Enterprising Elite: The Boston Associates and the World They Made

This book delivers much more than its title suggests. Beginning with the history of the Massachusetts cotton mills, the author takes us through local and national politics, connecting with subjects as diverse as the settlement of Kansas, the founding of Mass. General Hospital, several national elections, the split between north and south, "cotton or conscience" Whigs, and the influence of the Bostonians' example on John D. Rockefeller. By focusing intensely on a group of Boston businessmen, we learn a great deal about the history of America in the early 19th century. Some chapters were a bit difficult to follow, however, for two reasons. First, the author treated different themes (politics, philanthropy, banking, etc.) in separate chapters, which is fine, but that meant that with each chapter we started back at the beginning chronologically - so we went through the 1820's, the 1830's, the 1840's, etc., multiple times. Second, because the book deals with several generations of intertwined families, the same surname can refer to one of several different people. You really have to pay attention to know and remember who is who. Lastly, the author referred to such a rich number and variety of sources that I would have liked a Reference section in addition to the Notes section.