Making America Corporate, 1870-1920

``How did corporate capitalism succeed in creating a new work culture and an altogether new outlook on life?'' asks University of Virginia history professor Zuna ( Changing Face of Inequality ) in this scholarly and elegant study of the building of late 19th-century American capitalist economy and society. The author credits what became a powerful bureaucracy of salaried middle-level managers and white-collar workers with inventing a modern work ethic and shaping the values and forms of an influential middle class. He stresses the diverse backgrounds and skills of men and women employees of corporate giants such as DuPont, Ford and Metropolitan Life, whose commitment to progressive organization and common aspirations carried over into societal attitudes. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Sept.)