German industry and global enterprise: BASF, the history of a company, by Werner Abelshauser (et al.) [review]

This study of the history of BASF, one of the renowned trio of outstanding German chemical companies, is without doubt a major achievement on the part of the team of four economic historians, assembled by Werner Abelshauser. It will be of considerable interest to students of chemistry, business and economic history and politics alike. There are perceptible faults in its narrative, some of them clearly determined by the fact that the research project was funded by BASF itself, but it would be entirely wrong to dismiss the four contributions as hagiography. Even within a perspectivistic account which relies heavily on BASF archive material, the story that emerges from this volume is both scholarly and compelling, exposing the extensive detail of primary sources to further interpretation by informed and lay readers alike.