America, Inc: The 400-Year History of American Capitalism

How and why did the US become the most successful economy in history?

One of The Economist’s Best Books of 2017, America, Inc explains the rise of America’s economic power and how so many US businesses have succeeded. In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. The story is entertaining, eye-opening and sweeping in its reach. America, Inc takes us on a journey through the inventions, techniques and industries that drove America forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio and banking to flight, suburbia and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the twenty-first century.

We learn how Andrew Carnegie’s early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of history’s richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; and how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as capitalism itself.