Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist

From the acclaimed, award-winning author of Alexander Hamilton here is the essential, endlessly engrossing biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.–the Jekyll-and-Hyde of American capitalism. In the course of his nearly 98 years, Rockefeller 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 subjects’ 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 father; and the wry sense of humor that made him the country’s most colorful codger. Titan is a magnificent biography–balanced, revelatory, elegantly written.

Author: Ron Chernow
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 03/30/2004
Pages: 832
Weight: 2.25lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.70d
ISBN: 9781400077304
Language: English