America's Corner Store: Walgreen's Prescription for Success

by John U. Bacon

Praise for America's Corner Store

"Who would have thought the story of a drugstore chain could encompass so much vital and fascinating American history? With superb storytelling skills, John Bacon gives us a vivid and insightful chronicle of matters both large and small, from the birth of the milkshake to the rise of America's consumer culture. America's Corner Store is a genuine treat."
-James Tobin
the National Book Critics' Circle--Award winner, and author of To Conquer the The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight

"Run the business with your head. Lead the family with your heart. Walgreens' history is filled with good values, strong principles, and immense courage. A family business classic."
-Howard "Howdy" S. Holmes
President and CEO, "Jiffy" Mixes

"John Bacon has crafted a thorough, insightful, readable, and fascinating account of the development of one of the world's most compelling examples of the creation of shareholder value in conjunction with good corporate governance... all in a company run in a highly unique fashion as a 'family' business. As the store that everyone knows, Walgreens has become the envy of corporate America and the darling of shareholders, consistently producing investor returns that place it at the very top among its peers. This book will be required reading in my private equity class at Michigan Business School."
-Professor David Brophy
Director, Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance, University of Michigan Business School

Genres: Business, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2004

About the author

John U. Bacon is an American journalist and author of books on sports and business as well as a sports commentator on TV and radio.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

My work has me picking up books that, honestly, I never imagined reading. This history of Walgreen's, the drugstore and pharmacy, was interesting if terribly celebratory. For my purposes, it wasn't quite right-- I'm looking for a history of the development of retail drug stores that carried pharmaceutical products as well as non-drug items like cosmetics, candy, razors, etc. Still, the 100+ year history of Walgreen's is an interesting look at a company that's omni present in a lot of cities but seems to fly under the radar. Stores like Walgreen's and CVS are places we just kind of take for granted, so it was nice to get to think about them in a more sustained, if not especially critical, way.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good for What it is

So I decided to check this book out from my library after I heard it being used as a punchline in a roast of the author, and while it does read like a commercial for the company at times, it's a fascinating history of some of the processes
, operations, and history of how the subject company grew and succeeded.