Andrew Carnegie

Book Description

Majestically told and based on materials not available to any previous biographer, the definitive life of Andrew Carnegie-one of American business's most iconic and elusive titans-by the bestselling author of The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst.

Celebrated historian David Nasaw, whom The New York Times Book Review has called "a meticulous researcher and a cool analyst," brings new life to the story of one of America's most famous and successful businessmen and philanthropists- in what will prove to be the biography of the season.

Born of modest origins in Scotland in 1835, Andrew Carnegie is best known as the founder of Carnegie Steel. His rags to riches story has never been told as dramatically and vividly as in Nasaw's new biography. Carnegie, the son of an impoverished linen weaver, moved to Pittsburgh at the age of thirteen. The embodiment of the American dream, he pulled himself up from bobbin boy in a cotton factory to become the richest man in the world. He spent the rest of his life giving away the fortune he had accumulated and crusading for international peace. For all that he accomplished and came to represent to the American public-a wildly successful businessman and capitalist, a self-educated writer, peace activist, philanthropist, man of letters, lover of culture, and unabashed enthusiast for American democracy and capitalism-Carnegie has remained, to this day, an enigma.

Nasaw explains how Carnegie made his early fortune and what prompted him to give it all away, how he was drawn into the campaign first against American involvement in the Spanish-American War and then for international peace, and how he used his friendships with presidents and prime ministers to try to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

With a trove of new material-unpublished chapters of Carnegie's Autobiography; personal letters between Carnegie and his future wife, Louise, and other family members; his prenuptial agreement; diaries of family and close friends; his applications for citizenship; his extensive correspondence with Henry Clay Frick; and dozens of private letters to and from presidents Grant, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and British prime ministers Gladstone and Balfour, as well as friends Herbert Spencer, Matthew Arnold, and Mark Twain-Nasaw brilliantly plumbs the core of this facinating and complex man, deftly placing his life in cultural and political context as only a master storyteller can.

Customer Reviews:

One of the three most influencial Americans ever with Washington Lincoln .......2007-09-19

This book flows well and is elegant in its prose. Some biographies can be quite tedious this one isn't.

This book is full of insights such as that Teddy Roosevelt although he sought for Carnegie's support he didn't like the man. Because Carnegie was an intellectual and a manager but Roosevelt hands on in the trenches type manager.

For good or evil Andrew Carnegie is right up there with Washington and Lincoln in his impact to the United States. Through his management skills he drastically cut the price of steel. This allowed for cheap consumer and industrial goods. The low cost of steel allowed the US to build the its fleet of battleships, skyscrapers, bridges dams and other large scale public and private works projects. Carnegie's mills alone had a greater output and at lower cost then England and Germany.

The second reason why he transformed the US was the Gospel of Wealth. He was the impetus of charitable giving. It wasn't until after Carnegie's vast sums that his peers such as the Rockefeller's started to contribute. While others focused on art, which has a small but important impact on this country. He focused on education and funding the retirement of thousands of professors from all over the country. 2,500 public libraries. Including 5 million dollar grant to the New York Public library system.

The great cultural institutions of this country Carnegie Hall the Metropolitan Museum of Art by JP Morgan National Gallery by Andrew Mellon were all funded by Republicans. The same is true today see Bill Gates.

Nassaw states that 5 million dollars circa 1900 was approximately 3.5 billion today. If this is true Carnegie gave away 20 to 30 million dollars a year a sum greater than the total assets of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

A great book.......2007-05-29

A mentor of mine once told me that 'to learn history, the only books you really need to read are great biographies'.

His point was, of course, that within the confines of a well written story of one life the reader unearths a much larger landscape of the times, events, and issues that surround the subject. Having just finished David Nasaw's wonderful 'Andrew Carnegie' I think my teacher would be pleased and fully approve as the book meets any objective criteria of quality and excels on every level.

Here, we follow the fascinating figure of Andrew Carnegie from birth and each subsequent chapter of his full life. Carnegie's actions and thoughts are fascinating and Nasaw paints a masterful portrait of his subject. He uses a clear and concise tone to convey all of what is important and none of which that is not. You really feel like there is not a wasted word in the entire narrative.

