<u+201c>[it] is impossible to speak about the history of modern communication<u+2014>from . . . radio to radar, the cellphone, gps and the internet<u+2014>without paying close attention to marconi, <u+201d> writes biographer marc raboy in <u+201c> marconi: the man who networked the world<u+201d> (oxford, 863 pages, $40) . guglielmo marconi was wireless when wireless really meant something. a self-made tinkerer, he discovered that electronic impulses could travel through the air without the aid of telegraph lines. like henry ford, he wasn<u+2019>t just scientifically gifted; he had a nose for business. as uses for his discovery increased<u+2014>it saved 705 passengers on the titanic, a ship his wife was supposed to be aboard<u+2014>so did his wealth and notoriety. mr. raboy limns a complicated man given to depression and extramarital affairs who became, for a time, a follower of mussolini. the inventor ultimately grew dismayed when governments and armies appropriated wireless for purposes beyond the benefit of mankind. inspired by the $25,000 prize that charles lindbergh won for being the first aviator to cross the atlantic nonstop, entrepreneur peter diamandis proposed in 1996 a $10 million award for the first privately built vehicle that could launch a human into space and then reuse the same craft to repeat the mission within two weeks. julian guthrie takes readers along on the rollicking race that ensued among contenders in <u+201c>how to make a spaceship<u+201d> (penguin press, 432 pages, $28) . the author follows the quests of several hopeful engineers, inventors and aviators but focuses mainly on the 2004 winner, spaceshipone, backed by aviation designer burt rutan and microsoft co-founder paul allen. ms. guthrie<u+2019>s tale is sometimes tragic, but ultimately it is an uplifting one that will appeal to adventure junkies as well as to those who prize free-market solutions to monumental challenges. preston tucker was the elon musk of the 1940s, a romantic with a winning smile and a dream of shaking up the hidebound automobile industry with a dazzlingly innovative new car. you<u+2019>d think there would be little left to say about the man after the scrutiny he has already received in books and on film, but steve lehto reopens the industrialist<u+2019>s case relying on previously untapped documentation in <u+201c>preston tucker and his battle to build the car of tomorrow<u+201d> (chicago review, 260 pages, $27.99) . that tucker and his modestly named creation (<u+201c>the tucker <u+2019>48<u+201d>) were driven out of the automobile industry by the sec on trumped-up charges of stock fraud and conspiracy, possibly abetted by the big three auto makers, is well known. mr. lehto tantalizingly suggests that tucker may have had a hand, unwittingly, in his own downfall. the best gifts for foodies, art lovers, science buffs, design enthusiasts, sports fans and everyone else. <u+201c>empire of things<u+201d> (harper, 862 pages, $40) , by frank trentmann, is a sprawling ode to stuff: why we humans have always loved acquiring it and what it says, personally and communally, about our place in the social constellation. for those who believe that materialism is a scourge confined only to western civilization, the author traces six centuries of conspicuous consumption and argues that acquisitiveness has always been a global trait, from ancient china to renaissance italy and beyond. it continues to travel with trade in times of peace and with population shifts in times of war. moral scolds have tried to suppress fancy displays of wealth as degenerate, but, mr. trentmann suggests, consumerism is too deeply embedded in human history to stifle or to blame for all of society<u+2019>s ills. peter doran <u+2019>s <u+201c> breaking rockefeller <u+201d> (viking, 337 pages, $28) is a story of oil mixed with egos at the turn of the 20th century. by the end of the 1880s, john d. held a monopoly on 80% of the world<u+2019>s petroleum, deploying an array of dirty tricks<u+2014>including spies, kickbacks and price-cutting schemes<u+2014>to keep it that way. that is, until a pair of smaller industry players decided to fight back by forming rival company royal dutch shell. mr. doran follows the machinations of english merchant marcus samuel jr. and his dutch business partner henri deterding as they work to unseat the darth vader of the industry by introducing a new weapon in trade wars<u+2014>the first modern oil tanker. anyone fated to be stuck in line at the local post office this holiday season might use the time reading winifred gallagher <u+2019>s fascinating history <u+201c>how the post office created america<u+201d> (penguin press, 326 pages, $28) . it wasn<u+2019>t always a place to be avoided. from its beginnings more than 200 yeas ago, the post office was the center of small-town life, particularly in rural america. in urban areas the post-office building was often a mighty marble edifice. ms. gallagher explains the broad historical ups and downs of the postal service, noting that it has long suffered an identity crisis as neither a business nor a social institution. along the way she introduces some delightful cameo characters, like the gun-totin<u+2019>, quick-fisted african-american montana mail carrier <u+201c>stagecoach<u+201d> mary fields and the daredevil airmail pilot <u+201c>wild bill<u+201d> hopson. whatever consumer gripes americans may have about the p.o., you<u+2019>ve got to hand it to a service that still visits 154 million addresses six days a week. <u+2014>mr. cooke, a frequent contributor to the weekend journal, is a writer in pelham, n.y.
what to give: business books - wsj
noauthor