Face Value: The Entwined Histories of Money and Race in America

From colonial history to the present, Americans have passionately, even violently, debated the nature and the character of money. They have painted it and sung songs about it, organized political parties around it, and imprinted it with the name of GodOCoall the while wondering: is money a symbol of the value of human work and creativity, or a symbol of some natural, intrinsic value?In "Face Value," Michael OOCOMalley provides a deep history and a penetrating analysis of American thinking about money and the ways that this ambivalence unexpectedly intertwines with race. Like race, money is bound up in questions of identity and worth, each a kind of shorthand for the different values of two similar things. OOCOMalley illuminates how these two socially constructed hierarchies are deeply rooted in American anxieties about authenticity and difference.In this compelling work of cultural history, OOCOMalley interprets a stunning array of historical sources to evaluate the comingling of ideas about monetary value and social distinctions. More than just a history, "Face Value" offers us a new way of thinking about the present culture of coded racism, gold fetishism, and economic uncertainty.

Michael O'Malley

The University of Chicago Press

<p>'It seemed to me that the bees were working on the very same kinds of problems we are trying to solve. How can large, diverse groups work together harmoniously and productively? Perhaps we could take what the bees do so well and apply it to our institutions'. When Michael O'Malley first took up beekeeping he thought it would be a nice hobby to share with his son. But he noticed that bees not only work together to achieve a common goal but, in the process, create a remarkably productive organization, like a miniature but incredibly successful business. O'Malley also realized that bees can teach managers a lot, identifying 25 powerful insights such as: Distribute authority - the queen bee delegates relentlessly and worker bees make daily decisions; Keep it simple - bees exchange only relevant information; and, Protect the future - when a lucrative vein of nectar is discovered, the entire colony doesn't rush off to mine it. Blending practical advice with interesting facts about the hive, "The Wisdom of Bees" is a useful and entertaining guide for any manager looking to get the most out of his or her organization.</p>

Wisdom of Bees: What the Hive Can Teach Business about Leadership, Efficiency, and Growth

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

VIKING

<p>Focusing on the period from 1820 to 1920, Keeping Watch details the far-reaching changes in American society brought about by the transition from natural to mechanical sources of time - from farmers' almanacs and religious formulations of time to regional time zones, synchronized watches, and factory punch clocks. Michael O'Malley shows how the pressures of industrialization, the emergence of the telegraph, and the spread of railroads led to a demand for uniform, consistent schedules. Chronicling particular communities' resistance to standard time and, later, daylight saving time, Keeping Watch also examines the cut-and-paste manipulation of "real time" in motion pictures. The cumulative impact of these technological changes, O'Malley argues, was momentous, creating a harsher ethic of punctuality and an unprecedented degree of labor regimentation.</p>

Keeping Watch - A History of American Time

History

Americas

Smithsonian

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Books by Michael O'Malley