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Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.…
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Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (edition 1998)

by Ron Chernow

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2,428286,193 (4.22)19
John D. Rockefeller, Sr., history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty, is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now National Book Award-winning biographer Ron Chernow gives us a detailed and insightful history of the mogul. Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's rich trove of papers. Full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Rockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation's history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than thirty years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay. While providing abundant evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously than anyone before him. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes never before revealed. Rockefeller's story captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the dramatic post-Civil War shift from small business to the rise of giant corporations that irrevocably transformed the nation. With cameos by Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Jung, J. P. Morgan, William James, Henry Clay Frick, Mark Twain, and Will Rogers, Titan turns Rockefeller's life into a vivid tapestry of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.… (more)
Member:RobertJE
Title:Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Authors:Ron Chernow
Info:Random House (1998), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 800 pages
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Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow

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» See also 19 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 28 (next | show all)
It's pretty hard to read a history of modern capitalism without stopping at the feet of John Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, what we know now as Exxon-Mobil. Ron Chernow has given us a magical key to that story, how a bookkeeper came to control the world of oil, and metamorphosed into one if not the world's greatest philanthropists. ( )
  MylesKesten | Jan 23, 2024 |
OK, this was a massive book. Took me a long while to finish it, however I have to say the author did an outstanding work, this was one of most thorough biography works I've read. A deep investigation into the many sides of Rockefeller's life; private, family, business. From a look into his upbringing all through his descendants' lives. I learned a lot about this man's life, the bad and the good.

Excellent work by Ron Chernow, for anyone interested in the life of John D. Rockefeller, the man that changed the world in industry, philanthropy, and built the biggest fortune in history by his time; this is the definitive one. ( )
  Alfador | Jan 7, 2023 |
Chernow is one of the best biographers writing today. This book is full of compelling information, presented in a cogent manner. ( )
  KateFinney | Jul 10, 2021 |
Really in-depth review of the life and impact of John D Rockefeller senior. Got to understand a lot more about his impact, beyond his creation of standard oil and the break up of his trust. ( )
  MNBurns2000 | Jun 16, 2021 |
Among the best biographies I have read. Read it 2-3 times while reading it the first time just to be sure I picked up all the details. The man who willed and worked Standard Oil into existence was also equally well known for his philanthropy. How many new he made the initial grant to establish Spellman College, or the the first and ongoing large grants to establish the University of Chicago? ( )
  starkravingmad | May 3, 2021 |
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To my brother, Dr. Bart Chernow, who pulled me back, at the last moment, from the brink, and to the lovely Valerie
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In the early 1900s, as Rockefeller vied with Andrew Carnegie for the title of the world's richest man, a spirited rivalry arose between France and Germany, with each claiming to be Rockefeller's ancestral land.
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John D. Rockefeller, Sr., history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty, is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now National Book Award-winning biographer Ron Chernow gives us a detailed and insightful history of the mogul. Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's rich trove of papers. Full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Rockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation's history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than thirty years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay. While providing abundant evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously than anyone before him. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes never before revealed. Rockefeller's story captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the dramatic post-Civil War shift from small business to the rise of giant corporations that irrevocably transformed the nation. With cameos by Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Jung, J. P. Morgan, William James, Henry Clay Frick, Mark Twain, and Will Rogers, Titan turns Rockefeller's life into a vivid tapestry of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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