Customer Reviews

Money and Power: The History of Business

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Frankly, I did not know what to expect as I began to read this book. (The use of "The" in the subtitle is somewhat misleading.) Having read it, I consider this to be among the most enjoyable as well as most informative books about business I have read in recent years. Referring to a collaboration with David Grubin to produce a CNBC documentary, Means explains that "we followed the money to the personalities -- both definitive and representative -- that have dominated the last thousand years of business, and to some of the most defining and colorful events of the millennium." The personalities are Sir Godric, Cosimo de' Medici, Philip II, those involved with "Tulipmania", James Watt and Matthew Boulton, those involved with the Transcontinental Railway, J. Pierpont Morgan, John D.. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Robert Woodruff, the key players involved in the merger which created Time Warner, and Bill Gates. Here are brief comments by Means on a few of the individuals and situations which are the focus of his attention throughout this book:

"Born at a time when capital accumulation for the peasantry was nearly unthinkable, [Godric] was nonetheless a model of modern wealth creation: an up-from-the-bootstraps capitalist who transformed the hand fate had dealt him."

"Cosimo helped to create a world that revolved not around God but around a society with man at the center. After five hundred years, power was shifting from the men of the Church to the men of business."

"Gifted with unprecedented mineral wealth, [Philip} had set out to reverse the flow of history rather than look forward and embrace growth, and history has judged him accordingly."

"James Watt is known to us as the father of the Industrial Revolution, and indeed the steam engine he brought to such perfection is the [italics] defining invention of the movement....He needed a partner [Boulton] to transform his genius into a product and to bring the product to a market where fortunes were waiting to be made....The steam engine [developed by Watt and promoted by Boulton] that would power the first locomotive would radically alter transportation across England and throughout Europe. Across the ocean, it would even pull a continent together. But its invention and manufacture would be left to other minds and hands."

"Throughout the last millennium, it was control that created fortunes: control over the oceans or railroads, the highways or the airwaves. At the start of the new millennium, it's still control -- this time over cyberspace, the new wealth machine. Some things never change but here's the difference: This road to riches is open to everyone."

I include these brief excerpts to suggest both the style and thrust of Means's presentation of material. As Grubin correctly points out in the Foreword, "Scientists and politicians, artists and scholars, all contributed to the millennium of change, but the world's businessmen -- its bankers and industrialists, merchants and entrepreneurs -- were a powerful driving force behind the stunning transformation." Means is to be commended for so skillfully guiding his reader through this immensely interesting process. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mokyr's The Lever of Riches.

Who says that history has to be dull? Money & Power is a lively introductory look at how modern business developed. You could graduate in economics from the finest colleges in North America, and never get this information. Anyone who wants to have a basic understanding of some key elements and tensions in business operations should read this book.

Unlike many books related to television specials, this one has been turned into a book rather than simply being a copy of the television script. Money & Power does not require you to have seen the special to benefit from its very interesting contents.

The book is organized around 12 chapters that each highlight one person or event in business history. The beginning of the chapter provides linkage material to put the information into context and to relate it to what preceded the chapter.

The first problem that business people faced in Christian Europe was that profit-making (especially earning interest on money) was considered sinful. The book takes a look at how that belief evolved through first considering an early peddler-merchant, St. Godric, who eventually gave up his entrepreneurially bookstrapped career to become a hermit, and was eventually sainted. By the Renaissance, the consummate banker Cosima de' Medici was able to handle this differently. Through a large donation he obtained absolution for his sins in operating a business.

The importance of trust is also developed. From the de' Medici's to J.P. Morgan, banking relied on prudent, dependable people whom you could trust. During financial panics in the late 19th century and early 20th century, J.P. Morgan was the lender of last resort who bailed out the markets. After Morgan, the Federal Reserve system was created to fulfill this critical economic role.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, greed can be destructive. The book describes the manias in Holland with tulip bulbs and the parallel bubble in England, as well as the wasteful use of wealth by Phillip II of Spain (he of the ill-fated Spanish Armada).

The role of business person, as separate from inventor, is nicely developed in the story of how James Watt and Matthew Boulton collaborated to commercially exploit the steam engine. That theme is continued in examining Henry Ford's work in creating his own infrastructure and marketplace for the mass-produced auto.

The role of financiers and speculators is nicely developed in a section on the U.S. transcontinental railroad (the 1860s version of the Internet today).

A chapter on Robert Woodruff of Coca-Cola explains the power of modern brands and marketing.

A chapter on Time Warner develops the ways that new combinations of capabilities can allow new developments to occur (think of Time as "conduit" and Warner as "content"). This continued the theme of creating a favorable industry structure that was begun in the chapter on John D. Rockefeller's creation of the Standard Oil trust.

A final chapter on Bill Gates and Microsoft heralds the current age, in which "the road to riches is open to everyone."

Many books that operate at a "simple" level are also simplistic. This is not the case with Money & Power. Great precision is used that provides relevant distinctions that are valuable to those with more knowledge. For example, the book points out that St. Godric was the son of a freeman. This is an important point, because the son of a serf could not legally have wandered off to become a peddler. Very few people were freemen in the late 11th century. His experience is much more understandable for having that information included.

