Otis: Giving Rise to the Modern City: A History of the Otis Elevator Company

I've worked for Otis for nearly 30 years. I thought I knew how the company started and grew, but I was wrong. This book, produced by United Technologies, Otis' parent corporation, could have just been a promotional piece, but to the credit of the author I found it to be a well researched, well written chronical of Otis' humble New York beginnings in 1853 through today's global presence.It is a book written for people who are interested in the growth of the world's greatest cities and a company that was instrumental for that growth.The biggest surprise was the book's readability. Goodwin helped me understand the personalities and motivations of the people who brought Otis to where it is today. He painted pictures of the situations surrounding the events which helped me understand the logic behind Otis' progress. I felt he dealt honestly with United Technologies' takeover of Otis in 1976 (which I experienced) and brought the influences of Otis' global operations into perspective.It is an eye opener for internal Otis associates, and an educational experience for non-Otis readers who want to learn how a company can start from nothing and influence the way we all live. It is a book about machines, business, cities, and time. I highly recommend it.

"Elevators'..is modern sounding,compared to stevadore implication of British..'Lift'. Began in 1853 by mechanic Elisha Otis,(NY foundry), this corporate history was commissioned by parent co...United Technologies,which paid in advance for 'modest # of copies". Otis's automatic braking system took fear out of skyscrapers-, but implosions of WTC has put it back