George Eastman and Kodak; Bill Gates and Microsoft

These titles explore the careers of two phenomenally successful American entrepreneurs whose vision, talent and shrewd business instincts prove to be remarkably similar even though they were born almost exactly a century apart.

Eastman's goal was to make photography popular and accessible. Gates' ambition was 'a computer on every desk and in every home'. They succeeded brilliantly; by 1896 over 100,000 Kodak cameras had been sold, whilst in 1986 Bill Gates, at the age of 31, became the youngest billionaire in American history.

In describing just how these innovative and unconventional businessmen achieved their objectives -marketing strategies, product diversification and a stream of new ideas to keep one step ahead of their rivals - the authors provide a fascinating insight into the highly competitive world of big business in general, famous brand names in particular, and the history of two products many young people throughout the world now take for granted.