The service field constitutes the cutting edge of the new industrial revolution and already surpasses manufacturing as the principal economic activity in the private sector. This contemporary revolution has witnessed the launching of many new companies and industries, assisted by venture capitalists committed to their success. This book emphasizes the creation of new industries with the aid of venture capitalists, arguing that investment bankers/venture capitalists contribute to the economy by conceiving and developing innovative financing to help along fledgling businesses.

Ferdinand Eberstadt, the man whose war production strategy was credited with shortening World War II by one full year, was America's financier extraordinaire. His contributions over a period of nearly fifty years helped to shape the world of business and finance as we know it today. In this lively analytical biography, Perez and Willett chronicle Eberstadt's career in the public and private sectors and explore the motives, methods, and personal style that were responsible for his successes as well as his failures. This balanced, clearly written account is packed with information and...