate history of BASF offers a glimpse into the functioning of an industrial organization that has held its own on the market since 1865. Moreover, it reveals a good deal about the reasons for the extraordinary economic dynamics of the German empire and the enormous expansion of the world economy before World War I. It permits one to probe the origins and spread of the knowledge society, in which science and research-based innovation have become the key determinants of economic growth and social development. By the same token, BASF's history stands at the center of Germany's wartime economy during both world wars and highlights both its strengths and its weaknesses.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dyes,Nitrogen,War Crimes,
By Chemistry One "Retired Professor" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
This review is from: German Industry and Global Enterprise: BASF: The History of a Company (Hardcover)
This is a very well researched and detailed history of the German chemical company "Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik" (BASF) founded in the 1860s. The book discusses the development of the company chronologically.
Initially, coaltar products(aniline) were the company's business. After William Perkin's discovery of mauve, an important dye derived from aniline, BASF developed and manufactured many synthetic dyes : indigo, fuchsin,alizarin and many others. The company pioneered in basic research and collaborated with universities. They also believed in vertical integration: manufacturing many of the materials that went into dye synthesis : soda,sulfuric acid,and chlorine were some of these. After Fritz Haber's demonstration of the direct synthesis of ammonia ,BASF acquired the rights to the process , and their chemist Carl Bosch led a team that developed large-scale ammonia plants. The book discusses the formation of IG Farben the cartel of which BASF was part, and its involvement in production of synthetic gasoline, rubber and other materials for NAZI germany. There are many other matters discussed: particularly business arrangements, patents, pollution issues, and the involvement of some managers of IG Farben in war crimes. As a chemist, I wished for some more specific details on the chemistry involved. There are no chemical formulas in the book, and some of the descriptions of chemistry sound strange. The references given are extremely extensive, and imply access to many internal BASF documents, as well as personal diaries. This book is an essential reference for anyone trying to understand the military/industrial/political developments in Germany 1900-present.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabrik (BASF) was "without question the largest chemical factory in the world," at least in the field of organic chemical production. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
managing board meeting, core group factories, aniline department, productive collateral, customized quality production, lacquer area, buna program, alizarin convention, managing board chairman, indanthrene dyes, supplementary retirement funds, verbund system, aniline factory, managing board member, integrated production complex, viscose staple fiber, core factories, hydrogenation facilities, vitamin area, ammonia laboratory, industrial lacquers, fiber business, second breakup, indigo synthesis, dyeing aids Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Engere Kommission, National Socialist, Carl Wurster, Carl Bosch, West German, Carl Krauch, Global Corporation, Dow Badische, Otto Ambros, Pier Akten, August Clemm, Deutsche Bank, New York, Carl Clemm, Ernst Struss, Fritz Haber, Gustav Siegle, Auguste Victoria, New Jersey, Carl Duisberg, Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft, Hans Albers, Third Reich, Flammable Material New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabrik (BASF) was "without question the largest chemical factory in the world," at least in the field of organic chemical production. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
managing board meeting, core group factories, aniline department, productive collateral, customized quality production, lacquer area, buna program, alizarin convention, managing board chairman, indanthrene dyes, supplementary retirement funds, verbund system, aniline factory, managing board member, integrated production complex, viscose staple fiber, core factories, hydrogenation facilities, vitamin area, ammonia laboratory, industrial lacquers, fiber business, second breakup, indigo synthesis, dyeing aids Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Engere Kommission, National Socialist, Carl Wurster, Carl Bosch, West German, Carl Krauch, Global Corporation, Dow Badische, Otto Ambros, Pier Akten, August Clemm, Deutsche Bank, New York, Carl Clemm, Ernst Struss, Fritz Haber, Gustav Siegle, Auguste Victoria, New Jersey, Carl Duisberg, Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft, Hans Albers, Third Reich, Flammable Material New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 25
books:
See all 25 books this book cites
- Industry and Ideology: I. G. Farben in the Nazi Era by Peter Hayes on 5 pages
- The German Chemical Industry in the Twentieth Century (Chemists and Chemistry) by John E. Lesch in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism by Alfred D. Chandler Jr. on page 216, and Back Matter
- Divide and Prosper: The Heirs of I.G. Farben Under Allied Authority, 1945-1951 by Raymond G. Stokes in Back Matter
- Economic Institutions of Capitalism by Oliver E. Williamson in Back Matter
See all 25 books this book cites
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
