Rating: 
Summary: Keeper
Review: Great book! Keeper. The other reviewers have said it best ad I can add no more -- I dont have the writng skill od chernow.But I can read and i can say that you should read this book too!
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Summary: A man who seized the day
Review: Titan is an excellent biography of John D. Rockefeller. It tells of Rockefeller's early days as the son of a pious mother and travelling con man father in upstate NY. Early on, Rockefeller had many responsibilities which honed his sharp opportunistic instincts. Rockefeller was in the right place at the right time when oil was struck in Pennsylvania, and worked his way up until he seized the day by recognizing that the big money was in refining. One problem with biographies of self-achievers who go from rags to riches is that it is hard to translate to the reader how people like Rockefeller achieve when others fail. Nevertheless, the author does his best to point out the chronology of JDR's rise to great wealth and power and the reasons for it. The nature of the times had much to do with Rockefeller's ascendancy; the post-Civil War era was a boom time for business and industry, and the so-called robber barons were a natural product of that time. One sees photos in the book of the oil lands of Pennsylvania in the 1860's and 70's and it is undoubtedly an environmental nightmare, because the drilling was totally unregulated and unrestrained. In such an atmosphere one could get rich or poor in a hurry. Once JDR becomes a dominant figure, we see the consolidation of his wealth, his society marriage and his family life as a captain of industry, living in huge estates. Still, Rockefeller privately remained a restrained man still influenced by his mother's religious ways. The contrast between his private values and ruthless business instincts is shown, and sheds light on the mentality of the so-called Gilded Age. The book also explores the world in which his children were raised, much different than his humble beginnings. John D. Rockefeller Jr. was born in great wealth and so could never live up to his father's legacy, despite his advancement in Standard Oil. Most of all, it is the story of Standard Oil, its rise to the top of the industry, and the changing times which led to anti-trust legislation which broke the monopoly of JDR's empire. Rockefeller's later years are described as he becomes a seemingly benevolent elder figure who lives well into his 90's. This biography is an excellent read, and for such a reclusive and private subject, Chernow does his best to capture Rockefeller and his era.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Chernow is an artist, and "Titan" is his masterpiece. I must admit that I was given this book as a gift and was intimitaded by it at first because of its length and topic. I like biographies, but did not know much, nor did I have much interest in J.D. Rockefeller. But upon completion of the book, I am very impressed. The time and energy spent to compose a book of this magnitude must be enormous. This is an interesting book that will take you into the life of a fascinating person and on a ride through America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
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Summary: Interesting Chronology of An American Industrialist.
Review: Ron Chernow's Titan succinctly documents the life of John D. Rockefeller in its entirely. From his very humble beginnings in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York to his retirement in Florida, Chernow successfully portrays this very controversial and infamous industrialist as a conflicted, pious, and shrude man.
For those who are reading this book out of interest into economics or business tactics, you should probably try another biography as this book focuses on the life of Rockefeller and not the inner-workings of his business, Standard Oil. However, this book is interesting because it implies that certain aspects of ones life and certain characteristics that a person holds can adversely or positively affect their professional life.
This is a very well written book. One that should be on the shelf of anyone who likes to study or read about people of power.
Rating:
Summary: A Psychological Biography
Review: I admit that I bought the book to learn more about someone who was once the world's richest individual. I was neither interested in Rockefeller nor in the history of business. After reading this book, I must confess to being interested in both.
Chernow has done an excellent job examining several fascinating aspects of Rockefeller's life. The first, which figures largely throughout the book, is the disparity between Rockefeller's admirable piety and his almost sinister drive to attain wealth. Another is Rockefeller's relationship with his parents, especially his vagabond father. A third aspect, which was entirely unknown to me prior to reading this book, is the extent of Rockefeller's legacy, particularly that related to philanthropy in medicine and education. This last point ties in nicely with Chernow's examination into the lives of Rockefeller's children, especially John Jr., who inherits most of his father's wealth and carries on in his father's philanthropic footsteps rather than in business. Of all these areas, Chernow's focus on Rockefeller's rationalization of his business practices is the most engrossing. I'm a slow reader and it took me nearly a month to complete this book. But I cherish the hours I spent! As an aside, I couldn't help but think of Microsoft as I read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Titan
Review: Titan, a well-written and deeply researched biography, provides the most balanced as well as most detailed study of the one figure in 19th-century American business who is universally recognized (and often maligned) in US popular culture. It also contains persuasive evidence about the upright, religious nature of Rockefeller's career and core beliefs, from his early employment to the thoughtful melding of his philanthropic and religious interests throughout much of his adult life. His wartime activities in business get a favorable slant, as does his success in business, first as a grain and produce merchant, then by his use of monopolistic power to create the Standard Oil empire. It is a complicated story, with much of the record, especially about the 1870s, missing, and Chernow had to rely on the "overheated" memories of Rockefeller's enemies. The author reveals enough from newly accessible records to polish, if not truly refine, the place of Rockefeller in the pantheon of American business. Photos are numerous, but there are no maps to guide the reader through Rockefeller's regional, national, and finally global activities. The detailed discussion of charities and good works by this industrial leader greatly improves our understanding of him and his time. Recommended for all collections.
