{"product_id":"titan-the-life-of-john-d-rockefeller-sr-paperback","title":"Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRon Chernow\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNational Book Critics Circle Award Finalist\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the acclaimed, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eAlexander Hamilton\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eTitan\u003c\/i\u003e is a magnificent biography--balanced, revelatory, elegantly written.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn 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.\u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e While providing abundant new evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettablyhuman 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.\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"From the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRon Chernow's bestselling books include \u003ci\u003eThe House of Morgan\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the National Book Award; \u003ci\u003eThe Warburgs\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the George S. Eccles Prize;\u003ci\u003e The Death of the Banker\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eTitan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller\u003c\/i\u003e, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award; \u003ci\u003eWashington: A Life\u003c\/i\u003e, which received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography; and \u003ci\u003eAlexander Hamilton\u003c\/i\u003e, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and adapted into the award-winning Broadway musical \u003ci\u003eHamilton\u003c\/i\u003e. Chernow has served as president of PEN American Center and has received seven honorary doctoral degrees. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 832\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.7 x 9.1 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 27, 2004\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51987367559469,"sku":"9781400077304","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/RnZRZGE2WlR1bm0wYWhIWEVpUUxZdz09.webp?v=1776178298","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/titan-the-life-of-john-d-rockefeller-sr-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}