| Description |
1 online resource (243 pages). |
|
text file |
| Series |
Columbia Business School Publishing
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Columbia Business School series.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"Through engaging vignettes, A Brief History of Entrepreneurship charts how the pursuit of profit by private individuals has been a prime mover in revolutionizing civilization. Entrepreneurs often butt up against processes, technologies, social conventions, and even laws. So, they circumvent, innovate, and violate to obtain what they want. This creative destruction has brought about overland and overseas trade, colonization, and a host of revolutionary technologies -- from caffeinated beverages to the personal computer -- that have transformed society. Consulting rich archival sources, including some that have never before been translated, Carlen maps the course of human history through nine episodes in which entrepreneurship reshaped our world. In an engaging style highlighting the most colorful characters of each era, he discusses Mesopotamian merchants' creation of the urban market economy; Phoenician merchant-sailors intercontinental trade that came to connect Africa, Asia, and Europe; Chinese tea traders' invention of paper money; the colonization of the Americas; and the current 'flattening' of the world's economic playing field. All of these are products of the entrepreneur's profit-driven quest. Yet the pursuit of profit hasn't always been positive. From slavery to organized crime, Carlen explores how entrepreneurship can sometimes work at the expense of others. Lastly, he discusses the new entrepreneurs who, through the nascent space tourism industry, are leading humanity to a multiplanetary future. By exploring all sides of this colorful and controversial legacy, Carlen brings much-needed detail to the role of entrepreneurship in shaping the course of history"--Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Introduction -- "One shekel of your private silver" -- The pirates of Phoenicia -- The reluctant Romans -- An enterprising faith -- Flying money and capitalist monks -- Western Europe and a "new world" of profit -- Captains of the revolution -- The land of (entrepreneurial) opportunity -- Flattening the world and colonizing space -- Conclusion. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Commerce -- History.
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Commerce. |
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History. |
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Entrepreneurship -- History.
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Entrepreneurship. |
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Businesspeople -- History.
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Businesspeople. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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History.
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Electronic book.
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| Added Author |
Columbia Business School Publishing.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Carlen, Joe. Brief history of entrepreneurship. New York : Columbia University Press, [2016] 9780231173049 (DLC) 2016014620 (OCoLC)947817141 |
| ISBN |
9780231542814 (electronic book) |
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023154281X (electronic book) |
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9780231173049 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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0231173040 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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