jjares reviewed Business Leadership Biographies: The Ultimate Box Set on Business Leadership on + 3262 more book reviews
This bundle is a great way to learn more about some of the real movers-and-shakers of early American industry. There are 5 business leaders included: Carnegie, Disney, Edison, Ford, and Rockefeller. They are fascinating men who moved their businesses to new heights in America and then the world. Each of these men changed their surroundings for the better. America is richer for their living in the time that they did.
ANDREW CARNEGIE --
This Scotsman brought libraries to America. After he made his millions, he looked for a way to help his fellow man. Fortunately for us, he donated money to libraries. The main library in Houston, Texas, where I grew up was one of his gifts. Although the facts about Carnegie's personal life were rather sparse, I loved that he avoided getting married until his mother died. She seemed to be jealous of anyone sharing Andrew's life and wealth.
WALT DISNEY --
I remember Walt Disney on television as I was growing up and this book surprised me by showing just how difficult a time Disney had getting started. Every week, he'd show viewers how Disneyland was progressing. He spoke with such assurance, yet things were not going as swimmingly as he mentioned on television. This book brings out the fact that Disney was a difficult man to work with; I thought this life story was interesting and well-balanced.
THOMAS EDISON --
Of the 5 men listed here, Thomas Edison is the least attractive as an American businessman. After reading Nikola Tesla's history, I really had no interest in reading about Thomas Edison. He was a mean, spiteful man who destroyed Tesla. Edison was wise in the people he hired but he paid them poorly. Where they made their money was from the stock options he gave them. Edison did not die with vast sums of money; he spent plenty trying to protect his patents and inventions he was interested in, even if they weren't viable.
The genius of Thomas Edison was not in inventing the lightbulb (which he didn't) but was in his ability to market them to Americans. He applied the principles of mass production to the lightbulb, thus bringing light to the masses. Edison was granted over 2300 (world-wide) patents for his inventions and improvements. They radically changed America.
HENRY FORD --
Henry Ford's early life is not what I expected -- at all. Ford believed in perseverance. He closed his first company and walked away from his second. His third company was called Ford and Malcomson, Ltd. People think Ford created the car; he didn't. He perfected the assembly line to construct cars. Thus, it reduced the cost of cars over time. Ford understood that he needed to make cars for the common man because the middle class was going to grow as time progressed.
Henry shared his wealth by doubling the daily wage of his workers and adding things like cafeterias and profit-sharing (unheard of at that time). Henry Ford, through his actions, moved the working class into the middle class. I think this last statement is the most important fact about Henry Ford.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER --
This is really well-written. At the end of the 50 pages (or so), the reader will understand Rockefeller's belief-system, how he got started, his personal and business life, and his philanthropy. Rockefeller changed America in profound ways and this story tells how he did it.
ANDREW CARNEGIE --
This Scotsman brought libraries to America. After he made his millions, he looked for a way to help his fellow man. Fortunately for us, he donated money to libraries. The main library in Houston, Texas, where I grew up was one of his gifts. Although the facts about Carnegie's personal life were rather sparse, I loved that he avoided getting married until his mother died. She seemed to be jealous of anyone sharing Andrew's life and wealth.
WALT DISNEY --
I remember Walt Disney on television as I was growing up and this book surprised me by showing just how difficult a time Disney had getting started. Every week, he'd show viewers how Disneyland was progressing. He spoke with such assurance, yet things were not going as swimmingly as he mentioned on television. This book brings out the fact that Disney was a difficult man to work with; I thought this life story was interesting and well-balanced.
THOMAS EDISON --
Of the 5 men listed here, Thomas Edison is the least attractive as an American businessman. After reading Nikola Tesla's history, I really had no interest in reading about Thomas Edison. He was a mean, spiteful man who destroyed Tesla. Edison was wise in the people he hired but he paid them poorly. Where they made their money was from the stock options he gave them. Edison did not die with vast sums of money; he spent plenty trying to protect his patents and inventions he was interested in, even if they weren't viable.
The genius of Thomas Edison was not in inventing the lightbulb (which he didn't) but was in his ability to market them to Americans. He applied the principles of mass production to the lightbulb, thus bringing light to the masses. Edison was granted over 2300 (world-wide) patents for his inventions and improvements. They radically changed America.
HENRY FORD --
Henry Ford's early life is not what I expected -- at all. Ford believed in perseverance. He closed his first company and walked away from his second. His third company was called Ford and Malcomson, Ltd. People think Ford created the car; he didn't. He perfected the assembly line to construct cars. Thus, it reduced the cost of cars over time. Ford understood that he needed to make cars for the common man because the middle class was going to grow as time progressed.
Henry shared his wealth by doubling the daily wage of his workers and adding things like cafeterias and profit-sharing (unheard of at that time). Henry Ford, through his actions, moved the working class into the middle class. I think this last statement is the most important fact about Henry Ford.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER --
This is really well-written. At the end of the 50 pages (or so), the reader will understand Rockefeller's belief-system, how he got started, his personal and business life, and his philanthropy. Rockefeller changed America in profound ways and this story tells how he did it.
