Book Description

Excerpt from Alfred Weber's Theory of the Location of Industries In presenting this book to the public I am spared an embarrassment that many writers encounter; I do not need to give an apology for the topic with which it deals. Alfred Weber's treatise is a pioneering venture. He attempts to master by theoretical analysis a complete wilderness of facts which has grown up around us during the last two centuries concerning the location of our modern manufacturing industries. To be sure, others have ventured upon the task of describing and classifying the phenomena of geographical distribution; but, as Weber points out, previous writers did not get beyond a mere enumeration of various factors which played a part in determining the location of industries. While I am quite impressed with the importance of Weber's work itself, if clearly understood, it is precisely this task of making it understood about which I feel very apologetic. In spite of the help and advice which Professors Leon C.Marshall and Frank W. Taussig, as well as Drs. E. H. Chamberlin, William Y.Elliot, Edward Mason, Talcott Parsons, and Andreas Predohl have so generously afforded me, I do not feel confident that I have succeeded in conquering the difficulties which confront the translator of such a highly abstract treatise. Had not Professor Marshall and Dr. Mason read the entire manuscript through and made numerous suggestions for its improvement, I fear I should not have found the courage to let it see the light of day. It will be conceded by those who have embarked on the hazardous adventure of translating abstract thought from one language into another that nothing is more perplexing. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.