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“Conjures insights into the history and character of those who keep our economy vital and growing. Illuminating.” —Warren Bennis

Entrepreneurs, even more than inventors, are essential to American business. While inventors produce ideas, entrepreneurs get things done, build the markets, make ideas reality. But what creative talents do the legendary American entrepreneurs share, and what can you learn from them about business success?

Using lively character sketches and company stories, University of Rhode Island professor Maury Klein analyzes how innovators from Andrew Carnegie to Bill Gates triumphed over perennial challenges in planning and strategy, production, operations, staffing, and sales—and transformed entire industries. Comparing the retailing acumen of J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart’s Sam Walton, the organizational ingenuity of Standard Oil’s John D. Rockefeller and Intel’s Robert Noyce, the imaginative marketing of General Motors’ Alfred Sloan and McDonald’s Ray Kroc, Klein reveals the art and archetype of launching an enterprise.