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Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > History of specific institutions
Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Refinery, once the largest in the world,
shut down in 2004 after a long struggle. Most New Yorkers know it
only as an icon on the landscape, multiplied on T-shirts and
skateboard graphics. Paul Raphaelson, known internationally for his
formally intricate urban landscape photographs, was given access to
every square foot of the refinery weeks before its demolition.
Raphaelson spent weeks speaking with former Domino workers to hear
first-hand the refinery's more personal stories. He also assembled
a world-class team of contributors: Pulitzer Prize-winning
photography editor Stella Kramer, architectural historian Matthew
Postal, and art director Christopher Truch. The result is a
beautiful, complex, thrilling mashup of art, document, industrial
history, and Brooklyn visual culture. Strap on your hard hat and
headlamp, and wander inside for a closer look.
Once a shoestring operation built on plywood sets and Australian
rules football, ESPN has evolved into a media colossus. A genius
for cross-promotion and its near-mystical rapport with its viewers
empower the network to set agendas and create superstars, to curate
sports history even as it mainstreams the latest cultural trends.
Travis Vogan teams archival research and interviews with an
all-star cast to pen the definitive account of how ESPN turned X's
and O's into billions of $$$. Vogan's institutional and cultural
history focuses on the network since 1998, the year it launched a
high-motor effort to craft its brand and grow audiences across
media platforms. As he shows, innovative properties like
SportsCentury, ESPN The Magazine, and 30 for 30 built the network's
cultural cache. This credibility, in turn, propelled ESPN's
transformation into an entity that lapped its run-of-the-mill
competitors and helped fulfill its self-proclaimed status as the
"Worldwide Leader in Sports." Ambitious and long overdue, ESPN: The
Making of a Sports Media Empire offers an inside look at how the
network changed an industry and reshaped the very way we live as
sports fans.
A former hedge fund worker takes an ethnographic approach to Wall
Street to expose who wins, who loses, and why inequality endures.
Who do you think of when you imagine a hedge fund manager? A greedy
fraudster, a visionary entrepreneur, a wolf of Wall Street? These
tropes capture the public imagination of a successful hedge fund
manager. But behind the designer suits, helicopter commutes, and
illicit pursuits are the everyday stories of people who work in the
hedge fund industry-many of whom don't realize they fall within the
1 percent that drives the divide between the richest and the rest.
With Hedged Out, sociologist and former hedge fund analyst Megan
Tobias Neely gives readers an outsider's insider perspective on
Wall Street and its enduring culture of inequality. Hedged Out
dives into the upper echelons of Wall Street, where elite white
masculinity is the standard measure for the capacity to manage risk
and insecurity. Facing an unpredictable and risky stock market,
hedge fund workers protect their interests by working long hours
and building tight-knit networks with people who look and behave
like them. Using ethnographic vignettes and her own industry
experience, Neely showcases the voices of managers and other
workers to illustrate how this industry of politically mobilized
elites excludes people on the basis of race, class, and gender.
Neely shows how this system of elite power and privilege not only
sustains itself but builds over time as the beneficiaries
concentrate their resources. Hedged Out explains why the hedge fund
industry generates extreme wealth, why mostly white men benefit,
and why reforming Wall Street will create a more equal society.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1952.
An eminent early preservationist, John Crawley was able to amass an
enviable photographic archive of steam traction engines and road
rollers in their working days, of which this Aveling & Porter
selection formed just a part. Organiser of over eighty steam
rallies, John saved up to thirty steam traction engines for
preservation from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, at a time when
they were considered not much more than worthless scrap. Indeed, he
became the first owner of no fewer than twenty-two of them.
Utilising this incredible and unique collection of images, most of
which are previously unpublished, Colin Tyson tells the story of
this important manufacturer and iconic British brand.
There's a pervasive sense of betrayal in areas scarred by mine,
mill and factory closures. Steven High's One Job Town delves into
the long history of deindustrialization in the paper-making town of
Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, located on Canada's resource periphery.
