It is fair to say that America's first export was mica. In 1607, the settlers at Jamestown mistook the shiny yellow substance for gold. Laboring in appalling squalor—and ravaged by death and disease—they loaded up a ship with the "fools gold" and sent it to London. There, it was immediately identified as worthless.

So begins this remarkable story of American industry. Author Gordon takes us from the earliest settlements, through wars, depressions and political upheavals, to bring us up to the present day. His book is history at its best—informative and engrossing—definitely a page turner.

Gordon recounts how Southern colonies were established primarily for business. For Northern colonies, it was a matter of religion and business. We learn of the unfortunate economics underlying the choice between using slave labor or indentured servants. Gordon tells of corruption amidst the industrialization that followed the Civil war. Herbert Hoover lamented "The trouble with capitalism is capitalists. They're too damn greedy." In 1868, the New York State Legislature all but legalized bribery. We learn about cotton fields, canals, steamships and railroads. The book takes us through the great depression and two world wars. It closes with the September 11 terrorist attacks.

This is not so much a history of American industry as a history of America that happens to use economic issues to motivate concepts. Expressed in economics terms, Gordon's brief treatment of the Revolutionary War offers more insights than some full-length books on that war.