Along the way we get in depth -but never tedious- lessons on issues as wide ranging as the immigrant experience to a particular brand of evolutionary philosophy to the history of labor to turn-of-the-century American foreign policy....Frankly, I was hooked from the beginning and thanks to the writing style and its intriguing subject the book's 800 pages fly by.

If I have a small criticism it is that in the final couple of hundred pages Nasaw seems to grow slightly, but still discernibly, annoyed by Carnegie's eccentricities and his tendency towards self admiration that developed in retirement and in his relationships with US presidents. In one case he editorializes an admittedly weird Carnegie quote by summing up 'whatever that meant' at the end of a paragraph. This tone is scarce in the book, and who knows, it may be more my problem than anything else but to be fair I bring it up here.

Another positive is the way Nasaw gives the reader credit for being intelligent enough to decipher the facts he provides and then let the reader form his or her own conclusions. I appreciated the linear narrative approach as well, as too many current biographies tend in their laudation of their subject to 'do too much' own and jump all over the place. That's not the case here as Nasaw never loses his compass- in fact he never even sets it down.

'Andrew Carnegie' by David Nasaw is a book so full, so complete, so well done - and ultimately so wide ranging- that the reader is constantly entertained while absorbing vital information about one of the most important eras of American history and one of that period's most important public figures.

Five Stars. Read it.

Insightful biography of amazing industrialist .......2007-05-04

On Feb. 4, 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel-making business for an unprecedented $400 million (worth about $120 billion now). With that sale, he became "The Richest Man in the World," according to J.P. Morgan, who bought Carnegie's company and used it as the basis of U.S. Steel. But if you want to learn how to become the richest person in your part of the world, that's not the purpose of this biography. Instead David Nasaw minutely depicts an authentic tragic comedy in more than 800 pages, the life of an impoverished, painfully short immigrant lad who succeeded during the Gilded Age of capitalism, becoming a robber baron, philanthropist and "peacenik." The author uncovers many of the secret operations Carnegie used to exploit his early employers and, later, his gullible investors. This account corrects biographies that omit Carnegie's shady railroad bonds and union busting. The author also explains how Carnegie used his wealth to become one of the world's greatest philanthropists, a significant legacy that endures through the institutions and libraries he endowed. We highly recommend this detailed history for its iconoclastic scholarship, profound soul-searching and fascinating portrait of a unique, contradictory person.

Thorough Job.......2007-04-27

Carnegie, gone for almost a century, continues to touch the lives of millions of people. He did not just build libraries, he solidified the public library movement by the requiring that cities tax themselves to maintain the gift. The landscape of Carnegie libraries across the world is stunning. While the buildings today are all but obsolete for library service, one wonders how this institution might have developed without his initial impetus. Carnegie made wise investments in the future. He left us not only the libraries but a whole host of educational and arts establishments, hero funds and institutes for the public good.

The paradox, of course, is how this man with so much generosity and foresight, made the money he gave to the future. In his youth, he is what we would call today a "chicken hawk" supporting the Civil War and hiring a replacement so he could sell railroad services to the Union. He began his fortune with what today would be the illegal "insider trading" that landed Martha Stewart and others in jail. His disowning (and denying memory of) his labor practices in interviews and hearings certainly suggests he knew the moral issues involved. While his employees worked 12 hour days (probably his manager Frick too) in industrial heat, he enjoyed a 4 hour day when he worked. We have heard of absentee landlords, here is the ultimate absentee. Nasaw points out his tarriff protected profits grew exponentially, while his workers' incomes declined 67%.

Nasaw gives us, essentially, a reference book on this remarkable man. He came from poverty in Scotland where he was influenced by his Chartist uncles. Equal to his optimism, prescience on business, world events and the role of women, race, peace and disarmament, is his blind spot to the feelings of not just the underpaid and overworked mill workers but also those whom he trusts such as Frick, Taft and T. Roosevelt.

We get a small portrait of wife, Louise and gilmpse of their daughter, Margaret. Louise, in a pre-nup agrees to give away his/her fortune. We don't learn about successive generations. Mother and daughter are of interest, since, the philanthropy set their lives on a different course than their financial peers.

