Modern Corporation and Private Property

Rating:
Summary: Dated Classic
Review: "The Modern Corporation and Private Property" was hailed as an instant classic when it appeared in 1932. To my knowledge, it was the first book to spell out in detail how modern capitalism is characterized by pervasive oligopoly, heavily concentrated industrial markets, and a separation of ownership from control in the corporate sector. These points are still valid today, and remind us that modern capitalism has little in common with the social system analyzed by Adam Smith and other Classical economists. However, most of "The Modern Corporation and Private Property" is taken up with an out-of-date, pre-SEC review of corporate finance law as it existed in 1930. As a result, the book will be of little interest to most modern readers, even though it is a "must" purchase for any serious library of economics or corporate governance.

Rating:
Summary: Concise introduction to Ownership and Control
Review: The introduction by Jensen and Weidenbaum claims that much of the information in this 1932 classic is out-of-date, and therefore not of much use to the reader. I beg to differ. While the references may seem obsolete to university professors who are experts in the field, to the average reader the depression era examples of the growth of the importance of stock issues and the separation of management and control are some of the best available. Moreover, companies like Standard Oil, Fox Pictures, and General Motors are readily identified by the average person. In fact, this book kills two birds with one stone. It provides unsurpassed explanations of the relationship between ownership and control of the modern corporation while providing the reader with some very interesting (and sometimes entertaining) case studies in the history of corporate America. Come to think of it, I would recommend skipping the new introduction all together. It is poorly written and serves only to cheapen the text that follows.

Much of the text consists of tables and charts. Therefore, reading this book will not take long. Anyone who is planning to enter a college business program (i.e. MBA) would do well to read this book as an introduction to the legal and financial workings of public corporations. Without the new introduction, this book would be worth five stars - EASILY.