author
Wendell Berge
1903–1955
A lawyer, public servant, and author, this Nebraska-born writer brought the world of antitrust law to a wider audience. His books reflect a lifelong interest in how concentrated power shapes business, government, and everyday life.
1 Audiobook
Cartels : challenge to a free world
by Wendell Berge
About the author
Born in 1903, Wendell Berge was an American lawyer and writer who built a major career in public service. He studied at the University of Michigan and went on to work in Washington, where he became a leading figure in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Berge is best known for serving as head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division from 1943 to 1947, after earlier work in the Criminal Division. His public career centered on enforcing antitrust law and challenging monopolistic power, especially during and after World War II.
Alongside his government work, he wrote books on monopoly, cartels, and economic concentration, helping general readers understand issues that were often treated as technical legal subjects. He died in 1955, but his work still stands as part of the long American debate over competition, corporate power, and the public interest.