Money and Power: The History of Business - Hardcover

"Means threads together historical events as he illustrates past innovations and emerging patterns. The results are quite intriguing--unless you were already well aware of the similarities between the tulip craze that took control of the Dutch market in the early 17th century and the current tech-stock debacle."—eCompany Now, April 2001

From merchant ships to microchips, industry has been defined by the powerful business leaders who have caused seismic shifts in the growth of commerce. These visionaries introduced themselves, their products, and their ideas at just the right moments in time, unwittingly bringing about the defining change of the last millennium-the transfer of money and power from Church and crown to the new secular empire of business.

The companion book to the acclaimed CNBC documentary created by Emmy award-winning producer and director David Grubin, Money and Power takes readers on a gripping journey to the birthplaces of business-from the feudal estates of medieval Europe to the teeming streets of ancient Venice to the serene campuses of Silicon Valley. Written by top-notch journalist, editor, and novelist Howard Means, this sweeping narrative tells a dramatic tale of how pathbreaking moguls and their dynasties paved the way to wealth and prosperity and shaped the modern world.

Tracing the origins of trade, banking, industry, commerce, and power from East to West, this inspiring book transports the reader to the bustling centers of business across time. Inside are revealing, motivational profiles of such legendary figures as:
* St. Godric, the twelfth-century monk whose fierce ambition helped him break free of his confines and create his own wealth-until his faith led him along a different path
* Robert Woodruff, who took advantage of a shrinking globe and a second world war to create the first global brand-Coca-Cola
* James Watt and Matthew Boulton, who launched the rotary steam engine just as industry was bursting forth with new energy demands
* Henry Ford, who not only built automobiles but also the market demand for them-making him richer than even the Carnegies and the Rockefellers
* Bill Gates, whose entrepreneurial instincts and technological brilliance earned him the fame and fortune that embodied the Information Age

Following the march of industry from the oceans and the railroads to the highways and cyberspace, Money and Power is a testament to the drive and innovativeness of these economic pioneers-and to the resulting remarkable global connections that have finally opened the road to riches to all.