Bay Books

A little bookstore with a whole lot of literature. We're here to support your reading needs.

  • Home
  • About Bay Books
    • About Us
    • Staff Picks
  • Book Club
    • ‘Books and Wine’
  • Book Discussion
  • Shop
    • Bay Books Book Boxes
    • Books
    • Gift Card
    • Gifts and Merch
  • Events
  • Contact Us
  • Cart

March 1, 2022 By

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

$22.00

EAN: N/A Categories: Biography and Autobiography, History, Nonfiction
  • Description

Description

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Related products

  • Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

    $17.99
    Add to cart
  • Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington

    $20.00
    Add to cart
  • First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power

    $28.99
    Add to cart
  • The Truths We Hold

    $18.00
    Add to cart
❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Phone

Stay in the Loop with our Newsletter

We promise not to spam you. We’ll only send you the important stuff.





Quote of the Month

Events

‘Books and Wine’

Next ‘Wine and Books’ will feature “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan Karunatilaka on September 12th at 6pm.

Author Interview with Colleen Cambridge 

Colleen Cambridge is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the American in Paris Mysteries (“Mastering the Art of French Murder”) and the Phyllida Bright Mysteries, the first of which, “Murder at Mallowan Hall”, was an Indie Next Pick and Agatha Award finalist. We’re excited to have her join us at Bay Books on August 24th at 5:00 for a FB live interview, Q & A and book signing!

Remain in Touch

Give a book to a special child. Bay Books is partnering with Remain in Touch. Learn more about Remain in Touch program.

Looking for something?

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please reach out to us. We’ll be happy to find it for you or order it.

  • Privacy Policy

© Copyright 2022 BC Marketing Solutions · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BC Marketing Solutions