Book cover of Still Broke: Walmart's Remarkable Transformation and the Limits of Socially Conscious Capitalism by Rick Wartzman
Biography & History

Still Broke: Walmart’s Remarkable Transformation and the Limits of Socially Conscious Capitalism

Fifteen years ago, Walmart was the most controversial company in America. By offering incredibly low prices, it had come to dominate the retail landscape. But with this dominance came a suite of ethical concerns. Walmart was accused of wiping out mom-and-pop businesses across the country; ruthlessly pressuring suppliers to cut costs, even if it meant closing up U.S. factories and moving production overseas; and, above all, not taking adequate care of its own employees, who were paid so little that many wound up on public assistance. […Learn More]

Book cover of Big Dirty Money: Making White Collar Criminals Pay by Jennifer Taub
Biography & History

Big Dirty Money: Making White Collar Criminals Pay

How ordinary Americans suffer when the rich and powerful use tax dodges or break the law to get richer and more powerful–and how we can stop it.

There is an elite crime spree happening in America, and the privileged perps are getting away with it. Selling loose cigarettes on a city sidewalk can lead to a choke-hold arrest, and death, if you are not among the top 1% […Learn More]

Book cover of Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles by William Quinn and John D. Turner
Biography & History

Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles

Why do stock and housing markets sometimes experience amazing booms followed by massive busts and why is this happening more and more frequently? In order to answer these questions, William Quinn and John D. Turner take us on a riveting ride through the history of financial bubbles, visiting, among other places, Paris and London in 1720, Latin America in the 1820s, Melbourne in the 1880s, New York in the 1920s, Tokyo in the 1980s, Silicon Valley in the 1990s and Shanghai in the 2000s. […Learn More]

Book cover of The Industrialists: How the National Association of Manufacturers Shaped American Capitalism by Jennifer A. Delton
Biography & History

The Industrialists: How the National Association of Manufacturers Shaped American Capitalism

The first complete history of US industry’s most influential and controversial lobbyist

Founded in 1895, the National Association of Manufacturers―NAM―helped make manufacturing the basis of the US economy and a major source of jobs in the twentieth century. The Industrialists traces the history of the advocacy group from its origins to today, examining its role in shaping modern capitalism, while also highlighting the many tensions and contradictions within the organization that sometimes hampered its mission. […Learn More]

Book cover of Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe by Suzanne L. Marchand
Biography & History

Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe

Porcelain was invented in medieval China—but its secret recipe was first reproduced in Europe by an alchemist in the employ of the Saxon king Augustus the Strong. Saxony’s revered Meissen factory could not keep porcelain’s ingredients secret for long, however, and scores of Holy Roman princes quickly founded their own mercantile manufactories, soon to be rivaled by private entrepreneurs, eager to make not art but profits […Learn More]

Book cover of Black Market Capital: Urban Politics and the Shadow Economy in Mexico City by Andrew Konove
Americas

Black Market Capital: Urban Politics and the Shadow Economy in Mexico City 

In this extraordinary new book, Andrew Konove traces the history of illicit commerce in Mexico City from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, showing how it became central to the economic and political life of the city. The story centers on the untold history of the Baratillo, the city’s infamous thieves’ market. Originating in the colonial-era Plaza Mayor, the Baratillo moved to the neighborhood of Tepito in the early twentieth century, where it grew into one of the world’s largest emporiums for black-market goods. […Learn More]

Book cover of For Profit: A History of Corporations by William Magnuson
Biography & History

For Profit: A History of Corporations 

A history of how corporate innovation has shaped society, from ancient Rome to Silicon Valley 
 
From legacy manufacturers to emerging tech giants, corporations wield significant power over our lives, our economy, and our politics. Some celebrate them as engines of progress and prosperity. Others argue that they recklessly pursue profit at the expense of us all. […Learn More]

Book cover of The Cigarette: A Political History by Sarah Milov
Biography & History

The Cigarette: A Political History

Tobacco is the quintessential American product. From Jamestown to the Marlboro Man, the plant occupied the heart of the nation’s economy and expressed its enduring myths. But today smoking rates have declined and smokers are exiled from many public spaces. The story of tobacco’s fortunes may seem straightforward: science triumphed over our addictive habits and the cynical machinations of tobacco executives. Yet the reality is more complicated. […Learn More]