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Summary: John D. - The American Dream
Review: There is not a day that goes by where I don't think of Rockefeller. I learned many business principles in this book. After being self employed for the first time in my life I learned that the business world is the survival of the fittest. And nobody now or ever rose to the top like John D.! Chernov did an excellent job to convey the life of the old man. I could not put the book down! Although he claims his intention was not to make a hero of Rockefeller - you can't help but admire him. I thought the length was about right for a man that live to 98.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent, but hardly objective, book.
Review: A very, very good book, clearly written, packed with information, "Titan" is an enjoyable narrative as well. And why not? Rockefeller, his family, his business associates -- as characters they are as fascinating as any you'll find in a first-rate novel. But this is biography. Balance is important. And while lots of people have said this book presents a balanced, objective view of Rockefeller's life, I'm not so sure it does. ("Titan" can't compare with Judith Therman's biography of Colette, for instance, which allows one to feel empathy for the subject, to be charmed by her -- and yet to be revolted by her, too.) In "Titan," Chernow has a habit of extolling Rockefeller's superior (modern, even!) managment practices... Marveling at his foresight... Extolling him for living below his means (Rockefeller "only" owned several large mansions, a string of expensive horses, his own golf course etc.)... Praising his massive giveaways (he "invented modern philanthropy")... Aand THEN Chernow drags out Rockefeller critic Ida Tarbell (with her silly, old-fashioned name) from the closet as a strawman (andthen whips her soundly). This reader couldn't help but think, "Ida, get with it! Ol' John D. was just too good, that's all!" Chernow does level his own criticisms. But they amount to a little finger-wagging , a little tch-tch-tch'ing. For most of the the book, it's clear that Chernow admires his subject a little too much as a business-man to criticize him as a hu-man. When it comes right down to it, Rockefeller was not a good guy. In fact, he was revolting, in a cold, reptilian way. Ruining every oilman and refiner in several states was clever. But it was also such low-down cheating, we created an entire area of law to handle it. For all his steely business nerve and religious resolve, Rockefeller (like most of us who live, and live well, off the capitalist system) was a weak man who loved money. He lied, cheated and crushed other people to get more and more of it, or even worse -- he allowed his underlings to do it for him, and turned his head. His company bribed so many politicians, the entire government became corrupt. He spent nearly every waking hour thinking about how to get money. And he told himself pious lies to justify it all. There's a little bit of John D. Rockefeller Sr. in all of us. "Titan" gives us a good look at the man, and a small glimpse of the man in each of us. He mastered the world of business, but not his own impulse to have more, more, more. In fact, he died a slave to that impulse.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Succinctly put, I loved this book. Ron Chernow's "Titan" is more than a great business biography; it is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Although Standard Oil and the rise of big business in America clearly play a central role, this book is first and foremost about John D. Rockefeller: his convictions, his character, his relationship with family, friends and colleagues. And what an interesting man he was. To put it mildly, Rockefeller was a contradiction in terms. On the one hand, he was a sincerely pious man, deeply committed to the Baptist church and a paragon of personal morality and virtue. Yet, on the other hand, he was as ruthless - and successful - a corporate executive as has ever been produced in American history, more than willing to personally ruin competitors with bankruptcy to further his personal aims. Chernow makes this contradiction the focal point of his biography, and succeeds brilliantly in capturing and analyzing how Rockefeller balanced his devout Christianity with his cutthroat business practices. He argues that Rockefeller was able to do this by ascribing his business success to the will of God, which later fueled his famous works of philanthropy in the early the 20th century. After reading "Titan," one can't help but wonder if Rockefeller did, in fact, take advantage of some sort of divine intervention at various stages of his career. For instance, when the northwest Pennsylvania oil fields began to show signs of exhaustion, threatening the future of the domestic oil business, new deposits were discovered in Ohio that favored Rockefeller and his empire. And just as electricity began to show signs of popular adoption, threatening to ruin the kerosene illuminant market that Standard Oil had dominated, the automobile emerged on the scene, which used the theretofore noxious byproduct of kerosene production, gasoline, to operate and expanded the oil business beyond anyone's wildest dreams. At each step of the way, from the early days as an inconspicuous refinery in Cleveland to the global leviathan battling government intervention, public animosity, and foreign competition, Rockefeller skillfully guided the corporation with the foresight and tenacity of a great statesman. Chernow brings his story to life with such vitality and honesty that both Rockefeller and his nemesis, Ida Tarbell, would likely endorse it.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: This is a spectacular read. Chernow's research and presentation of the subject matter is unparelled. This one of the best books I've ever read.
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