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| View Larger Image | Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. | Paperbackby Ron Chernow (Author)
| List Price: | $18.00 | |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Vintage | | Page Count: | 832 Pages | | Publication Date: | September 07, 1999 | | Sales Rank: | 217,309th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist"A biography that has many of the best attributes of a novel. . . . Wonderfully fluent and compelling." --The New York Times"A triumph of the art of biography. Unflaggingly interesting, it brings John D. Rockefeller Sr. to life through sustained narrative portraiture of the large-scale, nineteenth-century kind."--The New York Times Book ReviewIn this endlessly engrossing book, National Book Award-winning biographer Ron Chernow devotes his penetrating powers of scholarship and insight to the Jekyll and Hyde of American capitalism. In the course of his nearly 98 years, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was known as both a rapacious robber baron, whose Standard Oil Company rode roughshod over an industry, and a philanthropist who donated money lavishly to universities and medical centers. He was the terror of his competitors, the bogeyman of reformers, the delight of caricaturists--and an utter enigma. Drawing on unprecedented access to Rockefeller's private papers, Chernow reconstructs his subject's troubled origins (his father was a swindler and a bigamist) and his single-minded pursuit of wealth. But he also uncovers the profound religiosity that drove him "to give all I could"; his devotion to his family; and the wry sense of humor that made him the country's most colorful codger. Titan is a magnificent biography --balanced, revelatory, and elegantly written."Important and impressive. . . . Reveals the man behind both the mask and the myth."--The Wall Street Journal"One of the great American biographies. . . . [Chernow] writes with rich impartiality. He turns the machinations of Standard Oil . . . into fascinating social history."--Time |
Amazon.com Review
The patrician accent of George Plimpton (author of Truman Capote and The X Factor), with its edge of aristocracy and money, is perfectly suited for telling the rags-to-riches story of America's most famous businessman and philanthropist. Indeed, Plimpton seems to positively relish the superlatives that describe the life of John D. Rockefeller, who was far and away one of the most calculating, secretive, competitive, merciless, and talented figures ever to dominate the free market. Showing, early on, his keen attachment to hard work and keeping accounts, Rockefeller started out as an accountant in Cleveland. From there he went into the produce business, and then on to oil. By the time he was 31, he was the most powerful oil refinery owner in the world. His strategies for suppressing competition and controlling all aspects of the oil business while still paying attention to the smallest details make for dramatic listening in this well-documented and accessible narrative. Plimpton recounts how Rockefeller was the ultimate clutch player, calm in the face of adversity, a manager who was constantly searching for talented people and another way to grow Standard Oil into a megalithic modern corporation. Ultimately his rapacious business practices would make him head of the most powerful monopoly in America and the richest man in the world. Plimpton's engrossing reading of Titan brings out the human side of Rockefeller, a man of contradictions who was greedy yet giving, a capitalist villain and a do-gooder. A teetotalling Baptist, he began giving to charity when he was earning just a few dollars a week. As his wealth grew, so too his financial gifts. In the end, Rockefeller's philanthropic acts rivaled the precedents he set as a businessman. The oil baron died just short of his last goal--to reach the age of 100--but the indelible imprint he made on America's financial landscape will live on into the 21st century. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --A.E.D. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 129 reviews)
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Very good way to put late 1800s into perspective by Mongol (Alexandria, VA USA)  4 Stars
October 16, 2009
This book puts the late 1800s into perspective. It's fascinating to read how businesses develop when little or no rules of engagement are in place. The most ruthless and devoid of emotion wins, which is good if you're part of the winning team. Not so good if you're trying to start a competing business or worked for the defeated party. If read carefully, you can see parallels with many business practices throughout the ages - including the present.
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Good book, great service by A Disciple (Shreveport, LA)  5 Stars
September 28, 2009
This book arrived quickly and in good shape. I would order again from this vendor. Nice work!
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Excellent book on one of America's Most Influential families by J. Carbone (Boston) 5 Stars
July 06, 2009
This book was an excellent read. I found it highly informative in many topics; the life and times of John D and his family, the creation and history of Standard oil, creation of important government policies and others. I won't go into a play by play of the book. I will say it was well researched and showed the grime with the shine. John Sr was displayed in the book with all his glory and flaws, along with his brothers, mother, father, children and grand children. This family helped shape a country and this book is a must read for anyone interested in how and why the Rockefellers were able to do so.
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Superb by Evelyn G. Waters (Pa.) 5 Stars
March 02, 2009
I am now about a quarter into this book and find it to be facinating reading.The book's author Ron Chernow is a great talent leading me on with his superb writing abilities. The suject of any book will not have merit without the talents of a superior researcher & story teller.
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Major study of the life and psyche of a monopolist and philanthropist by Rolf Dobelli (Switzerland) 5 Stars
June 12, 2008
John D. Rockefeller Sr. was probably the biggest, baddest robber baron in 19th century America, and also its leading philanthropist. Many writers scorned his ruthlessness, notably Ida Tarbell, who wrote two books on Rockefeller and his company, Standard Oil. Author Ron Chernow digs deeper, through masses of Rockefeller family documents, to present the founder of the Rockefeller dynasty as a "man of flesh and bone and soul." He covers Rockefeller's ugly, dramatic and even shameful aspects, while concurrently demonstrating his business acumen and his philanthropic leadership amid a remarkable generation of business barons, including William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. An amazing portrait emerges of an almost invisible, rather megalomaniac ascetic who wanted to fulfill God's will. He became extremely wealthy, gave millions away, and believed that he brought the benefit of inexpensive oil products to all mankind. getAbstract highly recommends this multifaceted biography.
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