Big Brown

April 1, 2007
This book serves as an auspicious reminder of how recognizable the UPS brand has become not only in the United States but throughout the world since its founding 100 years ago. A UPS employee for 35 years, Niemann ("Baja Legends") relates how in 1907 Jim Casey, the son of Irish immigrants, "conceived the American Messenger Company, which eventually became the United Parcel Service." Over the decades, UPS built itself up from a small local delivery business into a powerhouse responsible for "the browning of America" largely owing to its unique corporate culture fostering intense loyalty and hard work in a labor force motivated by employee ownership. Unfortunately, the book features almost too much data about UPS for the reader to digest at timeswho knew, for instance, that UPS had the ninth-largest airline in the world? No matter. It's almost incomprehensible to imagine a world today without "Big Brown" doing what it does so well. Fortunately, Niemann has succeeded admirably in telling the story behind this phenomenon. Recommended for larger public libraries with business collections.Richard Drezen, "Washington Post", New York City Bureau.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.