I thought that the 12 examples were especially well chosen to make anyone who reads the book more business literate. If the book could have been expanded to 15 examples, it would have been nice to capture some of the great work in establishing new concepts for corporations that has occurred in the last 30 years.

After you read this book, I also suggest that you think about what the conceptual hurdles are today that limit the effectiveness of businesses to provide for society's needs. How can those limitations be removed in the future in ways that are beneficial to everyone?

Understand the almost universal appeal of money and power, and how it can be made more productive!

The book presents an inside view of the history of business and its development over the years. From the 12th century monk, St. Godric to Bill Gates and Microsoft, this well-researched book outlines the history of industry, commerce and power. As a counsellor and teacher of business management, I will highly recommend this literary masterpiece to my students. Before we can advance in industry and commerce, it is equally important to understand the roots...where and how it all began. Who wouldn't be captivated by the Rothschilds or Robert Woodruff and Coca-Cola? My only regret is that the book ended all too soon. There are other mega empires that are not mentioned here - maybe there will be a sequel to this book in the future.

Not a bad executive summary of the History of Business, but lacks real meat to the seasoned business historian. The profiles are solid and historically accurate but no real insight is given into the minds of these men who shaped business, as we know it.

I was never able to see the CNBC program to which this book is the companion, although i would be greatly ineterested in watching it now.

The author, rather than outlining a boring, start to finish business history book used an inventive means of describing multiple stories of individuals and large scale events. He was not afraid to use poeple who are not well known nor scared to paint a different picture of the well known.

The book covered the transitions between era's in a compelling way by shifting the focus on the newest trend in every era. While this ranged from money lending in the time of Medici to trading during Tulipmania to Creating and building during the industrial revolution, the reader can understand the era with the historical backdrop as well understand the trends in business evolution through the personal stories. The author is also not afraid to write positive and negative comments about various historical figures. He does not show a positive bias like many historians.

I felt this book presented the most intersting business history of any book I have read. It is also able to be read chapter by chapter individually becaus ethe chapters, although they refer to past events in some, are mostly separate stories.

if you are interested in business history, this should be the first book you pick up. I guarantee you will have a different perspective on many individuals and learn a great deal about some you have never heard of.

I found this a thoroughly enjoyable book. It is an easy read without being superficial. The writers focus mostly on American business--Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford and Gates--with emphasis on their money-making schemes & abilities. These are not "tell-all" biographical sketches. The writers never lose sight of their overall theme: money and power and how the two blend together. I would have liked more historical analysis (such is my bias). I found the chapter on Tulipmania fascinating (it is also the first time I have ever really understood Futures Trading). For anyone who finds economics and business an elusive mystery, this is an excellent starting point. (Also check out P.J. O'Rourke's Eat the Rich.)

I am a recent MBA just starting my career-- I received this book from my father as a gift last week and read the whole thing in a weekend. It is a great historical look at how business began and how it has evolved through time. I had no idea that money led to such notions of guilt as it did in medievel/feudal times. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history and business.

Where's the beef?

I am seriously disappointed with the level of detail provided in this book. There are too few subjects represented and the few selected - far too little said. If you're looking for insights... keep looking. If you're looking to find out what made these people tick... search on. If you're looking for a significant list of WHO'S WHO in the history of business... this isn't even a good index. I rarely comment on the books I purchase through Amazon but this one was disappointing enough that I'm just shooting a warning flare for anyone who takes their time seriously. If you want a light read - I'll give it a green light for that.

Let me preface this by saying I liked the book. It was an easy read and a great 'capsulation' of each generation of Mega Millionaire. It was a great 'primer' for who was famously popular in each era.

On the other hand, it appeared to me that the vast majority of the men capsuled in this book did it through ruthless agression and the abscence of Anti Trust laws.

Granted, many men in this book were subject to Anti Trust laws AFTER they made their millions, and adhering to these laws only made them wealthier...but it takes money to make money and their seed were already sewn.

I walked away from this book wondering if you had to be an obsessive to the point of crude and potentially unlike-able to make that level of income.

I would hate to give up the personality traits that I have grown to like (sense of humour, compassion, empathy) to be wealthy, and hate to think that these traits will deter me from becoming wealthy.

But my personal concerns aside, this was an enjoyable book with lots of easy-to-understand information.

This volume, based on a PBS documentary, is as much about the unique characters who drove the evolution of business as it is about vast historic trends. Author Howard Means blends the color of a cinematic treatment with the rich context and detail of a comprehensive history. In so doing, he's accomplished the ultimate historian's goal: Presenting history in such a way that it is clearly relevant to modern-day life, and in this case, business. From biblical moneychangers to the miraculously large pool of Microsoft millionaires, Means traces the history of commerce from the perspective of power, asking who acquired it, how they amassed it, how they used it and what became of it? We [...] recommend his intense narrative to anyone in business, since business is about money, and money is, after all, power.