This might make for suitable complement to Meacham's multigenerational tale.
“The ambitions of people who never became very rich, who founded no dynasty or long-lasting company, and who lived in the middle and lower ranks of the business world, are difficult to write about, b/c they are seldom recorded. But the character of a society is greatly influenced by the form the ambitions of such men take...“ - Theodore Zeldin, France, 1848-1945