Here are some histories of specific industries I've read recently and supremely enjoyed: - The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry - Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World - Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (of all of these not the most amazing but still interesting) - The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty that Armed Germany at War And then you can learn a lot by reading about the people who built the industries too. Here are a few I've been reading about recently that I recommend: - Edison by Edmund Morris (Just read it backwards, you'll see.) - Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow - The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century by Steven Watts - Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler I also got some interesting suggestions asking a similar question on Twitter a bit ago.…
Also recommended in this reply
- The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger
- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century
- The Machine That Changed the World
- Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination
- Edison
- Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America
- Empires of the Sky