The Business of Tomorrow

Figures like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were the early stars of American aviation. Harry Guggenheim was its engine. Dirk Smillie’s The Business of Tomorrow sheds important light on 20th-century American history. This is what biography should be—it looks at a period of history through the lens of a single remarkable life. Rinker Buck The Wall Street Journal

"Jazz Age eccentric multimillionaire Harry Guggenheim comes to life in this deep dive from Smillie, a senior reporter at Forbes magazine. Smillie covers his adventures in Mexico’s deserts, his subsequent ventures bankrolling promotional campaigns with Charles Lindbergh, his position as the U.S. ambassador to Cuba, and his investments in early aviation. But, Smillie shows, it was conquering the world of art that proved to be Guggenheim’s biggest challenge. Well-researched and breezy, Smillie successfully creates a page-turning look at the power of wealth set against the backdrop of political turmoil, prohibition-era parties, and groundbreaking technological developments. History buffs will enjoy this comprehensive account." Publishers Weekly

"Smillie, a former senior reporter for Forbes who also served as chief content officer at Guggenheim Partners, offers a lively portrait of entrepreneur and philanthropist Harry Guggenheim (1890-1971)—a man of impressive achievements and staggering wealth. [The Business of Tomorrow] recounts Harry’s public roles and political influence: his financing of technology breakthroughs to advance the air age and funding of Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry. He served as ambassador to Cuba during a time of turmoil on the island; co-founded the Pulitzer Prize-winning Long Island newspaper, Newsday; bought and raced thoroughbreds; and oversaw the building of the Guggenheim Museum, which had been his uncle’s dream…A brisk, well-researched biography." Kirkus

“Impressively reported and brilliantly written. The Captain was worthy of such treatment.” Bill Moyers, former press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, publisher of Newsday

“If the news media were covering Harry Guggenheim today, he’d be a cross between Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch. Dirk Smillie’s book is a superbly animated story about an aristocratic futurist from the past. The Business of Tomorrow takes the reader on a plane ride and then a rocket ship with one of the American Century’s most compelling, and lesser-known subjects.” Claire Atkinson, business journalist, Insider, NBC News, and New York Post

“The birth of the Guggenheim Museum comes alive through the pages of this well researched biography. Harry Guggenheim was able to fulfill the dream of Frank Lloyd Wright and Solomon Guggenheim while having the vision to build the collection into one of the most powerful and iconic museums in the world.” Lisa Immordino Vreeland, director, “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict”

“Without Harry Guggenheim’s leadership, it is doubtful Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece museum would have happened.” Richard Armstrong, director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum