Biography: business and industry Books

Book SynopsisFor half a century, the Murdoch media empire and its polarising patriarch have swept across the globe, shaking up markets and democracies in their wake. But how did it all start? In September 1953, 22-year-old Rupert Murdoch landed in Adelaide, South Australia. Fresh from Oxford with a radical reputation, the young and brash son of Sir Keith Murdoch had arrived to fulfill his father’s dying wish: for Rupert to live a ‘useful, altruistic, and full life’ in the media. For decades, Sir Keith had been a giant of the Australian press, but his final years were spent bitterly fending off rivals and would-be successors. When the dust settled on his father’s estate, Rupert was left with the Adelaide-based News Ltd and its afternoon paper The News — a minor player in a small, parochial city. But even this inheritance was soon under siege, as the left-wing ‘Boy Publisher’ stared down his father’s old colleagues at the city’s paper of record, The Advertiser, and a conservative establishment kept in power by a decades-old gerrymander. Led by Rupert’s friend, ally, and editor-in-chief Rohan Rivett, the fledgling Murdoch press began a seven-year campaign of circulation wars, expansion, and courtroom battles that divided the city and would lay the foundations for a global empire — if Rupert and Rohan didn’t end up in custody first. Drawing on unpublished archival material and new reportage, Young Rupert pieces together a paper trail of succession, sedition, and power — and a fascinating time capsule of Australian media on the cusp of an extraordinary ascension. Trade Review‘Ruthless, ambitious, a purveyor of intrigue and scandal for whom loyalty is just a pit stop on the way to a business deal, this is the young Rupert as you’ve never seen him before. A riveting, rollicking tale.’ -- Jenny Hocking, author of The Palace Letters‘The breadth and depth of Marsh’s research, his eye for detail and his truly exceptional storytelling brings what may have been a dry history into vivid relief.’ -- Kurt Johnson * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘From schoolboy socialist to boy publisher to mogul on the make: Young Rupert offers a revelatory glimpse of Murdoch becoming Murdoch.’ -- Jeff Sparrow, author of Crimes Against Nature‘Young Rupert is a vivid, revelatory portrait of a young man in a hurry. Deeply researched and sharply written, Marsh summons a vanished era to life and chronicles the intricate manoeuvres and shifting character of a man whose whims and grudges have dominated, for better and worse, the media landscape for seventy years. This is an engrossing and insightful study of raw power, shameless politics, and the powers of the press.’ -- Patrick Mullins, author of Tiberius with a Telephone‘A fascinating account of the early days of one of the most notoriously influential men Australia has produced. Marsh skilfully brings forgotten episodes of this country’s history to life, and reminds us just how important, cutthroat, and thrilling the news business can be.’ -- Sean Kelly, author of The Game‘There’s an art to writing the journalistic yarn, and Walter Marsh has it … Marsh sketches fine portraits … Consistent throughout Young Rupert is Marsh’s talent for research, which involves not only seeking the right sources but also using them correctly. He is careful with his conclusions, never peddling glib fantasies as facts.’ -- Damon Young * The Saturday Paper *‘Young Rupert is a scrupulously well-researched history that examines the power of the press in the 20th century and its influence on politics. Rupert Murdoch remains largely elusive, yet new research shows glimpses of a man under pressure and unable to enjoy his success. Readers interested in Australian politics and publishing will find much to satisfy here.’ -- Chris Saliba * Books+Publishing *‘Adelaide journalist Walter Marsh’s gripping new account of Rupert Murdoch’s origin story is more than a biography of the mogul — it uncovers media and political dynamics that remain powerful … Meticulously researched … both densely detailed and a rollicking read … it combines detailed history, including fascinating side journeys — into Murdoch’s personal reportage on outback Aboriginal communities (eye-opening in many ways), a firebrand activist’s tragic-heroic trajectory, a literal fist-fight between Packer and Murdoch interests to gain control of a Sydney press — with the narrative drive of a thriller … This is a distinguished work — essential for anyone who wants a greater understanding of Murdoch, his empire, and the contemporary history of South Australia.’ -- David Washington * In Review *‘[A] perceptive account of the first 30 years of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s life … Thoroughly reported and novelistic in detail … this provides keen insight into the business magnate’s formative years.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Journalist Marsh presents meticulous reporting on the tangled fortunes of the Murdoch news business … An authoritative … history of the early Murdoch media empire.’ * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisA memoir about building the Thames Barrier

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Book SynopsisThe personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha”—for fans of the HBO documentary Becoming Warren BuffettHere is the book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted

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Book SynopsisIn the early 1930s, the Australian family confectionery company Darrell Lea was a sensation, its shops stacked with delicious chocolates, marshmallows, nougat and much more in line with the company's motto to 'Stack 'em high, watch 'em fly'.It was at this time that Montague Lea met the vivacious teenage 'ticket writer' Valerie Everitt. Monty fell hard for her and, despite strong family opposition on both sides, they would marry.Valerie was keen to have a large brood and, though her pregnancies were difficult, she gave birth to four children. But they were not enough and in 1947 she adopted the first of three more children who were designed to be playmates for her own. It was a social experiment that would end in tears, as would the fortunes of the iconic company, destroyed by the glue that once bound it together - family.Rocky Road is the story of this chocaholic clan and the creative and eccentric woman who dominated it. Behind the irresistible sweetness of Darrell Lea lay a family who made bitter sacrifices to succeed in the candy business.

