CHAPTER ONE
1920: The Fateful Year
It was the year of decision for Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr., the gangly, introverted executive with a Brooklyn accent who was on his way to becoming one of the greatest business legends of all time. Within the next three years, Alfred would be credited with the salvation and turnaround of General Motors. From there, he would go on to be hailed as the father of the modern corporation, the master of consumer mass marketing, and the most effective chief executive officer ever.
All of that lay far ahead in the unknown future that fateful summer of 1920, when Sloan had had enough of his former mentor Billy Durant and was contemplating quitting the company that was to become the definition of his own life.
On the ...
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