Introduction: A case to learn from
Part I. Policy as prologue: The great generalization
In the first ships: competition as a concept and its special role in American history
And yet, uncertainty: the long shadows of the American methodenstreit
Uncertainty of another kind: coping with capitalism through association and self-help
Tensions of the latter day and some unexpected skepticism
Competition as a living policy, circa 2018
Part II. The ebooks case: The old business of books
Bookselling and the birth of Amazon
Publishers, booksellers, and the oldest problem in the world
Content and the digital transition in historical context
The promise and threat of electronic books
How electronic books came to be, and what it would mean for the Apple case
Part III. Competition and its many regrets: The long agony of antitrust
So are books, after all, special? Is anything?
The virtues of vertical and entry for its own sake
The threat to writers and the threat to cultural values
The creeping profusion of externalities
Conclusion: Real ironies.