Biographers have to make decisions as to whether their book will be an interesting story for the general reader or a documentation of all that is unearthed. Nasaw achievement is that he has opted for documentation, and has put it together in a readable way. Many will pass it up for its length, but for another group, it will be a must read and keep. For the next biographer, whom I predict will delve into Carnegie's inner life this volume will undoubtedly serve as a road map.

I love the cover! The b & w photo, the robber barron attire and posture, and the kindly Santa Claus face! It's like he is staring out at you through the ages.

This book offers a wonderfully detailed in-depth view into this amazing man........2007-03-14

This book offers a fascinating glimpse of Andrew Carnegie. Written in a neutral objective manner, Nasaw lets the reader see Carnegie as he truly was. If one is interested in the least bit to learn more about Andrew Carnegie I cannot recommend a better book.

The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy

Average customer rating:

Great summary of Economic History
PRESENT AT THE BIRTH
Nothing new, but a good review of the period
A decent account of the story of the rise of American capitalism
America's Modernization

The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
Charles R. Morris
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805075992
Release Date: 2005-09-15

Book Description

What we think of as the modern American economy was the creation of four men: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan. They were the giants of the Gilded Age, and lived at a moment of riotous growthand real violencethat established America as the richest, most inventive, and most productive country on the planet. They are, quite literally, the founding fathers of our economyand, thus, of modern America. Acclaimed author and journalist Charles R. Morris vividly brings these four men to life. On one side are Carnegie, the ruthless competitor; Gould, the provocateur in the shadows; and Rockefeller, the visionary who understood how to manage sprawling empires. These three were obsessed with progress, experiment, and speed. In steel, railroads, oil, and money markets, they rallied behind a single-minded code: bigger, cheaper, faster. And then there was Morgan, the gentleman businessman, who fought, instead, for a global trust in American business. Through their competition over the last decades of the nineteenth century, they built a powerful nation populated with consumers as well as producers, fostering the growth of the middle class. The Tycoons tells the incredible story of how four determined men wrenched the economy into the modern age, inventing a nation of full economic participation that could not have been imagined only a few decades earlier.

Customer Reviews:

Great summary of Economic History.......2006-12-22

This is a great book for looking at the economic history of the United States. It covers mostly the four mentioned in the title but what was really fantastic and what deserves that extra star is that it covers the economic developments on the side. It looks at how our economy outpace Europe and the shift to make America that extra superpower. WE also have a look at how our ability to move west gave us an added advantage and that we did not have to resort to colonies. While we exported much we still made tremendous gains in internal improvements. He also grasp how the development of the coronation as an institution led to the rise of clerical and accounting positions creating hundreds of service jobs. This book is incredibly well written and really holds your interest. It offered the best explanation of Gould's attempt to corner the gold market I have ever read. It is very well researched and makes references to the top economic historians out there. A must read for anyone who wants to understand how the United States developed economically

PRESENT AT THE BIRTH.......2006-09-11

I picked up "The Tycoons" to read, in one place, a chatty summation of recent research about Rockefeller, Gould, Carnegie, and Morgan, but instead found myself pulled through a keyhole onto a vast landscape new to me: how America invented mass-market manufacturing. We were the first country to figure out how to make two rifles so exactly alike that their components could be mixed and matched on the battlefield. The Silicon Valley of this period was the Connecticut River, navigable down to New York with access, via the Erie Canal, to the midwest markets. This river was the site of all the key water-powered factories where early automation and assembly lines created the first mass-produced items for daily life. Besides famous tycoons, we meet the forgotten engineers and efficiency experts who invented modern manufacturing and then spread its gospel to Europe. Through this book you are present at the birth of American economic dynamism. A readable and fascinating survey.

Nothing new, but a good review of the period.......2006-07-11

Charles Morris's "The Tycoons" is a good summation of the Industrial Revolution but is almost certainly poorly sub-titled with "How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan Invented the Supereconomy". The New York Times did a review on October 2, 2005 and Todd Buchholtz hit the nail on the head writing "The Tycoons is not a path-breaking work of scholarship, testing new hypotheses against freshly uncovered facts." In fact a good part of Morris's book has nothing to do with these four very important men of commerce influenced anything. Rather he does show what the principal drivers behind such an economic explosion were. His writings on the four are based upon good, but not really extensive, research. For instance, much of his writing on Morgan is attributable to the best seller by Ron Chernow, The House of Morgan. While this was certainly a terrific book, to have it as THE principal souce or one of your main topics, is to short change any serious effort at research.

