"In vivid detail... examines the little-known history of two extraordinary dynasties."--The Boston Globe "Not just a brilliant, well-researched, and highly readable book about China's past, it also reveals the contingencies and ironic twists of fate in China's modern history."--LA Review of Books An epic, multigenerational story of two rival dynasties who flourished in Shanghai and Hong Kong as twentieth-century China surged into the modern era, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist The Sassoons and the Kadoories stood astride Chinese business and politics for more than one hundred seventy-five years, profiting from the Opium Wars; surviving Japanese occupation; courting Chiang Kai-shek; and nearly losing everything as the Communists swept into power. Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how these families ignited an economic boom and opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil on their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.

Jordan Daykin hit the headlines at the age of 18 when he became the youngest ever person to win investment in the Dragons' Den for his invention GripIt, a building product he created with his grandad in the garden shed. GripIt was an instant success, attracting interest from DIY and building supply stores across the country within days of being launched. Today, GripIt Fixings is a global enterprise, with his products stocked in stores around the world. And Jordan is a popular motivational speaker. But beyond the glamour of the television studios and business success, there is a very different story to tell, as Jordan battled to overcome the legacy of a difficult childhood affected by dropping out of school at a young age, family feuds and periods of loneliness. This is Jordan's unflinching, heart-warming and ultimately uplifting story of how he overcame immense obstacles to achieve outstanding success as an entrepreneur. He reveals how he came up with ideas for his first businesses, describes how a business is built up from scratch, and shows how his tremendous work ethic and passion for business is at the heart of his success. Jordan Daykin's story will grip and inspire entrepreneurs of all ages.

The Pyramid of Lies by international financial journalist Duncan Mavin, is the true story of Lex Greensill, the Australian farmer who became a hi-flying billionaire banker before crashing back down to earth, exposing a tangled network of flawed financiers, politicians and industrialists. Lex Greensill had a simple, billion-dollar idea - democratising supply chain finance. Suppliers want to get their invoices paid as soon as possible. Companies want to hold off as long as they can. Greensill bridged the two, it's mundane, boring even, but he saw an opportunity to profit. However, margins are thin and Lex, ever the risk taker, made lucrative loans with other people's money: to a Russian cargo plane linked to Vladmir Putin, to former Special Forces who ran a private army, and crucially to companies that were fraudulent or had no revenue. When the company finally collapsed it exposed the revolving door between Westminster and big business and how David Cameron was allowed to lobby ministers for cash that would save Greensill's doomed business. Instead, Credit Suisse and Japan's SoftBank are nursing billions of dollars in losses, a German bank is under criminal investigation, and thousands of jobs are at risk. What Bad Blood did for Silicon Valley and The Smartest Guys in the Room did for Wall Street, The Pyramid of Lies will do for the world of shadow banking and supply chain finance. It is a world populated with some of the most outlandish characters in business and some of the most outrageous examples of excess. It is a story of greed and ambition that shines a light on the murky intersection between politics and business, where lavish fortunes can be made and lost.

Celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery with this rich, adventurous history The Dogfish Head Book: 26 Years of Off-Centered Adventures celebrates a quarter-century in business for the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Over the past 26 years, the Dogfish Head founders have learned timeless lessons about working and living. This book shares their hard-earned insights and helps readers navigate life's adventures. Through its colorful design and photos, The Dogfish Head Book brings the brewing business to life. Inside, you'll find wisdom and entertainment in the form of memorabilia, photos, and the Dogfish Head Rules of Thumb. Food and beer lovers, entrepreneurs, and business professionals alike will enjoy this unique book, which also makes a perfect gift for any Dogfish Head fan or craft beer enthusiast. Since its start in 1995, Dogfish Head has grown exponentially to become one of the most celebrated craft breweries in the United States. This book lets you tour the history of the iconic brand without leaving home. Recounts the rich history of the Dogfish Head Brewery and Distillery Explores the founders' unique and successful business philosophy Reveals new details about the future of this fast-growing brewery Celebrates the 26th anniversary of Dogfish Head Paired nicely with any Dogfish Head beer, The Dogfish Head Book: 26 Years of Off-Centered Adventures is a living guide to business and life--the Dogfish way!