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Book SynopsisPraise For Damn Right! From the author of the bestselling WARREN BUFFETT SPEAKS Charlie Munger, whose reputation is deep and wide, based on an extraordinary record of brilliantly successful business strategies, sees things that others don't. There is a method to his mastery and, through this book, we get a chance to learn about this rare individual. MICHAEL EISNER, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company Janet Lowe uncovers the iconoclastic genius and subtle charm behind Charlie Munger's curmudgeonly facade in this richly woven portrait of our era's heir to Ben Franklin. With a biographer's detachment, an historian's thoroughness, and a financial writer's common sense, Lowe produces a riveting account of the family, personal, and business life of this idiosyncratically complex and endlessly fascinating figure. LAWRENCE A. CUNNINGHAM, Cardozo Law School, Author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate AmericaTrade ReviewShe's Bullish on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Money talks - in an astonishing number of languages. Janet Lowe' s books on business and finance have been translated into 17 tongues, including Thai, Hebrew, Slovenian and three different kinds of Chinese. President of the San Diego Press Club, former financial editor of the San Diego Tribune and the author of 16 books, Lowe' s writing focuses on the leaders of specific industries. Her latest work, "Damn Right! Behind the Scenes With Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger," gives further evidence of Lowe' s expertise on money-related success. The very rich, she observes, seem to have one particular thing in common. "The people that I have written about all earned their own wealth. They are not inheritors. They did not fall by it accidentally," she said. "It came about as the result of having a particular talent that they recognized very early in their lives, and they concentrated on it." She says that Warren Buffett was fascinated by investing even as a child, that Oprah Winfrey began working in radio and television while still in high school, that Ted Turner, although a "wild child," was always someone who saw big ideas and took big risks. Lowe challenges the stereotype of the wealthy as dishonest and ruthless. Money talks - but it talks straight. "People usually do not rise to this level unless they' re very smart, good communicators, and ethical," she explained. "You may not agree with the philosophy of a Warren Buffett or a Jack Welch (the head of General Electric) and with what they do or how they feel, but they are honest and true to themselves and they follow an ethical course. They'll tell you that if you' re not a straight shooter and an honest dealer, people will see that and not work with you." The San Diego Union-Tribune Online (By Sarah Sabalos LaSpaluto, October 29, 2000 "Janet Lowe's extensive access to Charlie Munger, his family, friends and business partners has ensured a perceptive look at the man and his business methods." (Lloyd's List, 9th December 2000) "This is a well-written, fascinating, cautionary tale which examines the seductive nature of power, and people's willingness to believe in these latter-day icons." (International Wealth Management, October 2000)Table of ContentsAn Extraordinary Combination of Minds. The Lake--A PLace That Defines Munger. The Nebraskans. Surviving the Wars. Putting Together a New Life. Munger Makes His First Million. A Combination of Big Ideas. Pound-for-Pound, the Best Law Firm. Operating Wheeler, Munger Out of a Utility Room. Blue Chip Stamps. See's Candy Teaches a Lesson. The Belous Case. The Buffalo Evening News. Charles Munger Goes to War with the Savings and Loan Industry. The Blossoming of Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire in the 1990s--Power Building. Salomon Brothers. The Daily Journal Corporation--A Modest Media Empire. Doing Good at Good Samaritan Hospital. Elder Statesman and Conscience of the Investment World. A Time to Reap Rewards. Appendices. Notes. Index.

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Book SynopsisWhat do Bill Gates, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, Mary Kay Ash, and Walt Disney all have in common? Uncompromising vision, a willingness to take risks, and exceptional business acumen. Not only did these individuals amass great fortunes, they revolutionized the business world and helped shape society as we know it.Table of ContentsPartial table of contents: Robert Morris: America's First Financier. Cyrus McCormick's Reaper and the Industrialization of Farming. John D. Rockefeller and the Modern Corporation. Henry Ford and the Model T. Charles Merrill and the Democratization of Stock Ownership. Walt Disney and his Family-Entertainment Empire. Ray Kroc, McDonald's, and the Fast-Food Industry. Betting the Company: Joseph Wilson and the Xerox 914. American Express and the Charge Card. Mary Kay Ash and her Corporate Culture for Women. Sam Walton, Wal-Mart, and the Discounting of America. The Turnaround at Harley-Davidson. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and the Leveraged Buyout. William Gates and the Dominance of Microsoft. Notes on Sources. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Tata Saga is a collection of stories about business leaders like Ratan Tata, J.R.D. Tata, and others, showcasing the successes, failures, and challenges of the Tata Group. Written by top Indian writers, it highlights the group's persistence and grit.

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Book SynopsisChina's economic rise and influence has been one of the most significant developments in the global economy of recent times. A driving force behind this expansion has been the private entrepreneurs and companies of China, some of which have literally redefined the economic and business landscape, both inside and outside of China. Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) is one such entrepreneur. In 1998, he co-founded Tencent Inc, starting with the company's QQ instant messaging tool that became a huge hit in China. Under Ma's leadership, Tencent has moved into web portals, social networks, multi-player games and e-commerce, making the company today an Internet powerhouse and China's number one brand. Ma himself was hailed by Time magazine in 2014 as one of the world's most influential people. This book examines the rise of Ma and Tencent, known for their truly innovative thinking and approach to technology and business.

