读过《Levi Strauss》 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Levi's现在是牛仔裤的代名词，但在创始人在世的时候，人们并不是因为牛仔裤而知道他。虽然绝大部分第一手资料都在1906年的旧金山大火中被毁，作者还是花了很大精力通过同时期的其他间接资料设法还原了Levi Strauss这位传奇犹太移民的一生。即使没有牛仔裤，他也是一个极其成功的商人，在19世纪后半叶的旧金山商界和政界都发挥了重要作用。这本书对于了解牛仔裤或者李维斯公司历史可能没有那么大作用，作为了解犹太人、移民和美国西部发展历史的参考倒是很好的史料。书里也提到了Chinamen在西部的遭遇，虽然和其他人几乎同时到达并参与西部开发，由于语言、宗教和文化的各种原因，华人在西部开发的过程中的付出和收获很不对等。美国社会发展过程中的包容性和公民自我组织自我管理的传统，和我们文明的习惯很不兼容。
Book
Levi Strauss Douban
Blue jeans are globally beloved and quintessentially American. They symbolize everything from the Old West to the hippie counter-culture; everyone from car mechanics to high-fashion models wears jeans. And no name is more associated with blue jeans than Levi Strauss & Co., the creator of this classic American garment.
As a young man Levi Strauss left his home in Germany and immigrated to America. He made his way to San Francisco and by 1853 had started his company. Soon he was a leading businessman in a growing commercial city that was beginning to influence the rest of the nation. Family-centered and deeply rooted in his Jewish faith, Strauss was the hub of a wheel whose spokes reached into nearly every aspect of American culture: business, philanthropy, politics, immigration, transportation, education, and fashion.
But despite creating an American icon, Levi Strauss is a mystery. Little is known about the man, and the widely circulated "facts" about his life are steeped in mythology. In this first full-length biography, Lynn Downey sets the record straight about this brilliant businessman. Strauss's life was the classic American success story, filled with lessons about craft and integrity, leadership and innovation.
As a young man Levi Strauss left his home in Germany and immigrated to America. He made his way to San Francisco and by 1853 had started his company. Soon he was a leading businessman in a growing commercial city that was beginning to influence the rest of the nation. Family-centered and deeply rooted in his Jewish faith, Strauss was the hub of a wheel whose spokes reached into nearly every aspect of American culture: business, philanthropy, politics, immigration, transportation, education, and fashion.
But despite creating an American icon, Levi Strauss is a mystery. Little is known about the man, and the widely circulated "facts" about his life are steeped in mythology. In this first full-length biography, Lynn Downey sets the record straight about this brilliant businessman. Strauss's life was the classic American success story, filled with lessons about craft and integrity, leadership and innovation.