When Alexander Noble established his boatyard in 1898, he probably didn't realise he was also establishing a new Noble tradition. Alexander's yard would soon be handed over to his eldest son Wilson, who would set up Wilson Noble & Co. to build fishing boats - although he would branch out into minesweepers when needed in the Second World War. Meanwhile, second-youngest son James would break out on his own, thinking that the future of boatbuilding lay in yachts. Altogether, these companies built almost 400 boats, some of which are still working today, and would be a fixture on the Fraserburgh shoreline for nearly a century. Packed with images, interviews and recollections from the crew, The Noble Boatbuilders of Fraserburgh is a thoroughly researched tribute to these men and their boats, and is a fascinating look into an industry that once peppered our island's shorelines.

Drawing on a unique study of Australian advertising agencies at the dawn of the digital era, this book provides a hitherto unexplored study of the advertising industry at a point of its disruption. By exploring the dynamic interaction between this established but complacent industry, and a radically new communication medium, this book reveals how advertising agencies were forced to change fundamentally, yet as an industry helped shape the digital economy, and the platforms that dominate it. Based on contemporary reports, company archives, personal archives, and over 50 interviews with past and current advertising practitioners across the range of agency departments, this unique historical narrative reveals how power shifts between agencies, advertisers, and other media platforms forged the current models of advertiser-funded digital media. For scholars of marketing, media, communication, and contemporary history, this is an illuminating perspective on the early impact of the digital revolution and its relevance to the media landscape today.

A book that stormed both the bestseller list and the public imagination, a book that created a genre of its own, and a book that gets at the heart of Wall Street and the '80s culture it helped define, Barbarians at the Gate has emerged twenty years after the tumultuous deal it so brilliantly recounts as a modern classic--a masterpiece of investigatory journalism and a rollicking book of corporate derring-do and financial swordsmanship.

The fight to control RJR Nabisco during October and November of 1988 was more than just the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Marked by brazen displays of ego not seen in American business for decades, it became the high point of a new gilded age and its repercussions are still being felt. The tale remains the ultimate story of greed and glory--a story and a cast of characters that determined the course of global business and redefined how deals would be done and fortunes made in the decades to come.

Barbarians at the Gate is the gripping account of these two frenzied months, of deal makers and publicity flaks, of an old-line industrial powerhouse (home of such familiar products a Oreos and Camels) that became the victim of the ruthless and rapacious style of finance in the 1980s. As reporters for The Wall Street Journal, Burrough and Helyar had extensive access to all the characters in this drama. They take the reader behind the scenes at strategy meetings and society dinners, into boardrooms and bedrooms, providing an unprecedentedly detailed look at how financial operations at the highest levels are conducted but also a richly textured social history of wealth at the twilight of the Reagan era.

At the center of the huge power struggle is RJR Nabisco's president, the high-living Ross Johnson. It's his secret plan to buy out the company that sets the frenzy in motion, attracting the country's leading takeover players: Henry Kravis, the legendary leveraged-buyout king whose entry into the fray sets off an acquisitive commotion; Peter Cohen, CEO of Shearson Lehman Hutton and Johnson's partner, who needs a victory to propel his company to an unchallenged leadership in the lucrative mergers and acquisitions field; the fiercely independent Ted Forstmann, motivated as much by honor as by his rage at the corruption he sees taking over the business he cherishes; Jim Maher and his ragtag team, struggling to regain credibility for the decimated ranks at First Boston; and an army of desperate bankers, lawyers, and accountants, all drawn inexorably to the greatest prize of their careers--and one of the greatest prizes in the history of American business.

Written with the bravado of a novel and researched with the diligence of a sweeping cultural history, Barbarians at the Gate is present at the front line of every battle of the campaign. Here is the unforgettable story of that takeover in all its brutality. In a new afterword specially commissioned for the story's 20th anniversary, Burrough and Helyar return to visit the heroes and villains of this epic story, tracing the fallout of the deal, charting the subsequent success and failure of those involved, and addressing the incredible impact this story--and the book itself--made on the world.

This book provides a collective view of the five major English chartered trading companies which were active during the period 1688-1763: The East India Company, the Royal African Company, the Hudson's Bay Company, The Levant Company, and the Russia Company. Using both archival and secondary sources, this monograph fills in some of the knowledge gaps concerning the less well-studied companies, and examines the interconnections between international rivalry, the financial operations of the companies, and politics which have not featured prominently in the historiography.

In 1982, the Dow hovered below 1000. Then, the market rose and rapidly gained speed until it peaked above 11,000. Noted journalist and financial reporter Maggie Mahar has written the first book on the remarkable bull market that began in 1982 and ended just in the early 2000s. For almost two decades, a colorful cast of characters such as Abby Joseph Cohen, Mary Meeker, Henry Blodget, and Alan Greenspan came to dominate the market news.