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Book SynopsisWhat makes a great leader? What beliefs, attitudes and behaviours are linked to being a top performing and influential leader, especially in these uncertain times? What impact does culture, industry and business context have? And do formal training and education make a difference? This book is for any business manager or executive, or indeed anyone involved in leading a team in their company, who wants to learn the secrets of successful leadership. Based on interviews and analyses (qualitative and quantitative) with some of the world’s best performing leaders, across a mix of industries, cultures and context, the authors present a rigorous evaluation of how leaders behave and how they are driven. In doing so, they reveal the secret code behind consistent and high-level success in leadership and management.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A brisk, entertaining history of the Astors, a storied dynasty that left an indelible mark on New York’s streets, parks, museums, libraries, hotels, and a famous gay bar. . . . A spirited saga of glitz and greed.” — Kirkus Reviews “Splendid. . . . haunting and beautifully written. . . . This is a terrific book.” — Washington Post on Vanderbilt "An incredible story." — People on Vanderbilt “A dramatic tale expertly told of rapacious ambition, decadent excess, and covert and overt tyranny and trauma. . . . With resplendent detail, the authors capture the gasp-eliciting extravagance of the Vanderbilt Gilded Age mansions. . . . With its intrinsic empathy and in-depth profiles of women, this is a distinctly intimate, insightful, and engrossing chronicle of an archetypal, self-consuming American dynasty. . . . Irresistible.” — Booklist (starred review) on Vanderbilt “Marked by meticulous research and deep emotional insight, this is a memorable chronicle of American royalty.” — Publishers Weekly on Vanderbilt

