Let me make it clear, it is not at all a business book. In the sense neither it is a book that gives some Business and Management Dos and Donts. Nor it is a book of any business turnaround story.
Then what exactly is the book about might be the question of the hour. To be frank it can be looked as a general knowledge book. As far as I am concerned it gave me information of many companies which I never knew being an Indian. By categorizing it a GK book I am not undervaluing it. I said so, to just zero in on the target audience. For all Quiz Buffs it is a must read. Basically every one can read it.
Coming to the book, it contains some brief contents on 50 companies that shaped the course of modern business. The author HOWARD ROTHMAN has done some basic research over this. Though, I think that it may have some pinch of subjectivity. But no issues he has compiled it pretty well
About the writing style, I don not think anyone can face a problem in reading. The language is quite understandable. The vocabulary used is not that high. You will not spend half of the time finding meanings in the dictionary. The font size is legible, not a problem even during night reading. Contents are written in short paragraphs. So it does not become too lenghty and boring. Organization of the book is fantastic. Every chapter starts with a fact file for the company. It consist the Founder, Distinctions, Sales, Primary Products to name a few. Each chapter will not go more than 4 pages. The index at the end of the book is precise enough.
The Companies covered in the books range from Microsoft to AT&T, Ford to Toyota, Walmart to Toys R Us, Sony to Singer, Kellogg to Boeing and many more. The companies covered are across domains. Giving an example about Toyota, for what the contents covers, it states how Toyota started. How it moved to US? How it started from a textile mill in west of Japan. How it faced the crisis and came out of that, and the list goes on.
Coming to an end it is a book for everyone fascinated with the history of business.