Described as the first serious attempt in several decades to describe the major business events, institutions, and individuals in American history, this A Z encyclopedia discusses business topics from the Hudson fur trade to the Internet. More than 400 entries profile industry leaders, events, companies, legislation, and movements that have had a significant impact on American business life and history. Sample topics include Colt Firearms; Debs, Eugene V.; Farm credit system; Lehman Brothers; Lumber industry; Mutual funds; Regional stock exchanges; Robinson-Patman Act; Stewart, Martha; United Mine Workers of America; and Wharton School. Topics that are not exclusively American, such as Baring Brothers and Rothschild, House of, are covered as they relate to business in the U.S. Each entry includes a short bibliography as well as cross-references. Geisst received a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Wall Street: A History (Oxford, 1997). He used the founding of the Bank of New York and the New York Stock Exchange in the late eighteenth century as a general start date for this work, although a four-page chronology presents the major events in business history from 1670 through 2005. The Selected Primary Documents section includes 15 complete items like the Hudson's Bay Company Charter, 1670; the Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906; Franklin D. Roosevelt's Forgotten Man radio speech, 1932; and United States v. Microsoft, 2000. A short bibliography and index complete the volumes. The quality of scholarship is good, and the list of contributors is impressive, resulting in excellent coverage of business issues and individuals. The rapid pace of change in the field of business, especially the globalization of the marketplace, makes this encyclopedia a worthy addition to any business collection.

Gr 9 Up-More than 400 entries describe major events, institutions, and individuals involved in the evolution of modern business since the American Revolution. Each entry is written in a lively, informative style and is followed by a short bibliography. Cross- and see also referencing allow thorough utilization of this encyclopedia. Up-to-date topics include Enron Corporation and Oprah Winfrey and are comprehensive enough to include farming. Enticing biographical sketches portray individuals who were/are self-educated, college graduates, lucky, but, most importantly, assiduous workers. Complex economic and financial processes are thoroughly explained, thus rendering this set useful for beginning business students. The volumes include average-quality, black-and-white photographs, occasional maps, a chronology, and 15 primary documents that trace business highlights from the Hudsons Bay Company Charter, 1670, to United States v. Microsoft , 2000. It should be noted that John Adams, not Theodore Roosevelt, was president during the passage of the Sedition Act of 1798. Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL