Abstract
This article examines the major contributions made by Preston and Post in Private Management and Public Policy from the dual perspectives of a doctoral student in the late 1970s and midcareer professor in the mid-1990s. It also identifies the roots of contemporary issues and concepts in the business and society field in this early book, published in 1975. Finally, four questions are raised about what is missing, unforeseen, and subject to further scrutiny. The author's assessment is that the book is both a classic in the evolution of the field and highly relevant to contemporary analyses of corporate social performance.