Download or read book Birth of a Salesman written by Walter A. FRIEDMAN and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this entertaining and informative book, Walter Friedman chronicles the remarkable metamorphosis of the American salesman from itinerant amateur to trained expert. From the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of World War II, the development of sales management transformed an economy populated by peddlers and canvassers to one driven by professional salesmen and executives. From book agents flogging Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs to John H. Patterson's famous pyramid strategy at National Cash Register to the determined efforts by Ford and Chevrolet to craft surefire sales pitches for their dealers, selling evolved from an art to a science. "Salesmanship" as a term and a concept arose around the turn of the century, paralleling the new science of mass production. Managers assembled professional forces of neat responsible salesmen who were presented as hardworking pillars of society, no longer the butt of endless "traveling salesmen" jokes. People became prospects; their homes became territories. As an NCR representative said, the modern salesman "let the light of reason into dark places." The study of selling itself became an industry, producing academic disciplines devoted to marketing, consumer behavior, and industrial psychology. At Carnegie Mellon's Bureau of Salesmanship Research, Walter Dill Scott studied the characteristics of successful salesmen and ways to motivate consumers to buy. Full of engaging portraits and illuminating insights, Birth of a Salesman is a singular contribution that offers a clear understanding of the transformation of salesmanship in modern America. Reviews of this book: The history Friedman weaves is engrossing and the book hits stride with entertaining chapters on Mark Twain's marketing of the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (apparently Twain was as talented a businessman as a writer) and on the shift from the drummer--the middleman between wholesalers and regional shopkeepers--to the department store...In Birth of a Salesman, Friedman has crafted a history of an 'inherently unlikable process' with depth, affection and intelligent analysis. --Carlo Wolff, Boston Globe I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is well written, well argued, and thoroughly researched. Salesmen, Friedman argues, helped distribute the products of America's increasingly bountiful manufacturing industries, invented new forms of managerial hierarchies, investigated the psychology of desire, and were in the vanguard of America's transformation from a producer to a consumer society. He powerfully shows that the rise of modern business practices and the emergence of a particularly American culture of consumption can only be fully understood if we examine the history of selling. --Sven Beckert, author of The Monied Metropolis Walter Friedman's Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America is an important book. The modern industrial economy, created in the United States and Europe between the 1880s and the 1930s, required the integration of large-scale production and marketing. The evolution of mass production is a well-known story, but Friedman is the first to fill in the crucial marketing side of that industrial revolution. --Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., author of The Visible Hand and Scale and Scope With wit and verve, Walter Friedman gives us a cast of memorable characters who turned salesmanship from ballyhoo to behaviorism, from silliness to science. Informed by prodigious research, Birth of a Salesman also clarifies the birth of modern marketing--from an angle that humanizes its subject through wry, ironic, but serious analysis. This is a pioneering work on a subject crucial to American social, cultural, and business history. --Thomas K. McCraw, author of Creating Modern Capitalism
Download or read book Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1998-05-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pulitzer Prize-winning tragedy of a salesman’s deferred American dream Ever since it was first performed in 1949, Death of a Salesman has been recognized as a milestone of the American theater. In the person of Willy Loman, the aging, failing salesman who makes his living riding on a smile and a shoeshine, Arthur Miller redefined the tragic hero as a man whose dreams are at once insupportably vast and dangerously insubstantial. He has given us a figure whose name has become a symbol for a kind of majestic grandiosity—and a play that compresses epic extremes of humor and anguish, promise and loss, between the four walls of an American living room. "By common consent, this is one of the finest dramas in the whole range of the American theater." —Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times "So simple, central, and terrible that the run of playwrights would neither care nor dare to attempt it." —Time
Download or read book An American Salesman written by W. E. Duke Adamson and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2008-04 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An American Salesman is a story about the journey of a young mid-westerner who was raised and educated in rural Illinois. The story begins at his birth and continues to his early retirement and through to present day. He began a career in Sales at a very young age and he was told he wouldn't be a success at it. Married young he had a lot of motivation being the Father to 2 Sons before he was 21 years old. Hard work and perseverance brought him to the top of his Company's leading salesmen in just 4 years. But, he had these achievements stripped away in just one day and he fell to the bottom, was fired, and had to change companies in disgrace. Feeling sorry for himself and being broke he nearly threw in the towel. A manager with the new company told him of a "principle" that literally saved his sales career and in just two years he was back up on top of his sales leader board. Soon after, he was recruited to join a fast moving sales company in Miami, Florida as Vice President of Sales. Then later, owning his own Company with hundreds of employees he goes through some near disasters because of poor judgement. He fights a Union and deals with some unscrupulous executives set to steal his Company. He learns from his mistakes and you will also learn to apply the many unfailing principles he learned to not only become successful in sales but how to stay there. It is a book of principles. This book is about "what not to do" in business as well as "what to do". With heartwarming Chapters about his Grandmother and growing up in a dysfunctional family thrown in, this book will be difficult to put down.