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Book SynopsisSchumpeter made his mark as the prophet of incessant change. Drawing on all of Schumpeter’s writings, including many intimate diaries and letters never before used, this biography paints the full portrait of a magnetic figure who aspired to become the world’s greatest economist, lover, and horseman—and admitted to failure only with the horses.Trade ReviewThis well-paced and beautifully written book explains not only Schumpeter's work but also the fast-changing phenomenon of modern capitalism. McCraw brings out Schumpeter's energy and charisma as well as the power of his ideas, quite skillfully linking the economist's colorful and adventurous personal life with the development of his views. This book is a fine tribute to a great thinker. -- Harold James, Princeton UniversityA welcome book—a truly penetrating biography of the most influential theorist of finance capitalism. -- Edmund S. Phelps, 2006 Nobel Laureate in EconomicsA most compelling portrait of a complex man who has had a profound influence on how we think about entrepreneurship. -- Amar Bhidé, Columbia University[Schumpeter's] private life was no less fascinating than his public message. In Prophet of Innovation, Thomas McCraw--emeritus professor of history at the Harvard Business School--artfully weaves the two together. -- Dan Seligman * Wall Street Journal *In this biography, Pulitzer Prize winner McCraw neatly divides his emphasis between Schumpeter's professional and personal life. He portrays his subject as a somewhat self-absorbed insatiable scholar not entirely comfortable with his contemporaries, which might explain marriages and affairs with much older and younger women, as well as his affinity with students and often-strained relations with colleagues of his own generation. McGraw lucidly addresses Schumpeter's economic theories through an examination of his letters, lectures, addresses, articles, and major works...[An] insightful and highly readable biography. -- Lawrence R. Maxted * Library Journal (starred review) *[A] persuasive and eloquent biography. -- Jay Hancock * Baltimore Sun *Much honored as an economic prophet, Joseph Schumpeter has had to wait half a century after his death for this splendid full-dress biography covering his ideas, life, and times...[This is] a fat, learned biography by Thomas McCraw, one of America's most respected business historians, the author of a Pulitzer prize-winning history of the rise of regulation. He has found the perfect subject in Schumpeter. He succeeds in getting inside the economist's head, explaining not just what he thought but why he thought it. Beyond this, he also succeeds in painting a portrait of his times. Fin de siècle Vienna, Weimar Germany, Harvard University before and after the first world war: all come to life on these pages. * The Economist *Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction is a well-written and entrancing look at one of the twentieth century's most important economic and political thinkers. McCraw's book may rightly take its place as one of the two or three best biographies of an economist ever written...[It] is so splendid because it succeeds on so many different levels. If the book were simply an account of the Harvard economics department, it would stand as a lasting and significant contribution to the history of economic thought. Alternatively, it is one of the best treatments of what it was like for European intellectuals to migrate to the United States. Or are you interested in why Austria fell apart during the 1920s, and how someone with as little real world experience as Schumpeter became Minister of Finance? The book is also a love story, and an account of how a possibly dysfunctional man can nonetheless find romantic happiness after repeated failures and tragedies. Last but not least it is an intellectual history...Every year there are three or four non-fiction books that have to be read, and this is one of them. -- Tyler Cowen * American.com *McCraw...frames his narrative confidently and writes beautifully...Best of all, McCraw is an extremely good interpreter of Schumpeter's published work. -- David Warsh * economicprincipals.com *An extraordinary new biography. Prophet of Innovation by Thomas K. McCraw chronicles the life of one of the 20th century's most original and insightful scholars...Like his contemporary and frequent rival John Maynard Keynes, Schumpeter makes for a rich biographical subject. Keynes received the treatment he deserved from Lord Robert Skidelsky's magisterial multi-volume biography. McCraw's effort, similarly, is worthy of Schumpeter. -- Nick Schulz * National Review *McCraw's triumph is to tell...readers quite as much as we need to know about Schumpeter in a lucid and well-paced narrative, while also supplying, for more rigorous scholars, no fewer than two hundred pages of endnotes...McCraw successfully passes off the life of a professor of economics as a story that fully complements its undoubted intellectual significance with a tantalizing human interest. -- Peter Clarke * London Review of Books *McCraw doesn't get lost in the baroque details of Schumpeter's story--how many economists ever fought a duel?--or in the arcana of his theories, achieving a balance that his brilliant and restless subject rarely did in life. * New Yorker *A thinker as multifaceted as Schumpeter demands much of a biographer, and in Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction, Thomas McCraw delivers...McCraw not only excels at conveying the innovation and excitement in Schumpeter's work, he keeps readers riveted to the story of the economist's life, and some of the twists are almost novelistic...[An] outstanding biography. -- Daniel McCarthy * American Conservative *It's no small feat to make a jaunty read out of the life of an economist dead more than 50 years, and Thomas K. McCraw has done just that in his impressive new biography of Joseph Schumpeter. -- Kevin R. Kosar * Weekly Standard *[Schumpeter] deserves more recognition and McCraw's book is to be welcomed on that account. -- Pat McArdle * Irish Times *Prophet of Innovation is an immensely entertaining read. -- Marisa Morrison * Washington Times *Although Schumpeter died in 1950, McCraw is right to insist that his contributions to our understanding of the economies in which we live are still vital today. -- Peter Timlin * Harvard Magazine *Books on the lives of the great economists might not, at first blush, set the blood coursing. Yet Robert Skidelsky's masterly three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes proved how engrossing such a life could be. It is high praise to say that Thomas McCraw's biography of Joseph Schumpeter, Prophet of Innovation, has some of the same quality and appeal...McCraw, who has written the definitive biography of his subject, supplies many testimonials to Schumpeter's genius and influence from both his day and our own. -- Robin Blackburn * The Nation *[McCraw] has written an impressive and thoughtful biography of one of the most significant economists of the 20th century. Although widely regarded as a man of no small ego, Schumpeter can justifiably lay claim to effecting considerable scholarly debate in a wide range of academic backgrounds. Schumpeter’s analysis of economic development and business cycles, his notion of the process and significance of creative destruction, and his views on entrepreneurial activities continue to influence generations of economists and social scientists. McCraw’s thorough, insightful biography draws on an array of public and private papers to explain Schumpeter’s scholarly development and increasing sway, from his early years in Vienna to Bonn and later to his tenure at Harvard. This engaging scholarly work provides substance and context and is well worth a close read by both students and faculty. -- T.E. Sullivan * Choice *McCraw’s book on Schumpeter is an absorbing read, with short chapters, lots of personal detail and historical scene setting, and an important anti-Galbraithian economic theme. -- Deirdre McCloskey * Reason *An excellent, thorough and smoothly written biography of Joseph Schumpeter, the greatest economist of the 20th century. Too bad most politicos--and economists--don't fully grasp his insights. -- Steve Forbes * Forbes *Those seeking some escape from the deluge of "Keynes the Comeback Kid" will enjoy a refresher on that other brilliant economist of his generation, Joseph Schumpeter. Thomas K. McCraw's brilliant biography of the economist who best understood the turbulence of markets and "creative destruction" is all the more relevant as a credit crisis-induced recession unfolds. This biography is the clearest and most comprehensive guide to Schumpeter's life and work and the turbulence of his time which has, like the classic business cycle, come round again. -- Bill Jamieson * The Spectator *It's the lively and penetrating prose of the book itself that make its appearance in paperback a cause for rejoicing. Reading it is certainly time well-invested. -- Abraham Benrubi * openlettersmonthly.com *Although he died 60 years ago, Schumpeter's ideas about capitalism still resonate, including the belief that no business, no matter how successful, should assume it will be around forever. * Worth *As Thomas McCraw’s comprehensive and well-written biography convincingly shows, Schumpeter succeeded in becoming the ‘prophet of innovation’ by pioneering the vision of a superproductive world of continuing competitive struggle in a nexus of more or less open financial and economic markets. It’s never easy to make economics come alive on the page, particularly for readers not steeped in the discipline, but McCraw does his best to balance rigor and accessibility. He gives careful attention to the various elements of Schumpeter’s life, focusing, naturally, on his work… McCraw’s biography is a major step toward Schumpeter’s restoration in the pantheon of modern economists. -- Victor Zarnowitz * Conference Board Review *Table of Contents* Preface * Part I: L'Enfant Terrible, 1883--1926: Innovation and Economics * Prologue: Who He Was and What He Did *1. Leaving Home *2. Shaping His Character *3. Learning Economics *4. Moving Out *5. Career Takeoff *6. War and Politics *7. Gran Rifiuto *8. Annie *9. Heartbreak * Part II: The Adult, 1926--1939: Capitalism and Society * Prologue: What He Had Learned *10. New Intellectual Directions *11. Policy and Entrepreneurship *12. Between Two Worlds *13. Harvard *14. Suffering and Solace * Part III: The Sage, 1939--1950: Innovation, Capitalism, and History * Prologue: How and Why He Embraced History *15. Business Cycles, Business History *16. Letters from Europe *17. To Leave Harvard? *18. Against the Grain *19. The Courage of Her Convictions *20. Alienation *21. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy *22. War and Perplexity *23. Introspection *24. Honors and Resurgence *25. Toward the Mixed Economy *26. History of Economic Analysis *27. A Principle of Indeterminateness *28. L'Envoi * Epilogue: The Legacy * Notes * Acknowledgments * Illustration Credits * Index

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Book SynopsisSteve Jobs, adopted in infancy by a family in San Francisco, packed a lot of life into fifty-six short years. In this Who Was…? biography, children will learn how his obsession with computers and technology at an early age led him to co-found and run Apple, in addition to turning Pixar into a ground-breaking animation studio. A college dropout, Jobs took unconventional steps in his path to success and inspired the best and the brightest to come with him and “change the world.”

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Book SynopsisHumanitarian, philanthropist, and campaigner for Jewish emancipation on a grand scale, Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) was the preeminent Jewish figure of the nineteenth century - and one of the first truly global celebrities. This title presents his portrait.Trade ReviewAbigail Green is without doubt the most brilliant rising star in modern European Jewish history. Her biography of Moses Montefiore, one of the great torch-bearers of Jewish emancipation, redefines the role played by Jews in the prehistory of globalization, as well as the history of philanthropy. She is a profound historical thinker and a marvelous writer into the bargain. This is a masterpiece of scholarship and historical imagination. -- Niall FergusonAn absolutely first-rate biography of the nineteenth-century champion of imperiled Jews. Green's account of Montefiore's faith and his attachment to the land of Israel is especially compelling. Written in a lively manner, this book will have broad appeal. -- Todd Endelman, author of The Jews of Britain, 1656-2000This magisterial biography illuminates the life of one of the most important, yet least understood, figures in modern Jewish history. Green shows that European religious sensibility, liberal humanitarianism, and Great Power politics were indispensable preconditions for Jewish emancipation and twentieth-century Jewish politics. Gracefully written, yet supported by massive erudition, Green's book deserves a wide readership. -- Derek Penslar, author of Shylock's ChildrenAn elegant, accessible, and intellectually impressive book. Sir Moses Montefiore was a dominant presence in Anglo-Jewish society, a towering figure pressing Jewish interests on the international stage. Green explores Montefiore's public work as well as his family life and religious beliefs, and provides an innovative account of Jewish politics in nineteenth-century Europe. -- David Feldman, author of Englishmen and JewsGreen offers a perceptive, solidly researched biography with expressive period illustrations attesting to Montefiore's global celebrity. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *It would be hard to find words grand enough to describe Abigail Green's history of her relative Sir Moses Montefiore. "Admirable," "dignified," "comprehensive": all of them are true and so much more. -- Rabbi Brian Fox * Jewish Telegraph *Abigail Green (an Oxford don who is also a Sebag-Montefiore) has brilliantly synthesized a wealth of other sources, many of them never before used by Montefiore scholars. The picture that emerges is sombre and in some respects shocking. -- Geoffrey Alderman * Jewish Chronicle *Deeply impressive...Green never allows the reader to lose sight of Montefiore's truly pioneering achievements, or of his courage, generosity, and farsightedness. In writing about this incomparable life, Green has produced an incomparable book. More than a biography, Moses Montefiore takes its place as one of the essential works on modern Jewish history. -- Adam Kirsch * Tablet Magazine *Green's account is often entertaining...Green, herself a twig on the Sebag Montefiore family tree, is more interested in historical themes she thinks have been neglected: how Montefiore used piety, philanthropy and publicity to rally sympathy on a global scale, paving the way for today's campaigns and interventions on behalf of humanitarian causes. * The Economist *[A] mammoth warts-and-all account of Montefiore and his times. -- Priscilla S. Taylor * Washington Times *The name [Moses Montefiore] alone conjures up story-book images of a horse-drawn carriage from which a pious Victorian benefactor alights to bribe a local official, endow an orphanage, or dedicate a windmill. Abigail Green's brilliant new biography--elegantly conceived, exhaustively researched, crisply written--presents a far more complicated and fascinating picture. * Jewish Ideas Daily *Green writes deftly and tells Montefiore's story with an admirable thoroughness...Moses Montefiore is mercifully free of academic theory. It is exactly what a good biography should be--fair and illuminating without ever descending to hagiography. -- Walter Laqueur * Wall Street Journal *[An] erudite, intelligent, and graceful biography of Moses Montefiore...A daughter of a Sebag-Montefiore herself, [Green] has had access to some family archival sources not available to her scholarly predecessors, but her kinship to her subject is never uncritical. When Moses Montefiore waxes pompous in his proconsular grandeur (a not infrequent occurrence); when he dons rose-tinted glasses about the prospects of his Palestinian enterprises; when he fails to treat his underlings with the consideration and remuneration they merited; when he intolerantly slams the door of acceptance against those, including members of his own family, who wanted to reform contemporary Judaism; when the trail of the great patriarch leads to extramarital dalliances--Green tells it like it most certainly was. The result of this sympathetic candor is a portrait rich in human complexity from which Montefiore's profound importance for the history of the Jews rises at last above mere ritual veneration...Green's book is a rich gift to history--and not just Jewish history--for its account not just of what Moses Montefiore did