He manages to get a plug on the book by I.W. Brands of the University of Texas, one of our most well respected historians on the period. Perhaps Professor Brands saw something I did not. That said, it is a quick read and a rather fun one. A bit more organization would have gone a long way.

A decent account of the story of the rise of American capitalism.......2006-04-20

MY RATING SYSTEM:

* - if you have to chose between torture and reading this book, then you might want to consider reading the book - although it depends on just how severe the torture would be.

** - if you've lost your job and have quite a bit of free time on your hands, and don't have anything else better to do, then you might want to consider reading this book; don't expect to learn much or really be entertained. It will however, help you pass the time until your death.

*** - meh...I'm indifferent. Reading this book will not alter your life in any significant way, yet it is not so horrendously dreadful that your taking the time to read it will be a complete waste of time.

**** - Good book to great book zone here. You should probably read this book if you have some spare time. This book could be interesting, entertaining, or informative.

***** - Outstanding book! Make time to read this book - you'll learn or be entertained or intrigued. The book might even be good enough to provide original or helpful insights into the world that we live in.

REVIEW:

I purchased this book expecting to read four independent stories relating to each of Jay Gould, JP Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and JD Rockefeller. I was surprised to find that this was not what this book was about at all. Instead, The Tycoons nests the stories of each of these American capitalists within a detailed account of the rise of American industry. In one sense, this was a disappointment, in another a blessing.

Much of the discussion in the book is focused on the technological developments that facilitated American industrialism as well as the political and economic environment in which these four legendary capitalists built their empires. Rather than independently address each of the four subjects of the book, The Tycoons presents an account that enmeshes the stories of each. At times the 'background' stories get boring, but nonetheless, their existence in the book is important in ensuring a basic understanding of the world in which these individuals operated.

Being poorly read in the area of business history, I found this book to be a decent introduction into the development of American capitalism, although at times it seemed to drag.

America's Modernization.......2005-12-15

Ever wonder when and how America modernized, when we stopped making our own soap at home and started buying it in the department stores, or when the department stores started? More importantly, do you know when America went from the land of the artisan to mass production and fulfillment of the market needs of the many, with less regard for quality than for quantity? Even if you do not need those questions answered, you ought to read this gem of a book to understand how American genius in management and technology turned our country from a broken victim of the Civil War to the world's most productive and rich nation in less than 35 years. It will make you wonder about the cycle we are currently in and whether those who make dire predictions about our economy in view of a robust China have thought through the changes that count. Morris does not lead you in that direction, but your inquiring mind will be thinking of the lessons to be learned from this highly readable and thoughtful mix of history, commerce and economics.

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America

Average customer rating:

The more things change, the more they remain the same.
A decent account of Carnegie, Frick & Homestead
A Terrific Balancing Act...
Great read!
A poorly titled book, poorly researched and poorly written

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America
Les Standiford
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400047676
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Amazon.com

The relationship between industrialists Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick is an illuminating window on American capitalism as well as a fascinating study of how a strong partnership can give way to vicious acrimony. Les Standiford tells the story of the two men in Meet You in Hell, a book that draws its title from Frick's angry rejoinder to Carnegie's late-in-life attempt at reconciliation. Carnegie and Frick, in Standiford's estimation, represented all that was good and bad in American capitalism. They were self-made men, rising from blue-collar backgrounds to become titans in the burgeoning American steel industry, some of the wealthiest men in the world, and loyal partners, even if they were always somewhat short of being actual friends. But they were also pivotal figures in the infamous Homestead Steel strike, where Frick, acting on implicit orders from Carnegie, dispatched hundreds of private security guards into a testy labor situation, resulting in mayhem and death on all sides and forever casting a pall over the history of American labor relations. While Carnegie and Frick's acumen in getting rich is given due credit, Standiford also tells of the workers who were exploited or killed in that same effort. Standiford presents Carnegie and Frick without prejudice, demonstrating their fierce competitiveness, short tempers, business savvy, and troublesome character flaws. The reader also comes to realize that, although there were some negligible differences, the two men are so similar and so powerful that a falling out was inevitable. Meet You in Hell is a valuable insight into the ideas and personalities that shaped American industrialization as well as an interesting parallel to a contemporary economic reality where American jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, are threatened and often lost to overseas labor. --John Moe