Download or read book 100 Years on the Road written by Timothy B. Spears and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on sources such as diaries, advice manuals and autobiographies, this work shows how travelling salesmen from the early-18th century to the 1920s shaped the customs of life on the road and helped to develop the modern consumer culture in the United States.
Download or read book American Girls written by Nancy Jo Sales and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller Award-winning Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales crisscrossed the country talking to more than two hundred girls between the ages of thirteen and nineteen about their experiences online and off. They are coming of age online in a hypersexualized culture that has normalized extreme behavior, from pornography to the casual exchange of nude photographs; a culture rife with a virulent new strain of sexism; a culture in which teenagers are spending so much time on technology and social media that they are not developing basic communication skills. The dominant force in the lives of girls coming of age in America today is social media: Instagram, Whisper, Vine, Youtube, Kik, Ask.fm, Tinder. Provocative, explosive, and urgent, American Girls will ignite much-needed conversation about how we can help our daughters and sons negotiate the new social and sexual norms that govern their lives.
Download or read book I was an Elephant Salesman written by Pap Khouma and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark bestseller in Italy, I Was an Elephant Salesman gives a name and a face to the thousands of anonymous African street vendors in cities across Europe. Through the voice of a thinly veiled first-person narrator, Pap Khouma offers us a chilling, intimate, and often ironic glimpse into the life of an illegal immigrant. Khouma invents a life for himself as an itinerant trader of carved elephants, small ivories, and other "African" trinkets, struggling to maintain courage and dignity in the face of despair and humiliation. Constantly on the run from the authorities, he finds insight into the vicissitudes of law and politics, the constraints of citizenship, national borders, skin color, and the often paralyzing difficulties of obtaining basic human needs. His story reveals a contemporary Europe struggling to come to terms with its multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural identity.
Download or read book In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman written by William J. Cook and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-11-09 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of one of the greatest unsolved problems in mathematics What is the shortest possible route for a traveling salesman seeking to visit each city on a list exactly once and return to his city of origin? It sounds simple enough, yet the traveling salesman problem is one of the most intensely studied puzzles in applied mathematics—and it has defied solution to this day. In this book, William Cook takes readers on a mathematical excursion, picking up the salesman's trail in the 1800s when Irish mathematician W. R. Hamilton first defined the problem, and venturing to the furthest limits of today’s state-of-the-art attempts to solve it. He also explores its many important applications, from genome sequencing and designing computer processors to arranging music and hunting for planets. In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman travels to the very threshold of our understanding about the nature of complexity, and challenges you yourself to discover the solution to this captivating mathematical problem.
Download or read book Ladies on the Lot written by Helene M. Lawson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2000 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unique and lively ethnography of women who sell cars, sociologist Helene M. Lawson and the "ladies on the lot" take readers behind the scenes of one of the last bastions of a predominantly male workplace: the car dealership. Linking the women's own stories within the broader framework of gender and occupation, Lawson presents an engaging and important case study on the impact of gender differences and behavior in the workplace. In doing so, Ladies on the Lot makes an original contribution to the field and will be of interest for a wide variety of courses, including gender and occupations, the sociology of work, the sociology of women, and various courses in women's studies and qualitative methods.
Download or read book The Greatest Salesman in the World written by Og Mandino and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2011-01-05 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The runaway bestseller with more than five million copies in print! You too can change your life with the priceless wisdom of ten ancient scrolls handed down for thousands of years. “Every sales manager should read The Greatest Salesman in the World. It is a book to keep at the bedside, or on the living room table—a book to dip into as needed, to browse in now and then, to enjoy in small stimulating portions. It is a book for the hours and for the years, a book to turn to over and over again, as to a friend, a book of moral, spiritual and ethical guidance, an unfailing source of comfort and inspiration.”—Lester J. Bradshaw, Jr., Former Dean, Dale Carnegie Institute of Effective Speaking & Human Relations “I have read almost every book that has ever been written on salesmanship, but I think Og Mandino has captured all of them in The Greatest Salesman in the World. No one who follows these principles will ever fail as a salesman, and no one will ever be truly great without them; but, the author has done more than present the principles—he has woven them into the fabric of one of the most fascinating stories I have ever read.”—Paul J. Meyer, President of Success Motivation Institute, Inc. “I was overwhelmed by The Greatest Salesman in the World. It is, without doubt, the greatest and the most touching story I have ever read. It is so good that there are two musts that I would attach to it: First, you must not lay it down until you have finished it; and secondly, every individual who sells anything, and that includes us all, must read it.”—Robert B. Hensley, President, Life Insurance Co. of Kentucky
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller written by C. W. E. Bigsby and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-22 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised and updated to include Miller's late work and the key productions and criticism since the playwright's death in 2005.
Download or read book Closing of the American Mind written by Allan Bloom and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times) and has not only been vindicated, but has also become more urgent today. In clear, spirited prose, Bloom argues that the social and political crises of contemporary America are part of a larger intellectual crisis: the result of a dangerous narrowing of curiosity and exploration by the university elites. Now, in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, acclaimed author and journalist Andrew Ferguson contributes a new essay that describes why Bloom’s argument caused such a furor at publication and why our culture so deeply resists its truths today.
Download or read book Trump The Art of the Deal written by Donald J. Trump and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2009-12-23 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: President Donald J. Trump lays out his professional and personal worldview in this classic work—a firsthand account of the rise of America’s foremost deal-maker. “I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump Here is Trump in action—how he runs his organization and how he runs his life—as he meets the people he needs to meet, chats with family and friends, clashes with enemies, and challenges conventional thinking. But even a maverick plays by rules, and Trump has formulated time-tested guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest accomplishments; he shatters myths; he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker’s art. And throughout, Trump talks—really talks—about how he does it. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur—the ultimate read for anyone interested in the man behind the spotlight. Praise for Trump: The Art of the Deal “Trump makes one believe for a moment in the American dream again.”—The New York Times “Donald Trump is a deal maker. He is a deal maker the way lions are carnivores and water is wet.”—Chicago Tribune “Fascinating . . . wholly absorbing . . . conveys Trump’s larger-than-life demeanor so vibrantly that the reader’s attention is instantly and fully claimed.”—Boston Herald “A chatty, generous, chutzpa-filled autobiography.”—New York Post
Download or read book HOW TO WIN FRIENDS INFLUENCE PEOPLE written by Dale Carnegie and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2023-11-26 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' is a timeless self-help classic that explores the art of building successful relationships through effective communication. Written in a straightforward and engaging style, Carnegie's book provides practical advice on how to enhance social skills, improve leadership qualities, and achieve personal and professional success. The book is a must-read for anyone looking to navigate social dynamics and connect with others in a meaningful way, making it a valuable resource in today's interconnected world. With anecdotal examples and actionable tips, Carnegie's work resonates with readers of all ages and backgrounds, making it a popular choice for personal development and growth. Carnegie's ability to distill complex social principles into simple, actionable steps sets this book apart as a timeless guide for building lasting relationships and influencing others positively. Readers will benefit from Carnegie's wisdom and insight, gaining valuable tools to navigate social interactions and achieve success in their personal and professional lives.
