The Branding of America: From Levi Strauss to Chrysler, from Westinghouse to Gillette, the Forgotten Fathers of America's Best-Known Brand Name

The stories behind brand names as related here make a lively footnote to business history, from anecdotes about Baker's chocolate, the first company to reproduce art in its advertising, to Elizabeth Arden, the sole company in this volume bearing a woman's name. There are six categories of entrepreneurs, including scientists, machinists and hucksters, and the reader learns all manner of interesting information, such as the fact that King Gillette,of safety-razor fame, was the father of planned obsolescence and that many 19th century business barons had jobs at age 12 or 13, some even younger. Adapted from Hambleton's column ""What Was That Name Again?'' in a Canadian magazine, Marketing, these profiles present a composite of the Americans largely responsible for molding today's industrial world. Photos not seen by PW. (March)