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Summary: Fair and revealing
Review: This is an usual book about Rockefeller. It seeks neither to demonize nor idealize him. It paints a fascinating figure of a man who was a contradiction: worldly in the pursuit of money, but deeply religious and America's greatest philanthropist. He took and gave with equal determination. Titan shatters many of the myths surrounding John D. Rockefeller. It replaces fantasy with fact. It is a "must read" for anyone who wants to know the truth about John D.
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Summary: Excellent research and writing
Review: This book is thoroughly researched and superbly written
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Summary: The book is exellent in detail and tells true of the sinking
Review: The detail is stunning, in both words and a way one can't describe. It tells the true way of the sinking of the Titan and cannot be compared to the Titanic in any way. The Titan is great in every way and should be cherishe in books and in the mental and physcial mind.
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Summary: Adds new dimensions to one of my alltime favorite villains
Review: John D. Rockefeller had always been one of my alltime favorite villains. Living here in Westchester County, and working about a mile from Pocantico, the Rockefellers loom large. Chernow's book provides a completely new perpective on John D, his life, his times, and his work. And particularly on his philanthropy. He might have achieved his fortune by not playing by the book, but back then there wasn't a book to play by. And more than likely, if there hadn't been a John D. there would certainly have been somebody else, perhaps worse.Chernow is a masterful biographer. And here he is at his masterful best.
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Summary: Insightful look into the life of one of America's great icon
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this look at the life of Rockefeller. I felt the author treated the work with fairness, trying to show both sides of his complex personality. It is very well-written and gives a well-rounded view of both his personal life and his professional life. I came away with a lot more than I bargained for and was very pleased.
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Summary: Much more than the incredible story of one man.
Review: Ron Chernow reveals one revelation after another about John D. Sr. Reading like a novel, this is not only the story of how he became a huge, financial success while still in his mid-twenties, but as he established Standard Oil, he wrote the book on how corporate structures would evolve to the present day. And, later on his philanthropic activity is nothing less than awesome...the founding of the University of Chicago, Spelman College, how all of human kind benefits to this day from the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (later Rockefeller University). Robert A. Caro said it for me in his comment on the book's jacket: "It's a thrill to read a biography as good as this one. TITAN is a triumph, a brilliant, riveting, and monumental portrait of a fascinating human being and his age."
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Summary: Conclusion, informative and a lesson in business history.
Review: Knowing a little about JDR, I was fascinated about the things that I did not know. The book is very revealing of the inner workings of Rockefeller's mind and his rationale for his business decisions. His care of his family and avoidence to spoiling them convinces you that he truly thought blessed to have been given the chance to earn this fortune. It hurt him, I believe, to give all the money that he did and people still think of him as a robber baron. Even his brother was ungrateful. In all an excellent book and I recommend it to all who want to gain more knowledge of the past and one of the greatest business minds in history.
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Summary: A good historic book
Review: This is a very good book! Too long, but good. You can learn a lot about JDR's life, his philosophy (which is probably the best part), and a lot about the rough business ways during his times. If all that seems interesting, wait till they start talking about JDR's family... or about each and every trial he was at... Another good biography: Sam Walton. Made in America.
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Summary: An extraordinary documentary of a fascinating individual.
Review: In 1946, when I was a little boy, my father took me from our little town of Mocanaqua, Penna. populated by 800 people far away to New York City to visit relatives. From the time I stepped foot on the train through the whirl of West 91st Street in Manhattan (where my relatives lived), a forest of skyscrapers, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Cloisters, the museum, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center, my jaw progressively stretched to its limit. I was aghast to discover the uncharted wonders of this modern world 150 miles from home. I completed high school, served in the military, finished college and launched a career. However, until recently, my only knowledge about Mr. John D. Rockefeller Sr., was the minute, but treasured, knowledge I recall from that trip to New York City 52-years ago. Albeit it only a snapshot in the slide show of my memory, it constituted the extent of my knowledge. I purchased a copy of TITAN to learn more about the man. I found Mr. Chernow's book a most enjoyable and unforgettable experience about an extremely fascinating man competing in content only with my study of Einsteinium physics. I did learn, but not just about Rockefeller. I learned more about the evolution which took place in America during the industrial revolution then I could recall from my history books. The content of TITAN filled a big gap. Everything that shaped Mr. Rockefeller's thinking from a flimflam, bigamist father who taught him trust, the wisdoms of a firm principled mother, a strict Baptist upbringing plus his schooling in accounting contributed to honing his orderly meticulous mind. He lived a life of exact figures, percentages and profits taking advantage of opportunities that lay open before him after the Civil War to become the world's first billionaire. In the second half of his life, he played a key role in lifting America up to an unpredictable level of modernization. His philanthropic contributions were poured into starting universities and nurturing his philosophy of studying medicine as a science. These were only some of his great contributions to society. Sixty years after Rockefeller's death, Ron Chernow, constructed the detailed pieces of this man's life into an amazing documentary. With carefully chosen words, he assembled this masterful composition naming it TITAN. Mr. Chernow's writing style captured my mind with the same passion that the paintings of de Vinci and Cézanne capture my eyes and the crescendos of Tchaikovsky's music capture my ears. Through an excellent choice of words, Mr. Chernow painted the entire book into seamless flowing prose possessing the elegant beauty of a Renoir. After reading the first chapter, I knew this book would vie for the top of my list. Then after progressing fifty to seventy percent into the book, I knew my hands held the best written book that I ever laid eyes upon. Being the master craftsman he is, Mr. Chernow writes in one sentence that which would have taken me a paragraph, in one book that which may have taken me five volumes. To you, Mr. Chernow, I bestow the description of "Composer Extraordinaire," and to you, Mr. Chernow, I bestow the title "TITAN" which you clearly deserve. Thank you Ron Chernow.
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Summary: Philanthropy is all about control
Review: Basically this appears to be a fairly even handed biography of JDR. It's true that Chernow doesn't draw many conclusions, instead spending a lot of words documenting what happened rather than justifying or condemning JDR. The reader must draw the conclusions. It's also important to realize that business in the nineteenth century was conducted very differently than today, at least regarding what is and is not legal. Therefore I consider it a bit unfair to impose contemporary standards on that period. As to his philanthropy, as a teenager in the 1960's I read a lot about Carnegie, Morgan, and various robber barons. While it's true that Carnegie and JDR were quite generous with their money, it appeared to me that this was an issue of control. After all, why amass all that wealth if one plans to give it away? It's certainly close to impossible to spend it all on oneself. Why not allow others to keep a bit more, let them spend it as they see fit? This would also increase the wealth of many more, as the philanthropists (like various governments) have to expend serious time, money, and energy redistributing so much. This is non-productive activity. So, my conclusion is that these men were extremely insecure, and their drive for wealth was really a drive for ultimate control. Not only could they take it away, they could give it back. Sound's a bit like some sort of God complex. My only criticism of this book is that it was too verbose. Mr. Chernow could have done the job in many fewer words. Pam Niedermayer
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