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: Peerless Like a Character from Sea of Fertility
Review: After you read this book, you will be convinced that Mr. Rockefeller was superhuman. But then again, he really was.
Rating: 
Summary: Deep, impartial, intelligent and thorough.
Review: 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:
Summary: A Mammoth Book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Singularly Engaging Portrait of an Empire Builder
Review: I bought this book in 1998 on a lark. At the time I was not into reading heavy tomes such as business biographies and the like. Little did I know that Titan would immensely rekindle my love for the written word--and would serve as my springboard to library-building. Magisterial in scope, superlative in erudition, Chernow's Titan is truly worthy of its subject, John Davison Rockefeller--the much-maligned magnate but universally acknowledged philanthropist. The book never falters; Chernow's writing simply sparkles. Chernow painted a singularly engaging portrait of a seemingly benevolent man who single-handedly amalgamated an industry and enriched himself and his world in the process. This book will serve as the authoritative biographical sketch of Rockefeller for many years to come. Academicians will find it to be a treasure trove of insight about the man and his age; the unwashed masses will turn to it for inspiration and sheer delight.
Rating: 
Summary: Story of an American Icon
Review: In the biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr., Ron Chernow exposes the man behind the myth. Chernow shows both Rockefeller's ruthless nature and his religous beliefs. Even though the book at points was long wordy and long I still found it to be enjoyable. This book does give you a really broad insite to his business pratices and the history of the Standard Oil Company.
Rating:
Summary: The Two Sides of Titan
Review: Like its hero, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller has two sides. At times the almost novelesque book is insufferable. The text is dense and dizzying, making anyone who is not an economist feel incompetent and mind-boggled. At certain points, I needed to reread a sentence maybe two or three times because I either did not understand economic principle being displayed or because of my sheer lack of interest. When I was almost ready to quit with the constant analysis of the oil industry and Rockefeller's economic strategy, Chernow brought out the more personal side of the book, delving into Rockefeller's private life using uncommon and interesting anecdotes. It is quite obvious that Rockefeller's religious beliefs and family history greatly contributed to his transformation into the titan that will forever be remembered in American history. Chernow both proved my preconceived notions of the frugal and hard businessman that Rockefeller seemed to be and then surprised me, revealing the kinder, more spiritual Rockefeller who is oddly likable. I both loved and hated him. Like Chernow states, "what makes him so problematic- and why he continues to inspire such ambivalent reactions- is that his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad. Seldom has history produced such a contradictory figure. We are almost forced to posit, in helpless confusion, at least two Rockefellers: the good, religious man and the renegade businessman, driven by baser motives." So like its protagonist, Titan has two sides, its solid factual analysis of Rockefeller's business that perhaps only an economist could enjoy, and its warm-hearted account of Rockefeller's unexpected traits, which is far more appealing.
Rating:
Summary: A Rocking Machine!
Review: Man, Rockefeller was a machine. An efficiency prodigy and consummate strategician and bargainer, he was a money making machine par excellence. Surprisingly, Chernow shows that Rockefeller was a genial fellow, exacting but kind, driving hard bargains, but honest, intelligent and fair (in a strict sense of the term). Not surprisingly, he was a polarizing figures, hero to admirers and the anti-christ to enemies. I found the book very enjoyable and vignettes about Rockefeller and his associates and family wonderful. So, I give it five. However, Chernow's writing has faults. In describing some events, he is all over the timeline from one instance to another, only to return to the original event, creating confusion that could have been avoided by a more clever arrangement and careful exposition.
Rating:
Summary: World Class Biography
Review: Ron Chernow may be our best current biographer. That he can write anything compelling on top of the millions of pages written about the nineteenth century's most famous tycoon is in itself amazing. That he has produced a work of such fluidity and expert precision may be nothing short of miraculous. Titan is more compelling than most works of fiction; a rarity in history books, it is a real page-turner. Like David McCullough's definitive biography of Harry Truman, Titan stands out as a book with a real sense of the human features of its subject, as well as a careful attention to historical context. Stories bind the whole work together and make it flow as if it were a novel. Most readers will share the same fate as Rockefeller's biographer: near the end of the story they will be so enamored of the man's story that they will decide that many of the features of the twentieth century are due entirely to the imagination and munificence of John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller may have ponied up the money, but J.P. Morgan engineered the rescue of the stock market. John was certainly a pioneer in establishing the legitimacy of institutionalized innovation at Standard Oil, but Edison beat him to the punch by a few decades. Despite these few over-eager slips in the final chapters of the book, Chernow's work stands out as a well-balanced work in a sea of tedious biographies. It is rare to see such expert use of primary material -- the educated reader will marvel at the agility with which Chernow handles volumes of personal correspondance, interview transcripts, newspaper and magazine articles. History House feels it is a bit obvious to mention the timeliness of a good Rockefeller biography in the most recent Gilded Age, with its cast of Gates, Greenspan and the dot com billionaires. But we've never been ones for subtlety. Buy this book and set aside a week to read it. You won't put it down. [HistoryHouse.com]
Rating:
Summary: A Biography Of Brillance and of an Unyielding Will
Review: Ron Chernow's study of John Davison Rockefeller's historically anomalous, magnificent ascendence to inordinant power is mesmerizing. It is a reading journey that anyone with an interest in American history will take great lessons from. You will, I promise, learn much more from this work tinged in the living genius of a great biographer than you might imagine from its title. Its central subject, John D. Sr., afterall was at the center of America's gilded age in substance if not in fashion . This book, most essentially, is about a level of human will and stern excellence that is truly freakish. The principles adopted by Rockerfeller to guide his actions appear to have been melted into his being.
John D. Rockefeller is shown to be a living embodiment of the dream which is the American myth. He is the the best example of the ethos of the pioneer and of elected transcendence that America can point to.
Mr. Chernow's study of this proud Titan has me assuming, without much doubt, that Rockefeller smiles down onto us from the gilded vantage point in the Heaven that he vowed to stay out of for 100 years. He failed in this promise to himself, as he rarely otherwise did, dropping dead at 98 years of age, in one of his favorite mansions. Of course, his enormous charitable enterprises along with the petroleum products that drive the world's economy continue to affect all of our lives daily.
This Rockefeller tome has suggested a new awareness of what success could mean and precisely what sort of character traits could lead to it. If some of those characteristics are woven from the threads of a debased kind of Holy Roller, Biblical bliss, that basis is irrelevant since its brand of bliss is what made Rockefeller so good when he was being good.
This then is the story of an ultimately imposing, rurally reared, patriotic Protestant with a fire in his conviction that allowed no defeat. Ron Chernow, in this lyrical monument to an icon details the constantly fanatical attention to the task at hand; and that was Rockefeller's most discernible difference from mere mortals. There are ideas and conclusions contained in this portrait of an often disrespected colossus that can positively influence the life of anyone who considers them.
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