Much like hundreds of other towns and cities across North America
and Europe, Sturgeon Falls has lost their primary source of
industry, resulting in the displacement of workers and their
families. One Job Town takes us into the making of a culture of
industrialism and the significance of industrial work for
mill-working families. One Job Town approaches deindustrialization
as a long term, economic, political, and cultural process, which
did not begin and simply end with the closure of the local mill in
2002. High examines the work-life histories of fifty paper mill
workers and managers, as well as city officials, to gain an
in-depth understanding of the impact of the formation and
dissolution of a culture of industrialism. Oral history and memory
are at the heart of One Job Town, challenging us to rethink the
relationship between the past and the present in what was formerly
known as the industrialized world.
For over 130 years, Imperial Oil dominated Canada's oil industry.
Their 1947 discovery of crude oil in Leduc, Alberta transformed the
industry and the country. But from 1899 onwards, two-thirds of the
company was owned by an American giant, making Imperial Oil one of
the largest foreign-controlled multinationals in Canada. Imperial
Standard is the first full-scale history of Imperial Oil. It
illuminates Imperial's longstanding connections to Standard Oil of
New Jersey, also known as Exxon Mobil. Although this relationship
was often beneficial to Imperial, allowing them access to
technology and capital, it also came at a cost, causing Imperial to
be assailed as the embodiment of foreign control of Canada's
natural resources. Graham D. Taylor draws on an extensive
collection of primary sources to explore the complex relationship
between the two companies. This groundbreaking history provides
unprecedented insight into one of Canada's most influential oil
companies as it has grown and evolved with the industry itself.
Reed Hastings is one of the world's foremost business leaders. As
co-founder, chairman and CEO of Netflix, he has built one of the
largest media and entertainment companies on the planet, with an
estimated personal net worth of $3.6 billion. A notable
philanthropist, he has served on the boards of a number of
non-profit organisations as well as Facebook and Microsoft. This
concise but detailed biography provides an overview of Hastings'
career trajectory. From his unique management style to the biggest
mistakes he has made along the way, to the reasons behind his
decision to take Netflix from a business that dealt with products
(rental DVDs) to a technology company that focuses on streaming,
Burgess sheds light on Hastings' success and looks to what the
future may bring for him and his ventures. Aspirational and
positive, this is the perfect book for those looking for a concise
and accessible account of a true global business visionary.
The epic battle of the fascinating, flawed figures behind America's
deal culture and their fight over who controls and who benefits
from the immense wealth of American corporations. Bloodsport is the
story of how the mania for corporate deals and mergers all began.
The riveting tale of how power lawyers Joe Flom and Marty Lipton,
major Wall Street players Felix Rohatyn and Bruce Wasserstein,
prominent jurists, and shrewd ideologues in academic garb provided
the intellectual firepower, creativity, and energy that drove the
corporate elite into a less cozy, Hobbesian world.With total dollar
volume in the trillions, the zeal for the deal continues unabated
to this day. Underpinning this explosion in mergers and
acquisitions,including hostile takeovers,are four questions that
radically disrupted corporate ownership in the 1970s, whose force
remains undiminished:Are shareholders the sole owners" of
corporations and the legitimate source of power?Should control be
exercised by autonomous CEOs or is their assumption of power
illegitimate and inefficient?Is the primary purpose of the
corporation to generate jobs and create prosperity for the masses
and the nation?Or is it simply to maximize the wealth of
shareholders?This battle of ideas became the bloodsport" of
American business. It set in motion the deal-making culture that
led to the financialization of the economy and it is the backstory
to ongoing debates over competitiveness, job losses, inequality,
stratospheric executive pay, and who owns" America's corporations.
If you lived at Downton Abbey, you shopped at Selfridge's.
