Contemporary American Business Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary (254)

. . . includes biographies of 116 people whom the authors considered `historically most significant' from post-World War II to the present. Its introduction is an excellent review of significant happenings in U.S. business. The rise of automobile manufacturing, which spawned service stations that resulted in customized auto repair shops, is one example used to depict the evolution of U.S. industry. . . . This is an important purchase for any public, academic, or corporate library that has a clientele interested in current U.S. business. Reference Books BulletinThis work contains 116 biographies of American business leaders since World War II. Because many of these are multiple biographies, the dictionary covers more than 150 individual business leaders. The book features full-scale biographies, running several pages in length, on leaders who were chosen specifically to illustrate major American business trends from 1945 to the present. A detailed introductory essay places these business leaders within the context of the most important business trends of the time, providing the reader with an in-depth, incisive view of the evolution of American business during a period of critical transformation. The dictionary also includes a number of female and black business leaders, thereby charting their contributions to American business during a time when the civil rights crusade and the drive for women's rights opened up increasing opportunities for those groups.Each biography in this collection is followed by a detailed bibliography. The backmatter includes a number of appendices that allow the reader to pursue biographies of business leaders according to industry, company, location of business operations, and birthplace, along with listings of black and women business leaders. This volume would make a valuable addition to any university or public library collection, and it would be of great use to anyone interested in business history or management.