Description
Book SynopsisJim Rouse: Capitalist/Idealist is the story of a very special businessman. A successful capitalista real estate developerJim Rouse led his life as a practicing idealist. He sought to help people enrich their lives. He wanted people to live in an enjoyable environment and to experience the joy in caring for each other. But he knew that to raise the capital to accomplish those goals his companies had to be profitable. As an enthusiast of urban renewal, he worked to rid core downtown areas of American cities of blight and despair. He created indoor malls in the new post-war suburbs that would be focal points for community life. He developed a whole new cityColumbia, Marylandto show what an American city could be like. For one thing, it would be a city totally integrated racially, a city in which anyone could buy or rent on any street. In retirement, Rouse founded the Enterprise Foundation to produce profits that would be used to provide the poorest of Americans with a decent place to live. Rouse was one of America''s first practitioners of social enterprise.
Trade ReviewJim Rouse and Warren Buffett knew and had the highest respect for each other. They were aware of each other as men driven by a strong zest for life. Rouse, though, focused on “the improvement of mankind.” Buffett focused on financial returns for investors; Rouse produced houses and neighborhoods, villages and shops, woods and lakes. Except to the extent that it could limit his good works, Rouse did not care about financial returns. His worry was solvency, not increasing profitability. He had an abhorrence of selfishness.
Readers of Paul Marx's engaging and insightful biography of Jim Rouse—and there should be many—will be caught up in the story of Rouse's remarkable ability to make the ideal seem compelling and realistic. -- C. Fraser Smith, columnist * Baltimore Sun *
This book gets into the mind of Jim Rouse. It reveals how Rouse thought and what influenced him as he went about creating places that would bring out the best in people. -- Robert Tennenbaum, editor of Creating a New City: Columbia, Maryland
Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 Acknowledgements Part 3 Chronology Chapter 4 What's the Purpose Chapter 5 Huck on the Chesapeake Chapter 6 Jim at School Chapter 7 A Poor Relation Chapter 8 The Ace Chapter 9 The Fights Against Blight and War Chapter 10 Stepping Stones Chapter 11 The Company and the City Chapter 12 Bad Mall, Good Mall Chapter 13 The Summer of 1963 Chapter 14 The Village of Cross Keys Chapter 15 Columbia: The Dream, the Plans Chapter 16 Columbia: The Next America Chapter 17 Columbia and the Vietnam War Chapter 18 A Downward Turn Chapter 19 Festival Marketplace: Boston Chapter 20 Festival Marketplace: Baltimore Chapter 21 The Social Entrepreneur Chapter 22 Back to Baltimore Chapter 23 Last Years Chapter 24 Columbia Fully Grown Chapter 25 Legacy Part 26 Bibliography Part 27 Index Part 28 About the Author
