Titan : The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Author: Ron Chernow
List Price: $18.00
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ISBN: 0679757031
Publisher: Vintage (07 September, 1999)
Sales Rank: 3,620
Average Customer Rating: 4.54 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
One of the seminal biographies of this decade!!
I just finished reading this biography of one of the most influential non-political figures of American history. Mr. Chernow deserves all the critical acclaim he received for writing this; it is truly a remarkable work. At the outset, it seemed that Chernow was going to give a "polished-up" version of Rockefeller's life. However, you soon begin to see that he instead presents Rockefeller in a rather impartial light, exposing both qualities and faults with equal judgment. Mr. Chernow wonderfully intertwines the events of the day as he narrates Rockefeller's life, the life, innerworkings, and sheer dominace of Standard Oil, and the philanthropic entities that came to make Rockefeller revered by many. When the reader completes this book, he/she is able to formulate their own opinion of Rockefeller because we were given such a well-rounded, thorough, and fair presentation. If anything else, that is the essence of what a truly outstanding biography should be able to do. That is why Mr. Chernow's book is such a success and enjoyable read.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Deep, impartial, intelligent and thorough.
As a frequent visitor to New York, I'd often wondered who the "Rockefeller" of the Rockefeller Plaza was, and how he made his fortune. I bought this book with an air of caution, as biographies of highly successfull people can be biased either towards patronising hero-worship, or venomous character assasination. I needn't have worried, as Ron Chernow's extensive, thorough and even-handed book portrays not only JDR's progress through and beyond his 98 years, but also America's consequent development.The personal conflict between hard-edged business practices and religious ethics are deftly portrayed, and left for the reader to decide wether or not Rockefeller was trying to bring stability and structure to a highly unpredictable market place, or being an un-controllable corporate steam-roller.
The book is not just a study of the incredible business career of John D Rockefeller. To take us some of the way towards understanding the individual, Ron Chernow allows time to give a fascinating look at the early days of not only the parents and grandparents, but also the life styles and factors from before his birth that would so influence the life of JDR. The book covers the years of philanthropy showing how a vast fortune in the right hands can be used effectively.
It's an excellent book, well researched and well written. I learned a great deal from it, and have a tremendous respect for not only the subject of the book, but also the author. I'd recommend "TITAN" to everyone.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A Mammoth Book
Creating an engaging, readable biography that is also well researched, intelligent and even handed is an incredible feat. Making one about John D. Rockefeller, Sr., which has been attempted by scores of authors, is nearly impossible. Chernow, however, accepted this challenge and thrived. Titan is a wonderful book. His research into the Rockefeller family, Standard Oil and the society in which Rockefeller lives is staggering. He weaves it all together very well and the resulting story is wonderful. I learned a tremendous amount about the man and his world, which is of course the goal of a biography, but I never wanted to put the book down which is a quality more often found in novels then biographies. There are many interesting lessons about economics, turn of the century religion, politics and corporate America to be learned from the book and anyone interested in any of these subjects would find it fascinating. I highly recommend this biography.
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