Book Description

Here is history that reads like fiction: the riveting story of two founding fathers of American industry—Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick—and the bloody steelworkers’ strike that transformed their fabled partnership into a furious rivalry. Author Les Standiford begins at the bitter end, when the dying Carnegie proposes a final meeting after two decades of separation, probably to ease his conscience. Frick’s reply: “Tell him that I’ll meet him in hell.”

It is a fitting epitaph. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, a time when Horatio Alger preached the gospel of upward mobility and expansionism went hand in hand with optimism, Meet You in Hell is a classic tale of two men who embodied the best and worst of American capitalism. Standiford conjures up the majesty and danger of steel manufacturing, the rough-and-tumble of late-nineteenth-century big business, and the fraught relationship of “the world’s richest man” and the ruthless coke magnate to whom he entrusted his companies. Enamored of Social Darwinism, the emerging school of thought that applied the notion of survival of the fittest to human society, both Carnegie and Frick would introduce revolutionary new efficiencies and meticulous cost control to their enterprises, and would quickly come to dominate the world steel market.

But their partnership had a dark side, revealed most starkly by their brutal handling of the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892. When Frick, acting on Carnegie’s orders to do whatever was necessary, unleashed three hundred Pinkerton detectives, the result was the deadliest clash between management and labor in U.S. history. WHILE BLOOD FLOWED, FRICK SMOKED ran one newspaper headline. The public was outraged. An anarchist tried to assassinate Frick. Even today, the names Carnegie and Frick cannot be uttered in some union-friendly communities.

Resplendent with tales of backroom chicanery, bankruptcy, philanthropy, and personal idiosyncrasy, Meet You in Hell is a fitting successor to Les Standiford’s masterly Last Train to Paradise. Artfully weaving the relationship of these titans through the larger story of a young nation’s economic rise, Standiford has created an extraordinary work of popular history.

Customer Reviews:

The more things change, the more they remain the same........2007-09-01

Bought this for my son, graduating with an economics degree; gives an interesting perspective on past economic crises, the movers and the shakers who bear some resemblance to those calling the shots today. very readable and enjoyable as per my son.

A decent account of Carnegie, Frick & Homestead.......2007-01-24

The book is fairly well-written & is easy to read. As far as it goes, it is an accurate account of the often tumultuous relationship between Carnegie & Frick, focusing of course on the Homestead Strike.

Standiford does a reasonably good job of fleshing out the personalities of the key actors in the drama. While hardly a definitive study of the period, this book would serve well as an introductory work into this particular subject.

A Terrific Balancing Act..........2006-09-13

I just returned from Pittsburgh when I found this book at a local bookstore. Interested in learning more about the Homestead lockout/strike of 1892, I purchased this book and was never disappointed. Very readable... and entertaining. The author has a gift for bringing to life people and events that surely could have been dull and boring. I thank every steel worker who ever worked at Homestead, for every ride at Kennywood Amusement Park and for every steel framed skyscraper/construction that exist in my own New York City home! I thank the author for revealing the 'war that goes on within us' that was exhibited in the personalities of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Thank you.

Great read!.......2006-07-09

Meet You in Hell is well-researched and well-written. I enjoyed it very much and have been recommending it to my patrons who like non-fiction.

A poorly titled book, poorly researched and poorly written.......2006-05-31

Les Standiford's Meet You in Hell is ostensibly a history of the "Parnership that Transformed America" between Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie. The problem with this book begins there. Its center is the Homestead Strike and labor unrest in an industrial giant and the beginning of organized labor in the face of very powerful and often ruthless business organizations. The author states upfront his goal was to "focus upoon the thread of a relationship (between Carnegie and Frick)and have restricted my attention for the most part to matters pertaining thereto". I was expecting a true look into the partnership between the two such as No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin (where she brilliantly wrote of Franklin and Elenor Roosevelt's relationship and the effects it had on public policy as well as their own lives). I was sadly disappointed.