This inside look at that 17-year cycle of growth, built upon interviews and unparalleled access to the most important analysts, market observers, and fund managers who eagerly tell the tales of excesses, presents the period with a historical perspective and explains what really happened and why.

Sweating Together: How Peloton Built a Billion Dollar Venture and Created Community in a Digital World by David J. Miller, PhD (#ChicagoBorn) The ultimate front row look at the meteoric rise of Peloton, one of the hottest consumer and fitness brands in the world. In Sweating Together Miller brings readers directly into the center of the sweat soaked, adrenaline fueled, NYC phenomena that is Peloton and provides a first-hand account of the rise of one of the most important ventures of tomorrow's economy. In 2012 John Foley and a group of co-founders launched Peloton, an interactive fitness and media company. In less than 10 years the company would be worth billions, disrupt the fitness industry and create a rabid, life changing community of members using sweat to span the digital and physical worlds. Join Peloton fanatic and George Mason University entrepreneurship professor David J. Miller (#ChicagoBorn on the Peloton platform) as he dives deep into the people, business models and stories behind the ascent of Peloton. From well-being, social media and gamification to the role of physical space in a digital world, talent retention and community building, there is no better venture for understanding our ever-expanding innovation fueled, well-being economy than Peloton. Miller unwittingly became a Peloton addict and spent thousands of hours sweating and growing relationships with Peloton members; he interviewed founders John Foley and Tom Cortese as well as other senior Peloton leaders, and Peloton celebrity instructors Robin Arzon, Matt Wilpers, Jenn Sherman and Jess King. Join Miller and race into the future with Peloton

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST ECONOMICS BOOK OF THE YEAR A THE ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Brilliantly conceived and enlightening at every turn' Lawrence Wright We have long been suspicious of corporations recklessly pursuing profit and amassing wealth and power. But the story of the corporation didn't have to be like this. For most of history, they were not amoral entities, but public institutions designed to promote the societies that granted them charter. Magnuson reveals how the corporation has evolved since its beginnings in the ancient world. What happens in this next chapter of the global economy depends on whether we can return to their public-minded spirit, or whether we have sunk irrevocably into the swamp of high profit at all costs. Epic and compelling in scope, For Profit illuminates the roles corporations played, for good and evil, in the making of the modern world.

In an age where even the best products are quickly imitated, businesses must constantly find new ways to outpace competitors. Successful companies differentiate themselves not just with superior products, but also by how they behave toward their customers at every touchpoint: service, product development, marketing, branding, bids and proposals, presentations, negotiations, and more. Behavioral Differentiation is emerging as the ""final frontier"" in competitive strategy, and "Winning Behavior" shows how leading companies use it to exceed expectations and outperform competitors. This eye-opening book offers case histories and examples from companies like GE, Volvo, EMC, Ritz-Carlton, Wal-Mart, and Harley-Davidson, plus interviews with executives like George Zimmer (Men's Wearhouse), Colleen Barrett (Southwest Airlines), and Gerry Roche (Heidrick & Struggles). In today's ultracompetitive business landscape, product quality and competitive pricing are prerequisites for staying afloat. Winning Behavior reveals the secrets the best companies use -- and any business can use -- to stay at the pinnacle of success in their industry.

Much needed in these times when confidence in corporations has eroded, A Business Tale offers you the inspiration to make ethical choices even when it isn't easy or immediately rewarding. Wouldn't it be nice if all executives had a magical rabbit?like the one in the movie Harvey -- following them around reminding them to be ethical? In this charming fable, Aristotle (Ari, for short) is a pooka -- a mythical, invisible creature with a penchant for advising against dishonesty. Our hero, Edgar P. Benchley, has been able to see and hear Ari since childhood, and as he journeys through his professional life, constantly faced with challenging questions of good conduct, Ari helps remind him that nice guys can succeed...even in the world of business. Following the story, inside this book you'll find: real-life examples of ethical situations a 10-step action plan for ethical behavior in the workplace story formatting to impart basics of ethics in the business world A Business Tale is an easy-to-read, unforgettable "spoonful of sugar" to help companies and individuals digest the sometimes tart lessons of practical morality in the workplace.

