Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Worst required reading...
Review: I was required to read Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business for my history class. Not only did were we requiered to read this dry biography, but we then had to write a 5-7 page paper on what we thought the themes of the book were. However, the book is so bogged down with numbers and informatin about how he did EVERYTHING in excessive detail, that it is hard to focus on the reading yet alone find the themes within it.
I have no doubt that Andrew Carnegie was a great man and accomplished some great feats, but who cares EXACTLY how he did it and what the exact numbers were? I think the book would have been a much better read if Harold Livesay, the author, had simlpy told the story of Carnegies life. All the statistics were overkill.
In addition to continually beating an already dead horse, Livesay went into more depth than neccessary with the details of how Andrew did things. A simple explanation of a series of events would have been sufficiant. I think more people would be able to read and even enjoy Andrew Carnegie's life story had the author left out all the fluff.



Rating:
Summary: Worst Book Ever
Review: "Andrew Carnegie: and the Rise of Big Business" was the worst book I have ever read. I went into reading it with an open mind, and after the first chapter I wanted to pull my hair out it was so boring.
First off, the book took place in a time period where I wasn't even born. My parents weren't even born yet. It has to do with a subject that I don't even know about.
Second, the author dragged on and on about numbers and business partners and business investments. He was using words that were not in my vocabulary.
Finally, the plot and main ideas of the book were so slow. They jumped around and I didn't know what business we were talking about, or which business partner was involved. They talked about money and finances.

Rating:
Summary: Carnegie and the American Dream
Review: Andrew Carnegie really epitomized the American Dream. His rags to riches story, while unusual in its extent, was the life every poor person's vision encompassed. His family was poor in Scotland, and even poorer after they immigrated to Pennsylvania. Carnegie's first job in a textile mill paid little, but it was a step in the right direction. Carnegie worked long and hard to support his family, and that hard work paid off eventually.
Once Carnegie had amassed enough money to be deemed `respectable' he began his real climb to unbelievable wealth. He learned management skills while working for the railroad - a very complex business. It was while working for the railroad that Carnegie became obsessed with costs. It was by controlling costs that he was able to make such huge fortunes in the steel industry. His management techniques would probably not work today, because he was such a bully to his management team.
Carnegie's career mirrored the Industrial Revolution as a whole. He used the latest technology and the most efficient practices to make his factories grow. Unlike his competition, he was concerned with costs, not profit itself, because he knew that low costs led to greater profits. He also was different than the rest of the industrialists because he sold his steel mills and retired to become a great philanthropist.
When Carnegie was starting out, he tried to take care of the people who worked for him, but as his business grew, he saw them more as replaceable parts of a machine. He originally thought labor unions were a good thing, but later fiercely and violently resisted strikes. He needed to retain control over all the workers - hiring and firing, working conditions, even how fast workers were supposed to work. He did not allow his workers any control over their work.
Carnegie left a complex legacy. His many charitable gifts, especially the many Carnegie libraries built around the country, were a blessing for the less fortunate. However, his ruthless behavior in constructing his industry cannot be condoned by today's standards of ethical practices. He was definitely a man of his times and should be remembered as just that.
This book is short, readable, and contains interesting facts without overloading the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Carnegie and the American Dream
Review: Andrew Carnegie really epitomized the American Dream. His rags to riches story, while unusual in its extent, was the life every poor person's vision encompassed. His family was poor in Scotland, and even poorer after they immigrated to Pennsylvania. Carnegie's first job in a textile mill paid little, but it was a step in the right direction. Carnegie worked long and hard to support his family, and that hard work paid off eventually.
Once Carnegie had amassed enough money to be deemed 'respectable' he began his real climb to unbelievable wealth. He learned management skills while working for the railroad - a very complex business. It was while working for the railroad that Carnegie became obsessed with costs. It was by controlling costs that he was able to make such huge fortunes in the steel industry. His management techniques would probably not work today, because he was such a bully to his management team.
Carnegie's career mirrored the Industrial Revolution as a whole. He used the latest technology and the most efficient practices to make his factories grow. Unlike his competition, he was concerned with costs, not profit itself, because he knew that low costs led to greater profits. He also was different than the rest of the industrialists because he sold his steel mills and retired to become a great philanthropist.
When Carnegie was starting out, he tried to take care of the people who worked for him, but as his business grew, he saw them more as replaceable parts of a machine. He originally thought labor unions were a good thing, but later fiercely and violently resisted strikes. He needed to retain control over all the workers - hiring and firing, working conditions, even how fast workers were supposed to work. He did not allow his workers any control over their work.
Carnegie left a complex legacy. His many charitable gifts, especially the many Carnegie libraries built around the country, were a blessing for the less fortunate. However, his ruthless behavior in constructing his industry cannot be condoned by today's standards of ethical practices. He was definitely a man of his times and should be remembered as just that.
This book is short, readable, and contains interesting facts without overloading the reader.

