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

I have become very impressed with our local Walgreens store. After I learned that Charles Walgreen was a first generation Swedish American, I wanted to know more because I am an 89 year old son of a first generation Swedish American and have been successful in developing my own engineering/manufacturing business and I wanted to learn more about how Walgreen's developed. The writing is excellent and though I am only through first few chapters, I am anxious to learn how they grew the company into what it has become. I recommend the book to anyone who aspires to start a business or become a store manager.

I already knew that I liked and respected Walgreens business plan and practices but in reading this book I find that the entire foundation of the drug store is impressive and the characters involved in its conception are intriguing. I recommend this book as a great bit of non-fiction and an impressive model for future businesses.

For those wondering about how we have developed our modern pharmacy retail this is a great book to start with. It shows how the downtowns and suburbs evolved over Walgreens long history. You can see the importance of the pharmacist in American life by watching the growth of this spectacular company. Although I would have like a little more time spent on where the future lies in this business and whether the corner drug store will continue to thrive this is a great book. For those looking for an introduction into retail pharmacy this is a great start.

There are only so many ways one can complement Charles Walgreen before it becomes redundant.He was an unquestionable visionary, but the author appears to goes out of his way (and even to great lengths) to complement personality and character traits. The book might be better titled: "Walgreen: A Great Man; His Vision, His Legacy".

John Bacon's AMERICA'S CORNER STORE is a world-class story about a world-class business and the businessmen and women behind it. It is one of those histories that goes well beyond the subject at hand to paint a picture across a huge canvas of American history and does so with great attention to detail and the ability to bring its characters and settings to life. It reminded me in some ways of SEABISCUIT---both are stories about subjects that wouldn't normally grab my attention. But because of the writer's skill, this book is also a must-read---if for nothing more than the wonderfull little facts you learn along the way: that the milk shake was invented at Walgreen's; that the Walgreen chain understood that excellent customer service begins with excellent employee-relations decades BEFORE the age of CRM! Bacon is the author of a terrific history of University of Michigan hockey program, BLUE ICE, and this is a great follow up to that book. Read them and see if you don't agree!

If you are looking for a balanced review of the nation's largest pharmacy chain, you need to look elsewhere. It is useful as a general history of the chain, especially the family connections. However, it is not an objective or balanced work. It reads, especially in the portions covering the last 20 or so years, like a piece written by the PR department. No negative views are presented, though I know many current and former Walgreens' employees who would beg to differ when it comes to working conditions and pharmacy professionalism. I will use some of the material in my History of Pharmacy class when I discuss the rise of the chain stores, and the various approaches taken towards this goal, and for that, this is a decent resource.

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.

The impact that a corner drug store can have on America is simply astonishing. Anyone interested in the last hundred years of American history will love the book. There are also plenty of valuable business lessons to be found within the pages. A great read, John Bacon does a great job of bringing to life one of the most storied retail enterprises in the history of business.