or did not do, but also of what he was. Her pages are most memorable when they simply bring the old boy to vivid life amid all the complexities and perplexities of his great self-imposed calling. -- Simon Schama * New Republic *[An] intriguing and well-researched book. -- Leslie Mitchell * Literary Review *This massive and absorbing biography by Abigail Green does [Montefiore] full justice. In a brief review, however, it is impossible even to enumerate all the issues in which Montefiore was deeply committed. The sheer range of his activities in many countries made him one of the first truly global superstars, and it is astonishing that no full biography of him has previously been written. -- Robert Wilson * Canberra Times *[An] extensive and engaging biography...Moses Montefiore's remarkable life is both a Jewish story and an international one, even if today, Montefiore, if he is remembered at all, is remembered almost exclusively in Jewish circles. -- Shalom Goldman * Haaretz *The most impressive book I've read this year is Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero...Green's book, however, is not just the biography of a Jewish worthy: it is a wide-ranging study of Britain's liberal imperialism at the zenith of its moral influence, and of the emergence of a modern Jewish consciousness. -- Adam Kirsch * Times Literary Supplement *The achievement of this book is in combining sumptuous production, with over five hundred large format pages; especially the fascinating illustrations and quality of content, given the meticulous scholarship, delving into dusty archives in many languages, the clear empathy with and celebration of her subject's warmth and self sacrifice stylishly described. As a scholar of early humanitarianism, Abigail Green has risen to the challenge of describing the life of the man who molded what was then a novel idea. -- Yerachmiel Rubin * Jewish Tribune *A well-researched and beautifully written biography, Abigail Green's Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero presents for the first time the full story of the preeminent champion of Jewish emancipation on a global scale. Green illuminates Montefiore's life in the UK and his engagement in European and Middle Eastern diplomacy on behalf of his Jewish brethren in all its complexity. * Jewish Book World *If one of the most famous men of his age is now barely a name, that may in part be because his astonishing life's story has never been properly told before; as Abigail Green's splendid biography shows, it is as rich, complex and absorbing as a nineteenth-century novel...This is a marvelous book, as absorbing as it is learned. -- Geoffrey Wheatcroft * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThe S&P futures pit is the ultimate arena for traders. It is a place where trading titans make split-second decisions on huge amounts of money, and fortunes appear and vanish with the blink of an eye. Successful day traders are brilliant, aggressive-and lucky. Lewis J. Borsellino is all three. And now he is telling his story. The nation''s top S&P futures trader, Borsellino takes you inside the world of the day trader. Chronicling Borsellino''s incredible run on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, The Day Trader offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at his everyday strategies and tactics. Raised to be a fierce and fearless competitor, Borsellino felt at home the first day he walked into the chaos and excitement of the Merc. In The Day Trader, he offers both a compelling story as well as an inside look at day trading and the S&P market. Borsellino outlines exactly what contributed to his unparalleled success-a rare blend of discipline, drive, intelligence, and an uncanTrade Review"A legendary S&P floor trader has written a powerful, brutally honest chronicle of his determined rise to the top of his profession. Touching and insightful, this riveting account is one of the best trading memoirs ever." -Nelson Freeburg, Publisher, Formula Research "The Day Trader provides a rare look into the events that shaped the extraordinary character of one of the most unique people to ever put on a trading jacket. Most compelling are the glimpses into Borsellino's Italian-American upbringing. It comes as no surprise that Borsellino places himself at the center of the maelstrom surrounding electronic trading versus open outcry and provides a truly balanced, intelligent, and unemotional view of the momentous transformation occurring in the financial markets. It is imperative that anyone involved in trading the markets - either traditionally or electronically - read this story and benefit from the insights of one of the great traders of our lifetime."-Mario Alberico, Former Senior Vice President, Electronic Trading, Chicago Mercantile Exchange "The Day Trader is must reading for anyone in the market. Lewis Borsellino is an Italian American hero who climbed the mountain with guts and honor." -Dominic Di Frisco, President Emeritus, Joint Civic Committee of Italian-Americans "...the most honest road map to a succesful trading career ever written....generously salted with genuine insight into the workings of the market."-Worth MagazineTable of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgments. High Times. The Trading Life. Combat. A Competitor's Heart. The Down Times. The Sting. The Metamorphosis. Trading Goes Electronic. Politics, Trading, and the Futures Exchange. From Grassroots to the Global Economy. From the Pit to the PC.

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Book SynopsisBilly, Alfred, and General Motors is the tale not just of the two extraordinary men of its title but also of the formative decades of twentieth-century America, through two world wars and sea changes in business, industry, politics, and culture. The book includes vivid portraits of the legends of the golden age of the automobile.

