The book offers a unique view of the populism and republicanism of Ohio and the Midwest, which resulted in the election of Ohio Presidents from 1866 to 1920. Ohio claims eight presidents (one Whig and seven Republicans) during a period from 1841 to 1923: William Harrison (1841-1841), U. S. Grant (1869-1877), Rutherford Hayes (1877-1881), James Garfield (1881-1881), Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), William McKinley (1897-1901), William Taft (1909-1913), and Warren Harding (1921-1923). What is unique about the Ohio presidents is that their industrial policies, nationalism, and social beliefs formed unified philosophy and a legacy. It was a shared view of a Midwestern educational system. It was not the idea of any one president but the people that elected them. From 1860 to 1930, Ohio republicanism dominated politics across the America. The simple definition of that legacy might be called Ohio republicanism. While it was integral to the Republican Party of the period, it cannot be viewed through the eyes of the Republican Party alone. Ohio republicanism was an alliance of social, Christian, populism, nationalism, industrialism, and conservative economics. It initially was populism in search of a party with pieces from the Whig, Democrat, and Republican Parties. It morphed from the Whig Party of Abe Lincoln to end slavery and swallowed up a group of specific purpose parties under a national banner, such as the Abolition and Free Soil Parties. The ghost of Ohio republicanism is still seen today.

Ford and Carver had a unique friendship and a shared vision of. This book details their paths to ""green"" manufacturing and the start of the chemurgic movement in America. It covers a number of little known projects such as their efforts to use ethanol as a national fuel, the use of soybeans for plastic production, and the use of waterpower for factories. The story shows how capitalism can drive the green movement and expand American industry.

The rubber industry was an industry born in bankruptcy and built through bankruptcies. Many of the great rubber barons found themselves or company in bankruptcy courts. Bankruptcies defined the very nature and structure of the rubber industry we know today. Fortunately, the rubber industry has always proven as elastic as its product. The very man that invented rubber, Charles Goodyear, started out in a Philadelphia debtor's prison after failing in the hardware business. Amazingly near the end of his life he would return to prison again for debt problems over his failing rubber enterprise. Bankruptcy and failure would become part of the story of rubber. Harvey Firestone entered the rubber business after failing in other businesses, B. F. Goodrich after failing in earlier business endeavors such as oil drilling moved his failed rubber company from New England to start over in Akron, and F. A. Seiberling, founder of Goodyear Rubber, was forced out of the company he founded to avoid a total bankruptcy of the company and lost most of his personal wealth. Rubber proved far from an elastic gold, but it would be an industrial jewel, once conquered. In the early years, it was a search for an American location to process the rubber of the tropics. The industry would shift from its roots in New England to Akron, Ohio. The collapse of the industry is the story of the de-industrialisation of America.

St. Benedict's Rule is one of a handful of documents, such as the Magna Carta and U.S. Constitution, that make up the foundation of Western civilization. Benedict's Rule is an organizational blueprint for success; Benedict's original organization is the oldest in the world, spanning more than 1,500 years. The beauty of The Rule is its organizational genius, which has wide application beyond monastic groups. The Rule is a basic textbook showing how to create and maintain effective organizations. It offers today's reader insights into some of the most difficult resource management issues in business.