ABSTRACT
For some years now business historians have been much perturbed about their discipline. This concern springs from very real problems indeed; it is obvious, for instance, that business history is producing few generalisations. 1 To all but the most charitable, it must be apparent that many of the books and articles in this field border on antiquarianism. Much of the work that is being done deals with particular businesses or businessmen, asking only those questions which can be answered directly from the company archives that are being used. As a result, most business histories sit in their well-bound splendour on the shelves of university libraries, untouched by historians, ignored by economists, unnoticed by the general reading public. Even many business historians appear normally to use the books of their colleagues only for reference; I have a deep suspicion that they seldom read very many of these fat volumes in their entirety.
