| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.1

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

David Farber. Sloan Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2002. Pp. xii, 292. $27.50.
General Motors (GM) has long been considered the exemplar of the modern corporation. For much of the twentieth century, it was the nation's and the world's largest corporation. Alfred P. Sloan, the subject of this biography, is credited with being the architect of GM's modern form after the company's founder William Durant was forced out in 1920. Long considered the quintessential organization man, Sloan ruled GM for decades, stepping down as chair of the board in 1956. Despite the significance of GM and Sloan's pivotal role in American corporate history, no biography of him exists. David Farber attempts to fill this gap, a task made almost impossible by the fact that Sloan was an exceedingly private person who left no personal papers or letters; at his request, his corporate papers were destroyed when he died in 1966.	1
As a result, Farber warns readers that his work is not a traditional biography; instead, he seeks to explore Sloan's vision of the United States. As Farber notes, to understand contemporary American society and consumer capitalism, one must confront Sloan. On this score Farber is absolutely right. Because of the absence of documents, Farber is often forced to suggest what Sloan "probably" thought. This difficult task is made even more difficult by the scale of GM's activities and the magnitude of its impact on American society.	. . .

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