Harry Gordon Selfridge was a charismatic American who, in
twenty-five years working at Marshall Field's in Chicago, rose from
lowly stockboy to a partner in the business which his visionary
skills had helped to create. At the turn of the twentieth century
he brought his own American dream to London's Oxford Street where,
in 1909, with a massive burst of publicity, Harry opened
Selfridge's, England's first truly modern built-for-purpose
department store. Designed to promote shopping as a sensual and
pleasurable experience, six acres of floor space offered what he
called "everything that enters into the affairs of daily life," as
well as thrilling new luxuries--from ice-cream soda to signature
perfumes. This magical emporium also featured Otis elevators, a
bank, a rooftop garden with an ice-skating rink, and a restaurant
complete with orchestra--all catering to customers from Anna
Pavlova to Noel Coward. The store was "a theatre, with the curtain
going up at nine o'clock." Yet the real drama happened off the shop
floor, where Mr. Selfridge navigated an extravagant world of
mistresses, opulent mansions, racehorses, and an insatiable
addiction to gambling. While his gloriously iconic store still
stands, the man himself would ultimately come crashing down.
The true story that inspired the Masterpiece series on PBS - "Mr.
Selfridge" is a co-production of ITV Studios and Masterpiece
"Enthralling . . . an] energetic and wonderfully detailed
biography."--"London Evening Standard"
"Will change your view of shopping forever."--"Vogue" (U.K.)
Winner, Alberta Historical Resources Foundation Heritage Award,
Canadian Museums Association Outstanding Achievement in
Publications, and Redgees Legacy AwardShortlisted, Robert Kroetsch
City of Edmonton Book PrizeRemember pearl-snap Western shirts,
Scrubbies jeans, and denim jackets, George W. Groovy, Cowboy Kings,
Red Straps? Take a trip down memory lane and relive the GWG story!
Remember the slogans "Anything Goes," "They wear longer, because
they're made stronger," and Wayne Gretzky's declaration that "I
grew up in GWGs"? GWGs have been a cultural icon in Canada since
the company's founding in 1911. Here, at long last, is the
complete, lushly illustrated history of the Great Western Garment
Company, whose products were staples for some generations and
defined cool for others. This lavish book includes archival
photographs, advertisements, product photos, and insights on the
long history of this iconic Canadian company. Begun in Edmonton,
GWG not only manufactured jeans, but also helped immigrant women
support their families, becoming a model of management and labour
working collaboratively. GWG eventually became the largest workwear
manufacturing company in Canada, providing different styles of work
and leisure clothing for men, women, and children, and for the
military during both world wars. Although Levis acquired the
company during the 1960s and '70s and closed the last factories in
2004, the GWG brand remains a part of pop culture. It is firmly
fixed in the Canadian psyche and still holds a place in Canadian
hearts.
One of Canada's most successful homegrown buisnesses, Black's
Photography grew from a single store to a national, and
international, chain. Robert Black, the former Vice President,
weaves his own, and his family's, story into the history of the
company. Beginning with his great-grandparents, Robert takes the
story through the generations, imparting what each had contributed
to the success of Black's. Part family history, part autobiography,
and part business history, Picture Perfect is a unique look at a
unique family business that rewrote the book on photography. Black
and his brothers used new methods of advertising, took advantage of
every innovation, did their own photofinishing, and introduced the
practice of printing 4 x 6 photos, when no one else was doing it.
Knitting is a booming pastime, enjoying a resurgence of interest,
spawning books, movies, a brisk online trade in wool and knitted
goods -- even trade fairs. In Canada, Cottage Craft has long held a
strong reputation for its fine wool, dyed to the palette of the
local landscape, and the fine craftsmanship of the women who weave
and knit its quality materials. Behind Cottage Craft is the story
of a woman of vision and remarkable resolve. Grace Helen Mowat
looked upon traditional rural crafts -- knitting, weaving, and rug
hooking -- as cash crops for the straitened farm women of Charlotte
County, New Brunswick. In 1911, unmarried and with limited means,
she commissioned a handful of St. Andrews women to make rugs
according to her designs, which were then sent to Montreal. The
Arts and Crafts movement was in full swing -- the rugs sold
quickly. This is the story of how Grace Helen Mowat built Cottage
Craft into a burgeoning home-grown business that continues to
attract customers the world over.
