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The Amazon Store at MillionDollarPetPix.com ( In association with Amazon.com )Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.by: Ron Chernow List Price: $18.95 Amazon.com's Price: $12.89 You Save: $6.06 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 338.7622382092 EAN: 9781400077304 ISBN: 1400077303 Label: Vintage Manufacturer: Vintage Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 832 Publication Date: March 30, 2004 Publisher: Vintage Release Date: March 30, 2004 Studio: Vintage Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: 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 Ron Chernow, the National Book Award-winning biographer of the Morgan and Warburg banking families, gives us a history of the mogul "etched with uncommon objectivity and literary grace . . . as detailed, balanced, and psychologically insightful a portrait of the tycoon as we may ever have" (Kirkus Reviews). Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book will indelibly alter our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world's richest man by creating America's most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 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. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â While providing abundant new 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--his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University--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 that have never before come to light. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â John D. 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. Pierpont 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. It is Ron Chernow's signal triumph that he narrates this monumental saga with all the sweep, drama, and insight that this giant subject deserves. From the Hardcover edition. Average Rating:
![]() Rating: - Chernow has done it againEver since reading Alexander Hamilton I've been a fan of Chernow's. His research is impeccable and his writing is clear and engaging. In Titan, his portrait of John D. Rockefeller is superb. Chernow provides a balanced view of this complicated persona, and places Rockefeller's life and accomplishments in context, traveling through more than a century. In terms of the story itself, one especially fascinating element is the dichotomy between Rockefeller's religious beliefs and business escapades, and ... Read More Rating: - Solid biography...America's Industrial Revolution created unprecedented collections of wealth within the portfolios of a limited few. Chief among them was John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Born in an unassuming, clapboard house in upstate New York, Rockefeller's business acumen would take him from rural backwater to the pinnacle of Wall Street success. It's a story that is naturally compelling and the author's competent narrative moves it briskly along. On one hand, Rockefeller's take-no-prisoners business approach ... Read More Rating: - John D. Rockefeller the Ultimate IndustrialistThis exhaustive biography of John D. Rockefeller fully explains a misunderstood man. Ron Chernow has caught the essence of the man. Mr. Rockefeller was neither entirely good nor was he the Robber Baron as depicted by Ida Tarbell. He was a man of contradictions . He was deeply religious, however in the business world he would squash his business competition like a bug. When you think of Rockefeller you think of Oil as in "Standard Oil". However, as Chernow points out it was Mr. Rockefeller's ... Read More Rating: - Great insights into the man: It's J.D.'s world, we only live in itTruly a great book from a masterful writer. Some criticisms are apt: Chernow, for obvious reasons, relies heavily on the Inglis interview with Rockefeller. Why not? What better primary source than the words from the reclusive oil Titan himself? Also, Chernow has been criticized as being a bit--but only a bit-- soft on Rockefeller. Almost all biographers begin to identify with their subjects. To some extent Chernow falls into this trap; one cannot spend years researching another human being without beginning ... Read More Rating: - Unbelievably detailed and comprehensiveI have not read the work of a biographer who has the proficiency for presenting as comprehensive an account of another's life as Chernow has given with Titan. There are sections of this narrative that are so detailed that had Rockefeller's life not been over a century ago, one might be inclined to consider Chernow had been along side him during his pursuits. Chernow has conducted extensive research that is exemplified in every chapter of this enthralling biography. John D Rockefeller has been known ... Read More
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