Well grounded in the relevant literature and in archival research, Grünbacher's study is informative and persuasive … Specialists will find the book rewarding.

Journal of Modern History

Grünbacher has written a very accessible and concise study on a fascinating topic, which does much to explain the status of West German businessmen. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in early post-war German economic and societal history, and those who want to gain a clearer insight into the Federal Republic's Wirtschaftswunder.

European History Quarterly

The book shows a masterful grasp of German archival material and academic literature, particularly beneficial for experts who do not know German … Grünbacher has produced a significant book on the history of entrepreneurs' mentality during the West German economic miracle that will be a very useful resource for scholars and postgraduate students interested in the economic and political history of Germany.

The Historian

This is a deeply researched study that skillfully combines economic, social, and political history. By revealing how business leaders after Nazism cast themselves as a new elite - one that embodied honor, loyalty, and the entrepreneurial spirit - Grünbacher offers a useful synthesis of current research trends, as well as an original focus on the mentalities of those who took credit for West Germany's "economic miracle."

Jonathan Wiesen, Professor of History, Southern Illinois, USA

Who was responsible for the West German 'Economic Miracle' after the Second World War? German managers and industrialists at the time have take credit, and many scholars have agreed. But, as Armin Grünbacher demonstrates in this impressively researched book, their role in the 'Economic Miracle' was more complex, involving a mixture of opportunism; adaption to new realities in the international political economy; and stubborn resistance to them by adhering to long established traditions, practices and mentalities.

Ray Stokes, Chair of Business History, University of Glasgow, UK

This is a thorough, comprehensive and intelligent study of how West German industrialists re-positioned themselves after the disaster of 1945. A significant contribution to our understanding of West German society in the 1950s and 1960s.

Moritz Föllmer, Associate Professor of Modern History, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands