Radicals & Visionaries: Entrepreneurs Who Revolutionized the 20th Century (Paperback)

by Thaddeus Wawro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Entrepreneur magazine has been profiling successful businesspeople for more than 25 years, and its parent company started Entrepreneur Press in 1998 to publish books that "inspire and inform readers." Its latest offering is a celebration of entrepreneurship that tries to inspire by example. It is also a trove of information that will satisfy the curious. Wawro is an advertising copywriter; he briefly portrays some 90 "men and women who, through talent, drive, ingenuity and desire . . . shaped the past 100 years." It is a fascinating assortment offered in alphabetical order, though Wawro never explains how he selected his roster. Some of the names may not be readily familiar, but their companies and products are. Thus we have Enid Bissett (Maidenform bra), Jean Nidetch (Weight Watchers), and Charles Lazarus (Toys R Us) rubbing shoulders with Milton Hershey, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey. Most entries also include a photograph, a factoid or two, and a quote from the subject. This book might also appeal to students looking for research topics, but Wawro never identifies or lists his sources. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Reveals the complete stories of both the legendary masters of enterprise and the unsung entrepreneurial heroes who charted the course of business throughout the century. Softcover. DLC: Businesspeople--U.S.--Biography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891984136
• ISBN-13: 978-1891984136
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #936,869 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 70 Revolutionaries, May 11, 2000

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is an anthology of 70 micro-biographies, each of which includes some insightful comments and occasionally a little-known fact or two about the subject. Many of the selections are predictable: Michael Dell, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, William Hewlett & David Packard, Ray Kroc, Steve Jobs, Akio Morita, Ted Turner, Sam Walton, and Thomas Watson Jr. What surprised and pleased me is that Wawro also discusses several other "radicals & visionaries" which I did not expect to be included: Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball, Clarence Birdseye, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, Berry Gordy, Hugh Hefner, Jim Henson, John Johnson, George Lucas, David Ogilvy, Ron Popeil, Martha Stewart, and Oprah Winfrey.

This book is great fun to read...as well as informative. Wawro does indeed cover a wide as well as diverse range of entrepreneurs who helped to revolutionize the 20th century. My only complaint is the Wawro, who obviously completed a great deal of research inorder to write this book, did not include an annotated bibliography for readers who wish to learn more about the 70 subjects discussed. Perhaps it was impractical to do so. This is nonetheless a commendable achievement which I recommend highly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!!, January 9, 2001

By	Mohan Babu "Author: Offshoring IT Services" (Global) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Moving, inspiring, stirring and exciting, the short biographies are readable, short and sweet. I picked up the book thinking that I'd read a few stories a night and was totally floored after reading the first few. The stories were ordered alphabetically which in itself brought a randomness to the sequence.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, September 30, 2002

By	T SANTOSO (Surabaya, Jatim Indonesia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is similar to the -chichen soup- series type of short stories of the GREAT PEOPLE of todays.

It is inspiring and have great insight.

The only problem is putting too much people into a volume, there is some -depth- missing. It feels some sort of too-narrow and too-thin-spread. You wont get the depth of a biography, not even close, but then you get a lot of great people's short stories of their lives.

Most of the current greats are included, each with their short interesting quotes.

Overall, this is a greatbook especially for some short battery charging type of reading. One can read a few pages now and then and still enjoying it.