Overall, this first volume in the series should render business research in manufacturing a good deal easier by bringing together insightful industry histories and detailed critical bibliographies. This series has much to recommend it. Future volumes will be eagerly awaited. "Reference Books Bulletin"

This historical and bibliographical reference work is the first volume of Greenwood Press's "Handbook of American Business History," a series intended to supplement current bibliographic materials pertaining to business history. Devoted to manufacturing, this work uses the Enterprise...

The second volume in the "Handbook of American Business History" series, this book offers concise histories of extractive, manufacturing, and service industries as well as extensive bibliographic essays pointing to the leading sources on each industry and bibliographic checklists. Supplementing other bibliographic materials in business history, this volume provides researchers with a much needed path through the vast array of material available in the library and on the Internet. Indicating which resources to check and which to bypass, the book is a guide to a sometimes overwhelming amount...

The economic and cultural roots of contemporary American business can be traced directly to developments in the era between the Civil War and World War I. The physical expansion of the country combined with development of transportation and communication infrastructures to create a free market of vast proportion and businesses capable of capitalizing on the accompanying economies of scale, through higher productivity, lower costs, and broader distribution. "The Birth of Big Business in the United States" illuminates the conditions that changed the face of American business and the national...

With rapidly expanding information sources available in libraries and on the internet, researchers delving into business history need to know what is useful and what is not. Together with the first two volumes of the Handbook of American Business History, this third volume book provides a guide to business history and to the overwhelming amount of information on the subject. In twenty-one entries on specific industries, contributors offer concise histories of infrastructure, including electricity, gas, and communications, as well as service industries, such as banking, medical insurance,...