Have you ever noticed that it’s really easy to think like a consumer, asking questions like: “What should I buy next? From where? And for how much?” Seems like such questions come naturally. Other questions come less naturally, such as, “How are my neighbors doing? How can I help improve my town or city? Which [...]

In 1902, Ida Tarbell’s The History of the Standard Oil Company helped inaugurate muckraker journalism. The work first appeared as a series of 19 magazine articles, later made into a two-volume book. It was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911, and in 1999 the New York Times listed The History of the Standard Oil Company [...]