Vital Few: American Economic Progress and Its Protagonists

by Jonathan R.T. Hughes

THE VITAL FEW Is the American economy the product of vast, impersonal forces of history, or is it the result of the genius and driving passions of outstanding individuals? Arguing for the second point, Professor Hughes has found a new way of dramatizing the influence of the human element in economic history. With his brilliant portraits of the eight men whose careers best typify the essential elements which combined to make the American economy, he has made a unique contribution to the understanding of the forces which have shaped this nation's way of life.

524 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 1986

About the author

Jonathan Roberts Tyson Hughes was chairman of the economics department at Northwestern University and a professor of business institutions there. He was an economic historian whose approach focused on individuals and their influence on history.

Professor Hughes was the author of several books and dozens of articles that empasized entrepreneurship in the history of economics and business. His book, "The Vital Few: The Entrepreneur and American Economic Progress," embodied his approach to economic history.