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Book SynopsisIn the tradition of bestsellers such as Shoe Dog, Authentic is a surprisingly candid, compelling memoir by a high school dropout who went on to establish one of the world's most iconic brands. You may not have known their creator, but you certainly know the shoes: for more than four generations, Vans shoes have been synonymous with cool. Now in Authentic, a memoir written by Paul Van Doren and published just before his May 2021 death, the charismatic founder of Vans shares his story of heading West and capturing the American dream. Authentic is a celebration of Van Doren’s remarkable life and the iconic brand he built, beloved by skateboarders, creatives, and fans everywhere for its laid-back, colorful SoCal vibe, and famous for its people-oriented company culture. In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old “service boy” at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognized brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue. Van Doren is not just an entrepreneur, he’s an innovator. In 1966, when the first House of Vans store opened, there were no stand-alone retail stores just for sneakers. Paul’s bold experiments in product design, distribution, and marketing (Why not sell custom shoes? Single shoes?), aided by legions of fans — skateboarders, surfers, even Sean Penn wearing Vans’ famous checkerboard slip-on shoe in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High — made Vans a household name. But there was also back-breaking work, a shocking bankruptcy, family turmoil, and a profound shift in how customers think about athletic shoes. The book details Van Doren’s personal life, but also hard-won business lessons learned over six turbulent decades in the shoe trade: the importance of deep-rooted values, of improvisation, of vision (and revision), and above all, of valuing people over profits. Authentic is Paul Van Doren’s written legacy and his lessons for the innovators of tomorrow. Bracingly forthright and totally entertaining, Authentic is a business memoir by an American original.

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Book SynopsisChina's economic rise and influence has been one of the most significant developments in the global economy of recent times. A driving force behind this expansion has been the private entrepreneurs and companies of China, some of which have literally redefined the economic and business landscape, both inside and outside of China. Dong Mingzhu is one such entrepreneur. Gree Electric is one of the powerhouses of the air-conditioning industry, and owes its success to the entrepreneurial and management tenacity of Dong. As a young widow, aged 36, she travelled south and began work at Gree as an ordinary salesperson. Four years later, in 1994, she became head of sales. By 1996, she was deputy president, and by 2001, president of Gree. During this time, Dong challenged and transformed industry norms through her innovations in sales, service and employee policies. This is the story of one of China's most inspiring and innovative business leaders.

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Book SynopsisGambling Man is the biography of one of the world's least known but most consequential investors.Japan's Masayoshi Son has made and lost several fortunes, investing or controlling assets worth $1 trillion in the past two decades through his media-tech giant, SoftBank. He bankrolled Alibaba, China's internet colossus, before the world had heard about it; plotted with Steve Jobs to turn the iPhone into a wonder product; and financed hundreds of tech start-ups, fuelling the biggest boom Silicon Valley has ever seen. This book takes you on Son's wild ride, from his birthplace in a Korean slum in post-war Japan to the modern-day temples of power. It speeds through Donald Trump's golden skyscraper in Manhattan, the royal palaces of Riyadh and the throne rooms of China's Marxist rulers; all places where Son has deployed his unique blend of financial engineering and crazy risk-taking. Son's story captures a 25 year-span of hyper-globalisation in which money, technologies and ideas flowed freely. From the launch of the microchip to the advent of artificial intelligence, he has ridden the technological wave which has created extraordinary wealth and economic change. His topsy-turvy business career is testimony to the power of optimism, daring to dream, ever in search of the Next Big Thing. As an ethnic Korean in Japan, Son has overcome adversity and discrimination to become Japan's best-known businessman and empire-builder but he remains an elusive, intensely private figure. This book, by a former editor of the Financial Times, contains a wealth of new information and has had the co-operation of many of the key participants, including Son himself. Written with a verve appropriate to its subject, Gambling Man reveals the man behind the money, what drives him, why he matters, and what he plans for his next act.

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Book Synopsis In this New York Times bestseller, ayoung and successful entrepreneur makes the case that politics has no place in business, and sets out a new vision for the future of American capitalism. There?s a new invisible force at work in our economic and cultural lives. It affects every advertisement we see and every product we buy, from our morning coffee to a new pair of shoes. ?Stakeholder capitalism? makes rosy promises of a better, more diverse, environmentally-friendly world, but in reality this ideology championed by America?s business and political leaders robs us of our money, our voice, and our identity. Vivek Ramaswamy is a traitor to his class. He?s founded multibillion-dollar enterprises, led a biotech company as CEO, he became a hedge fund partner in his 20s, trained as a scientist at Harvard and a lawyer at Yale, and grew up the child of immigrants in a small town in Ohio. Now he takes us behind the scenes into corporate boardrooms and five-star conferences, into Ivy League classrooms and secretive nonprofits, to reveal the defining scam of our century. The modern woke-industrial complex divides us as a people. By mixing morality with consumerism, America?s elites prey on our innermost insecurities about who we really are. They sell us cheap social causes and skin-deep identities to satisfy our hunger for a cause and our search for meaning, at a moment when we as Americans lack both. This book not only rips back the curtain on the new corporatist agenda, it offers a better way forward. America?s elites may want to sort us into demographic boxes, but we don?t have to stay there. Woke, Inc.begins as a critique of stakeholder capitalism and ends with an exploration of what it means to be an American today?a journey that begins with cynicism and ends with hope.