Sales theories come and sales theories go, but nothing beats learning from the original masters. "The Giants of Sales "introduces readers to the techniques developed by four legendary sales giants, and offers concrete examples of how they still work in the 21st century. The book reveals how:

* In his quest to sell a brand new product known as the cash register, John Henry Patterson came up with a repeatable sales process tailor-made for his own sales force

* Dale Carnegie taught people how to win friends and influence customers with powerful methods that still work

* Joe Girard, listed by Guinness as the world's greatest salesman, didn't just sell cars, he sold relationships...and developed a successful referral business

* Elmer Wheeler discovered fundamental truths about persuasion by testing thousands of sales pitches on millions of people, and achieved great success in the middle of the Great Depression

Part history and part how-to, "The Giants of Sales" gives readers practical, real-world techniques based on the time-tested wisdom of true sales masters.

"Featuring a foreword by George Gilder

If you're a Qualcomm customer or stockholder, or in fact if you have a stake in almost any cellular service or even just use a mobile phone, you're no doubt aware of the enormous impact on the development of cellular technology by actress and sex symbol Hedy LaMarr.

All right, perhaps you're surprised. The telecom industry has never been short on surprises, and the above example is no exception. Nor is it an exaggeration. Read the book.

Similarly, it is not an exaggeration to say that Qualcomm, through a combination of technological superiority, cunning business acumen, and sheer tenacity, has become the undisputed standard by which telecom companies now measure themselves. In short order, they have also become a model of substantial and sustained growth that businesses in all industries should emulate.

Qualcomm's rise mirrors that of the cell phone itself. Both are ubiquitous, both continue to evolve rapidly, and both turned the status quo on its head. The Qualcomm Equation reveals crucial but little-known information on the history of cellular and wireless technology -- some of which dates back to World War II -- and shows how the company grabbed the wave just as it began to rise.

How did they do it?

Even while most competitors were using an essential technology, Qualcomm believed in an alternative they had developed, and continued to refine and promote it until at last it caught on. The Qualcomm Equation details how the fledgling company, while their rivals simply duked it out for more customers, made a killing not only by offering great service, but also by leasing their superior standard technology to other telecom companies. While Qualcomm grew its own customer base, they had also, in essence, found a way to make more money the bigger their competitors got.

How can you apply the Qualcomm model in your industry, and in your company?

Following Qualcomm's example, your company can:

* attract investors by presenting even complex products and technologies in customer- and market-focused language

* prove that its product is essential not only to customers but also to competitors -- so that they come to depend on you rather than trying to defeat you

* make its product and its operations compatible with those competitors, turning rivalries into profitable strategic alliances

* learn from setbacks, and leverage the knowledge and strengths of your partners to overcome obstacles

You'll also learn crucial strategies to help you define and develop your core business; identify and maximize your company's role and position in the value chain for customers and shareholders; strike a balance between sharing and protecting proprietary information; and handle regulatory and political concerns both domestically and globally.

In the last decade, Qualcomm has come to define dominance not only in the telecommunications industry, but throughout the global business landscape. The Qualcomm Equation presents their story, and the keys to their unparalleled success.

Not to mention the most important role of Hedy LaMarr's career..."

The Beatles. The Beach Boys. Blur, Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Kate Bush and Coldplay. EMI was one of the big four record companies, with some of the biggest names in the history of recorded music on its roster. Dominating the music industry for over 100 years, by 2010 EMI Group had reported massive pre-tax losses. The group was divided up and sold in 2011. How could one of the greatest recording companies of the 20th century have ended like this? With interviews from insiders and music industry experts, Eamonn Forde pieces together the tragic end to a financial juggernaut and a cultural institution in forensic detail. The Final Days of EMI: Selling the Pig is the story of the British recording industry, laid bare in all its hubris and glory.

"When Wilbur and Orville Wright executed the first successful manned flight on December 17th, 1903, they stunned the world. Man could fly Where had these two brothers come from? The impact was astonishing. (Imagine if Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon in a craft he built himself and paid for with a part-time job )

In ushering in the age of flight, the Wright brothers got past numerous obstacles the world's other scientists hadn't even begun to tackle. " The Wright Way" defines seven essential problem-solving principles the brothers used in accomplishing this enormous feat, and shows readers how to apply them to common business problems. The book presents practical, inspirational principles for achievement, including:

* Hammering out problems through constructive conflict

* Addressing the toughest issues -- or ""worst things"" -- first

* Achieving perfection through ""inveterate tinkering""

* Pursuing useful knowledge through ""forever learning""

The book gives business leaders and managers constructive tips they can use to tackle their most difficult -- and rewarding -- challenges and opportunities. A perfect combination of savvy management guidance and historical adventure story, "The Wright Way" shows readers how to make their business soar when others can't even get off the ground."