You may never have given a second thought to the very existence of the Fortune 500, but author and academic Charles Perrow has. In this eye-opening sociological account, he argues that the huge organizations that dominate today's business world in the United States would have been unthinkable to the nation's Founding Fathers, who viewed centralized money and power with great suspicion. Perrow's fascinating study points out the importance of big organizations in shaping American society. Yet for all his sweeping - and well-reasoned - arguments, Perrow focuses only on a couple of diminished industries. Still, this intriguing work is an important read for responsible corporate citizens. We recommend this social history to those leaders who want American corporations to be more than profit-making machines.