Rating:
Summary: boring book
Review: Andrew Carnegie was such a boring book, especially if you hate history. I couldn't get interested in it. It went too much in depth with numbers and statistics. Those things took away from what,I think, the author was trying to get the readers to understand.
Every time I read it I would lose interest right away!! One paragraph and I was gone. I would even fall asleep when reading it!!! I had to re-read sections multiple times because I couldn't even tell you what I was reading. It went in one ear and out the other. I had to make sure I understood it though because I had to write a 5 page paper on it for my history class.

Rating:
Summary: Biography will give you picture of past, Superb book
Review: Funny how it turns out that we only read these books in school. I read this for my first year American History class.

The book revolves around Carnegie and his rise to sucess during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

In the wake of the industrial revolution many indivduals like Carnegie succeeded. We see this with the Rockefellers who were the worlds first billionaires and with Carnegie , who was the first billionaire of the 20th century.

By the integration of horizontal and verticle industries we see how he has accomplished this. Again, the opportunity is here for us as the information age is still in it's infancy.

It involves both aspects from a historical look at an american immigrant and the ideal "American Dream". The economic outlook is equally helpful studying how he valued verticle and horizontal integration of industries.

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Rating:
Summary: Biography will give you picture of past, Superb book
Review: I have to say that the book is well written by the author. The inner world lives of the Carnegies is explained. The leaving of Scotland due to the machine factories putting the commoners out of work is explained in detail. The goals of Andrew when he is a teenager are also explained, and the man who molded Andrew to become successful in life. The whole world focuses on him, and it is good. The only thing I found interesting was that the book did not say at all if Andrew Carnegie interacted with African Americans at all. It also did not emphasis the women who fell in love with the man[at the work place]. It is bound to happen . Those inner details are not explained , but alot is said in detail in how he got to be at the top. This book does not have any photographs at all inside the book. The book is of good size. book is recommended to all[WOMEN & MEN] who want to know about the man, and the time century-the nineteenth century.

Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: I too had to read this horrible waste of a tree for my history class - i thought it was and intresting story the whole rags to riches thing but i never finished a single chapter because i didnt have the will power to push through the dryness of this book, most often i even fell asleep. livesay may have acuratley described the rise of andrew carnegie but this book is crap - only a true history nut would find any enjoyment in the book, and thats pushing it

Rating:
Summary: Bad Book
Review: I was required to read this book for my history class. It was probably the most boring book that I have ever read. Every time I started to read it I would fall asleep. I tried to read a chapter each day, but I ended up reading a page or two then passing out. The book goes too far into specifics and numbers in certain areas of his life which takes away from the story. This made the book almost unbearable to read. If you are having trouble sleeping at night then you should go out and buy this book, but if you are looking for a good read, think again.

Rating:
Summary: This book details his life in general but not specifics
Review: the book is interesting i must say. everything pretty much deals with the anglo cycle. You will not read of Carnegie dealing at all with African American people or other Minorities. Everything revolves around the white world, [i am just saying, positively] The author will explain that his mom motivated him since he was little to become a man in life, because his dad was average or just fell short of the expectations his wife wanted out of life. it deals with connections, how the aikens and hogans assisted the carnegies to come to United states when things got bad. I recommend this book to all who want to know some things about this man and his empire that he built, and the people who shaped him to be the man that he became. Life was tough, but his hard work, and optimism helped him thru in life to achieve the rewards that he wanted to obtain. The book does not talk about the women that were in his life. it would have been interesting if the author had mentioned if this guy [CARNEGIE] had any pretty voluptuous ladies after him at the work place, or babes who wanted to marry this future tycoon in his last day. The in side stuff would have been a fascinating chapter on this man.