This book is a short, if disjointed read. Just over 300 pages and it isn't until the last 50 that Standiford turns his attention to the relationship between these two very powerful and driven men. The bibliography should be read before one even reads page one. It is one and a half pages, most undergraduate college papers have done greater "research". The author at times seems to derail himself in the rare instances where he might capture the reader's attention. In discussing in detail the Homestead Strike he states, at the beginning of a chapter, "Had this been a modern-day standoff, with Frick in close touch . . . by cell phone and Carnegie observing the scene via CNN satellite feed . . . ". This incredibly obvious note was nonscensical. All history would be different if communications were instant rather than weeks and even months just a relatively short time ago. Either Standiford is not qualified to write history (certainly a possibility if you see his creditials) or he thinks his readers daft.

This book is only slightly interesting if you would like to learn more about the Homestead Strike and, even there, it adds no real insight. I finished it only as I was determined to learn more about Carnegie and Frick and, importantly, their parnership. I did not. I would caution that any serious readers of history not make the same mistake I did thinking that something could be learned by reading this pithy writing. It cannot.

Most succinctly put, books about history should be written by qualified historians. This one was not.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics)

Average customer rating:

Great book for inspiration
Interesting ideas
Great Lessons for the budding Entrepreneur

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics)
Andrew Carnegie
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451530381

Book Description

Here is the enlightening memoir of the industrialist as famous for his philanthropy as for his fortune.

Customer Reviews:

Great book for inspiration.......2007-06-27

I read this book as a recommendation from the book "Success through a positive mental attitude" and it is a good read. It is a bit slow at first and its written in an older style of English. Once you pick up the style though the book becomes very interesting, I often read it before sales calls to motivate myself.

Interesting ideas.......2007-06-19

The autobiography gives a good (but sometimes slight) overview of Carnegie's rise from a bobbin boy to one of the richest men in the world. The autobiography doesn't tell you "this is how to become rich", but instead shows Carnegie's values and approach to the working world. The Gospel of Wealth is an interesting idea: the rich got rich by being the most talented and hard-working and deserve their wealth. Since the rich are the smartest and most talented of us, they should best decide how their money gets distributed so that it will best help all of mankind. If money was given to the poor, instead of put into public works and trusts, the poor would blow it because they don't know how to handle money. If they did, they'd be rich! I like this idea, but rarely, if ever do I see it practiced. The rich aren't always the most talented, intelligent, or hard-working people, rarely do they use their wealth for the public good (unless it's a tax write-off), and most of their money gets passed on to their children. I definitely recommend this book. Try these ideas out for yourself.

Great Lessons for the budding Entrepreneur.......2007-04-19

Andrew Carnegie played the game of life to perfection, which is how he ended up the richest man in the world. He had so much amazing wisdom. He made very wise choices starting from the earliest age up to the end of his life. Many people gain some wisdom as they grow older, but what's even more amazing about Andrew Carnegie is that he was wise even as a child and a teenager. Perhaps his parents and other elders taught him very well. It seems like Carnegie always made the best and wisest business decisions. The few times something went wrong, it wasn't his fault and it didn't set him back much. Lately I've been learning a lot about business, marketing, and success. I've gotten a lot of great advice about success. And when I read Carnegie's book, I got to see all these success principles in action. Carnegie's life is full of great examples of what you should do to be successful as a person and as a businessman.

I've seen some claims that he was just another ruthless robber barron, but I think that is a very unfair depiction. I think he did a great job of leading the steel industry and making sure that it took advantage of the most advanced technology available at the time and did things on the most efficient and secure basis. He had a great ability to get along with people and I believe he did treat people very fairly. And by the time he died, he had given away 90% of his fortune to benefit the world through education, culture, etc. I think that is a large piece of evidence showing that he was a well-intentioned, good-hearted person.

