Builders

the long version

Herman and George R. Brown, formidable figures in the construction industry and Texas politics, made a unique business team. Practical and decisive Herman, a builder by nature, and university trained, soft-spoken George, a natural salesperson, combined their individual strengths with their shared work ethic and ambition to develop Brown & Root, a company that began by building roads and grew into a diversified international construction company. Builders serves both as a history of their careers and as an examination of business life in mid-twentieth-century America. In addition to examining Herman and George Brown's business accomplishments, Joseph A. Pratt and Christopher J. Castaneda also address the political influence and antiunionism associated with the Brown name. The authors present a balanced account of both the Browns' treatment of workers and their longtime relationship with Lyndon Baines Johnson. Builders also traces the brothers' philanthropy, including the work of the Brown Foundation, through which George in particular contributed to the development of educational and cultural institutions. This biography is sure to interest students and enthusiasts of both business and Texas history.