Download or read book American Business History a Very Short Introduction written by Walter A. Friedman and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-04-15 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early twentieth century, it became common to describe the United States as a "business civilization." President Coolidge in 1925 said, "The chief business of the American people is business." More recently, historian Sven Beckert characterized Henry Ford's massive manufactory as the embodiment of America: "While Athens had its Parthenon and Rome its Colosseum, the United States had its River Rouge Factory in Detroit..." How did business come to assume such power and cultural centrality in America? This volume explores the variety of business enterprise in the United States and analyzes its presence in the country's economy, its evolution over time, and its meaning in society. It introduces readers to formative business leaders (including Elbert Gary, Harlow Curtice, and Mary Kay Ash), leading firms (Mellon Bank, National Cash Register, Xerox), and fiction about business people (The Octopus, Babbitt, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit). It also discusses Alfred Chandler, Joseph Schumpeter, Mira Wilkins, and others who made significant contributions to understanding of America's business history. This VSI pursues its three central themes - the evolution, scale, and culture of American business - in a chronological framework stretching from the American Revolution to today. The first theme is evolution: How has U.S. business evolved over time? How have American companies competed with one another and with foreign firms? Why have ideas about strategy and management changed? Why did business people in the mid-twentieth century celebrate an "organizational" culture promising long-term employment in the same company, while a few decades later entrepreneurship was prized? Second is scale: Why did business assume such enormous scale in the United States? Was the rise of gigantic corporations due to the industriousness of its population, or natural resources, or government policies? And third, culture: What are the characteristics of a "business civilization"? How have opinions on the meaning of business changed? In the late nineteenth century, Andrew Carnegie believed that America's numerous enterprises represented an exuberant "triumph of democracy." After World War II, however, sociologist William H. Whyte saw business culture as stultifying, and historian Richard Hofstadter wrote, "Once great men created fortunes; today a great system creates fortunate men." How did changes in the nature of business affect popular views? Walter A. Friedman provides the long view of these important developments.
Download or read book Feeling Knowing written by Antonio Damasio and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of the world’s leading neuroscientists: a succinct, illuminating, wholly engaging investigation of how biology, neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence have given us the tools to unlock the mysteries of human consciousness “One thrilling insight after another ... Damasio has succeeded brilliantly in narrowing the gap between body and mind.” —The New York Times Book Review In recent decades, many philosophers and cognitive scientists have declared the problem of consciousness unsolvable, but Antonio Damasio is convinced that recent findings across multiple scientific disciplines have given us a way to understand consciousness and its significance for human life. In the forty-eight brief chapters of Feeling & Knowing, and in writing that remains faithful to our intuitive sense of what feeling and experiencing are about, Damasio helps us understand why being conscious is not the same as sensing, why nervous systems are essential for the development of feelings, and why feeling opens the way to consciousness writ large. He combines the latest discoveries in various sciences with philosophy and discusses his original research, which has transformed our understanding of the brain and human behavior. Here is an indispensable guide to understanding how we experience the world within and around us and find our place in the universe.
Download or read book Black Buck written by Mateo Askaripour and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 2021 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For fans of Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street comes a blazing, satirical debut novel about a young man given a shot at stardom as the lone black salesman at a mysterious, cult-like, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems.
Download or read book The Man Nobody Knows written by Bruce Barton and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-21 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2021 Reprint of the 1925 Edition. The Man Nobody Knows is the second book by the American author and advertising executive Bruce Fairchild Barton. In it, Barton presents Jesus as "The Founder of Modern Business," in an effort to make the Christian story accessible to businessmen of the time. When published in 1925, the book topped the nonfiction bestseller list, and was one of the best-selling non-fiction books of the 20th century. Since its publication, The Man Nobody Knows has divided readers. Some welcome the portrayal of Jesus as a strong character, whom no one dared oppose, and praise the use of familiar stereotypes to stimulate interest in religion, whilst others ridicule the suggestion that Jesus was a salesman. Critics have suggested that The Man Nobody Knows is a prime example of the materialism and "glorified Rotarianism" of the Protestant churches in the 1920s.
