Strictly Business

From 1919 to 1962, Walter Carpenter exemplified the establishment professional - the manager who produced nothing himself but who oversaw everything in the company and much in the community. A successful chief executive officer at the Du Pont Corporation and an important director at General Motors, Carpenter personified the power and status many American executives dreamed of winning.

In this illuminating career study, Charles W. Cheape makes use of previously unpublished business records to shed new light on American corporate culture in the mid-twentieth century. While focusing on Carpenter's career, he offers insights into the processes of management, decision-making, and economic competition at the highest levels of American industry.