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Book SynopsisChina's economic rise and influence has been one of the most significant developments in the global economy of recent times. A driving force behind this expansion has been the private entrepreneurs and companies of China, some of which have literally redefined the economic and business landscape, both inside and outside of China. With a $15,000 loan from his father, the former high school dropout and factory worker Wang Wei started up his courier delivery service, SF Express, in 1993. This book is a classic rags-to-riches story of a young entrepreneur who grew SF Express into a logistics empire with revenues of $7 billion and 400,000 employees by 2015. The phenomenal rise of Wang and his company was further propelled by a $30 billion public listing in Shanghai in 2018. By any standards, this is one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial stories of recent times.

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Book SynopsisChina's economic rise and influence has been one of the most significant developments in the global economy of recent times. A driving force behind this expansion has been the private entrepreneurs and companies of China, some of which have literally redefined the economic and business landscape, both inside and outside of China. Born in a small fishing village in 1967 to a poor family, Guo Guangchang's break came when the Chinese government began to encourage business enterprise. He and four university friends set up their own company in 1992 to advise foreign companies that were entering into China. Fosun International eventually became the largest private enterprise in China by expanding into insurance, pharmaceuticals, property, mining, retail and finance. Today, Guo is the Chairman of Fosun International and this book provides a unique, inside examination of Guo and his company's remarkable global expansion.

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Book SynopsisThe book behind the Netflix series, starring Octavia Spencer'One of the most fabulous African-American figures of the twentieth century' Ishmael ReedMadam Walker was the first free-born child in her family, growing up in abject poverty in post-Civil War America. From humble beginnings, she overcame societal prejudice, family betrayals and epic business rivalries to pioneer cosmetics that revolutionised black hair care, build a beauty empire, and become one of the wealthiest self-made women in America. Not only an astute businesswoman, but a passionate activist and philanthropist, Madam Walker provided jobs and training for thousands of African American women across the country, and used her wealth to fight for equality, forming friendships with important civil rights voices such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and Ida B. Wells-Barnett along the way. Drawn from more than two decades of research by her great-great-granddaughter, journalist and historian A'Lelia Bundles, Self Made is the definitive biography of Madam Walker's inspirational life and an illuminating insight into the larger African American struggle in the early twentieth century.'An important piece of history' Washington Post'A fascinating portrait of an astonishing woman' Kirkus ReviewsPreviously published as On Her Own GroundTrade ReviewA fascinating book about a fascinating woman . . . a wonderful story of an entrepreneur, but also a story about a dedicated African-American woman who was committed to giving her time and money to her community - USA TodayBundles tells the tale with obvious affection and impressive scholarship . . .Walker's fable comes up fresh and inspirational - Chicago TribuneWell-paced and well-written . . . as much social history as biography, filled with the detail and texture of culture and politics - New York TimesVivdly recounts the rise of the washerwoman who would light the way for other black businesswomen, bankroll YMCAs and lead an anti-lynching campaign all the way to the White House - People magazine

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Book SynopsisJack Leblanc arrived in China in 1989 intending to teach for just two years. He was to spend the next two decades on a very different learning curve as he became involved in a series of business ventures in almost every part of the Middle Kingdom. From farmyard to factory, boardroom to banquet, Leblanc witnessed (and occasionally assisted) the transformation of China from a socialist economy into the world''s greatest experiment in capitalism. Over time it dawned upon him that the key to success is to manage the differences in Chinese and Western business behaviour. To do well in China you must carefully adapt your strategies or face ruin faster than you can learn how to use chopsticks.

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Book SynopsisWhether titans of industry, influential business leaders, or creators of history''s most recognizable brands, these entrepreneurs had the vision, innovation, and ruthless determination to make their marks on our society in indelible ways. Boldly illustrated and comprehensive in its scope and depth, Entrepreneurs Who Changed History profiles more than 90 leaders of industry across the world and throughout the ages - from the enterprising bankers of the medieval world and the merchants of empire, to the titans of industry and the geniuses of Silicon Valley. Combining accessible text with specially-commissioned illustrated portraits in a range of bold artwork styles, photographs, and infographics, entries showcase each individual in a fresh, visual way. The towering personalities behind some of history''s most recognisable brands and companies - their ruthlessness, tenacity, creativity, and sheer grit - are all brought to vivid life.Profiling the kings and queens of commerce and trade, Entrepreneurs Who Changed History features the familiar faces of Vanderbilt and Rockefeller, Ford and Ferrari, Gates and Zuckerberg, alongside lesser-known figures such as the enterprising women of colonial America, the emancipated enslaved people who became millionaires against all odds, and the individuals powering today''s emerging economies.

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Book Synopsis*An instant New York Times Bestseller*''One of the most exciting tales of our time... It''s the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller'' Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs''Eloquent, expertly reported'' Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store_______________A momentous look at the private companies driving the revolutionary new space race, from the 3-million copy, New York Times bestselling author of Elon MuskIn 2008, Elon Musk''s SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age.Ashlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they race to control access to outer space. While the space tourism ambitions of billionaires such as Bezos and Branson make headlines, these under-the-radar companies are striving to mo

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