Reading Series
Business as Usual
How familiar companies and products got so big.
Company histories and product histories. The books look at how familiar brands grew, how they made money, and what changed once they got big.
10 booksThere’s no required order. Start wherever you want.
In this series
Browse all books- 01FORDHenry Ford didn't just build cars—he rewired how we work, live, and move, creating the assembly line, the suburbs, and the modern machine age itself.20 min read
- 02NESTLÉAn exposé of how Nestlé became a global food empire through baby formula controversies, child labor in cocoa production, and engineering addictive products.43 min read
- 03KFCHow Colonel Sanders turned a roadside chicken shack into a global empire, complete with lawsuits, bucket wars, and the secret recipe that conquered the world.33 min read
- 04
NIKEThe rise of Nike from Oregon startup to global empire, and the sweatshop scandals that forced a reckoning with the human cost of the swoosh.34 min read - 05
DisneyHow Walt Disney and his successors transformed a cartoon mouse into a global entertainment empire that reshaped American culture and corporate strategy.38 min read - 06
NintendoThe rise of Nintendo from an 8-bit underdog to a gaming empire that conquered living rooms worldwide through innovation, motion controls, and pure cultural dominance.21 min read - 07
PURDUEThe story of how Purdue Pharma weaponized OxyContin to ignite America's opioid crisis, targeting vulnerable communities and profiting from mass addiction.33 min read - 08
The Valve That Never ClosesHow Valve's Steam platform conquered PC gaming by convincing gamers to trade ownership for convenience and accept constant surveillance as the price of play.23 min read - 09
TikTokHow TikTok's algorithm turned endless scrolling into a cultural and political force that reshaped how billions of people spend their time.18 min read - 10
In Crust We TrustPizza's trip from ancient flatbread to immigrant food, delivery empire, frozen aisle, cartoon icon, regional argument, and global comfort ritual.34 min read