Donald R. Katz

review is from: Home Fires: An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar America (Paperback)
It is amazing that the Gordon family permitted the author to share the intimate details of the lives of the four generations of this family. Anyone, especially those who have lived in New York or the various places the families have lived will compare their own experiences as they read along. Interfacing national events of the the time, popular books (I even remember reading Crack in the Picture Window in 1957) and music, plays and musicals of the times)with events of the families lives demonstrates how in fact we Americans have been so affected by these national and new technological trends as we have moved along. Today Facebook and social networks would be included as the difficult political times. My immediate reaction was to formulate in my own mind families of my few close friends as well as of course my own. In a way I guess in total extended families in the US are like this. The happy ending in Florida is really nice.… (mere)

This is an outstanding company history. It covers a specific period in the story of one of the most important and largest companies in the United States at a time of important change. It demonstrates a number of leadership styles of company leaders and emphasizes a change from decentralization to centralization and mergers of four different businesses with a potential for synergy. The author engages the sympathy of the reader with each worker and officer profiled. Long as it was this was a "can't put it down" book and I almost cried when in the last few pages I read of a tour through the original 1906 headquarters building as the new head of the company, just appointed toured it with Katz.

Now, almost 25 years after the publication of The Big Store Sears has another major chief executive, a hedge fund man with a Goldman Sachs, no retail, background who since he took over in 2005 has merged with KMart. The Dean Witter and Coldwell real estate firm, even All State were long since spun off with a financial base for Sears. The Sears Tower is no longer named "Sears". Eddie Lampert now has taken over the strategy and Sears continues somewhere with KMart in about 10th place in major stores, but still a player.
In a couple more years it will be about time for "Big Store II".

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/edward-lampert
http://www.american.com/archive/2008/july-07-08/tears-for-sears/

It would be great to have a new followup volume of the most recent 25 years. Though published in 1987 it also includes a paragraph mentioning the success of Walmart already.

Reviews in 1987
Fortune
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1987/10/12/69620/index.ht...… (mere)