Part "Fast Food Nation," part "Bobos in Paradise," STARBUCKED
combines investigative heft with witty cultural observation in
telling the story of how the coffeehouse movement changed our
everyday lives, from our evolving neighborhoods and workplaces to
the ways we shop, socialize, and self-medicate.
In STARBUCKED, Taylor Clark provides an objective, meticulously
reported look at the volatile issues like gentrification and fair
trade that distress activists and coffee zealots alike. Through a
cast of characters that includes coffee-wild hippies, business
sharks, slackers, Hollywood trendsetters and more, STARBUCKED
explores how America transformed into a nation of coffee gourmets
in only a few years, how Starbucks manipulates psyches and social
habits to snare loyal customers, and why many of the things we
think we know about the coffee commodity chain are false.
""Starbucked" is ...smart cultural criticism minus any academic
gobbledygook. Mr. Clark is quite funny as he dryly sends up the
excess of the corporate behemoth, and Starb"u"cked is an
entertaining, highly readable book....Full of cocktail-party-worthy
tidbits." --Adelle Waldman, "New York Observer"
LEGO is one of the world's best-loved and most familiar brands,
adored by generations of children. What is less well known, though,
is how close this iconic company came to total collapse in 2003.
Brick by Brick is the compelling story of a Danish family-owned
company that enjoyed decades of success before its inability to
keep in step with a rapidly changing market brought it crashing to
earth. It's also the story of an extraordinary recovery. As
disaster stared them in the face, the management of LEGO embarked
on an audacious and innovative plan to turn their fortunes around,
and then painstakingly implemented it. Today, the company is riding
high once again, and enjoying results that are the envy of their
competitors. Granted unprecedented access to every part of the LEGO
Group, David Robertson not only charts each twist in the company's
story but explains precisely what went wrong and how it was fixed.
His clear-sighted analysis will prove invaluable to all those who
want to understand how companies can not only ride the storm of
change, but benefit from it.
For Heineken, 'rising Africa' is already a reality: the profits it
extracts there are almost 50 per cent above the global average, and
beer costs more in some African countries than it does in Europe.
Heineken claims its presence boosts economic development on the
continent. But is this true? Investigative journalist Olivier van
Beemen has spent years seeking the answer, and his conclusion is
damning: Heineken has hardly benefited Africa at all. On the
contrary, there are some shocking skeletons in its African closet:
tax avoidance, sexual abuse, links to genocide and other human
rights violations, high-level corruption, crushing competition from
indigenous brewers, and collaboration with dictators and pitiless
anti-government rebels. Heineken in Africa caused a political and
media furore on publication in The Netherlands, and was debated in
their Parliament. It is an unmissable expose of the havoc wreaked
by a global giant seeking profit in the developing world.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1956.
Business Without Boundary was first published in 1954. Minnesota
Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable
books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the
original University of Minnesota Press editions. The firm of
General Mills is probably best known to millions of people as the
maker of Gold Medal Flour and as the progenitor of that first lady
of the kitchen and the airwaves, Betty Crocker. But, although its
greatest fame is as a flour miller, the company engages in a host
of other activities that attest to the foresight and creative
thinking of its executives. In fact, the sky seems to be the only
limit as the company extends its sights upward in Operation
Skyhook, a United States navy research project for which General
Mills makes and launches into the stratosphere giant plastic
balloons. James Gray relates not only the history of General Mills
since its founding in 1928 but also the background of the major
companies that merged to form the larger corporation: the Washburn
Crosby Company of Minneapolis, the Sperry Company of San Francisco,
the Kell group of Texas and Oklahoma mills, and the Larrowe Milling
Company of Detroit. Anyone interested in advertising and promotion
will find fascinating the accounts of the early successes in radio
advertising, including the first use of singing commercials and the
phenomenal rise of Betty Crocker (voted the second best-known woman
in America!) The scientific and technical research that is a
cornerstone of the modern corporation is described in detail, as is
the development of the products control method, a General Mills
innovation now widely adopted in industry. For those curious to
understand how business expands, for those interested in a close-up
of industrial leaders, for anyone who wants to sharpen his view of
America at work, this is an important book.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1952.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1982.
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