Germany, Inc.: The New German Juggernaut and Its Challenge to World Business

German industrial might, like that in most Western countries, has been gradually evolving away from manufacturing, where it is still a major player, into information and financial industries and into global markets. Meyer-Larsen, a business journalist, here traces this movement, in both old and new industries, in an annotated catalogue of nearly a dozen major German corporations that are turning into acquisitive international juggernauts and especially making inroads in the U.S. ""The rapid transformation of hick German companies into respectable global corporations is ultimately a testimony to the American system,"" he notes. The profiles include some familiar names, such as Daimler-Chrysler, Volkswagen and publishing giant Bertelsmann. Each company gets a concise company history--including an accounting of activities and collaboration, if any, in WWII--and a personal profile of the current corporate leader. Those seeking wisdom from the inside stories of successful leaders may be disappointed, however. The contents will mostly be useful investment researchers. In this regard, the book is a job well done. The frank, if brief, critiques of each company's strengths and weaknesses (the electronics giant Siemens, for example, is described as a conglomerate with a structure that is ""museumlike--that is to say, outdated... "") are generally engaging. (Jan.)