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America

Average customer rating:

Survivor: The American Steel Industry
Excellent Read
And if they'd liked each other, then what?
Overall, A Good Period History
Fascinating history, very readable

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America
Les Standiford
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400047684
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

Two founding fathers of American industry.One desire to dominate business at any price.

The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the riveting story of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the bloody steelworkers’ strike that transformed their fabled partnership into a furious rivalry. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Meet You in Hell captures the majesty and danger of steel manufacturing, the rough-and-tumble of the business world, and the fraught relationship between “the world’s richest man” and the ruthless coke magnate to whom he entrusted his companies. The result is an extraordinary work of popular history.

Also available as a Random House AudioBook and an eBook

Customer Reviews:

Survivor: The American Steel Industry.......2007-09-06

Reading this book is a little like watching a reality TV show: two overbearing captains of industry stuck together in a bubble, unwittingly entertaining the public. Though there is little new revealed in "Meet You in Hell," Les Standiford's biography of this infamous business partnership, its value is how the book wonderfully tracks, in tandem, the two robber barons. There are already a dozen biographies of these men, but this book is the first to train its camera solely on the relationship, both business and personal. That's a great leap forward. Thank you, Les Standiford.

Excellent Read.......2007-08-04

After moving to Pittsburgh I toured Frick's mansion, Clayton. I find it to be so interesting that I picked this book up from the bookstore on the way home.

It turned out to be a fascinating read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. The author is able to make the history come alive and make the personalities of Carnegie and Frick identifiable.

Immediately after I finished I gave it to my wife and she loves it too.

And if they'd liked each other, then what?.......2007-05-28

Apart from retelling some ancient gossip, it's hard to figure out why "Meet You in Hell" was written.

That the rise of the American steel and (in a supporting role) coke industries changed the way we live is not news. That the partnership between Carnegie (steel) and Frick (coke) was bitter was, so far as anything this book shows, immaterial to that. The outcome would not have been different if they had gotten along well.

There is an enormous literature about steel and the different approaches of the American and British makers, the consequences of having the foundries concentrated so far east as Pittsburgh when the demand was moving west, metallurgical innovations etc. "Meet You in Hell" is innocent of all that.

A lot of time is spent ruminating over Carnegie's well-known inconsistencies about being rich. How that changed America is not explained. Standiford makes much of the "facts" that Carnegie was the richest man in the world and the most spectacular philanthropist -- neither of which was actually true.

Nor it is explained why Carnegie's philanthropy, which arose from ideas he was forming before he met Frick, had much to do with the partnership. Had Carnegie gone bust -- as might have happened -- Rockefeller would have given away twice as much, and Rockefeller's philanthropy also was based on what he decided in his young manhood.

For a time, while reading the book, I thought Standiford was going to do something with the Homestead strike of 1892, which really was a watershed in the way Americans behave. However, he doesn't do much to explain how labor conditions were trending before the Homestead violence, nor how they did so afterward. Besides, although Carnegie and Frick were feuding about lots of things, they were as one during Homestead.

"Meet You in Hell" adds nothing to what has long been known about Carnegie and Frick. If the intention was to introduce the episode to a new generation that never heard of either man, then the book is short on background.

Overall, A Good Period History.......2007-02-01

Les Standiford's work is, overall, a good period piece evoking the culture and events of late nineteenth century industrial America. He retains a critical perspective without damning his subjects as "robber barons," etc., seeing them in the context of their times and their essential humanity - even when behaving inhumanly.

There are a few inaccuracies, inconsistencies, irrelevancies, and just plain head scratchers: as on page 29, where he states: "In the wake of Ireland's Great Potato Famine, the family sold everything and came, as so many of their fellow Scotsmen did, to America." While this is factually true, one wonders what the Irish potato famine had to do with Scottish immigrants, particularly the Carnegies of Dunfermline. The relevance to the subject remains obscure, unless there's a connection that Mr. Standiford is not sharing with his readers. (?)

In general, though, it's a good read, and a good introduction for the general reader who's just learning about the era, the fruits of which are still part of the life around him: from the 19th century buildings which yet remain in northern US cities, to the remnants of American industry, and the great financial institutions of Wall Street.

Fascinating history, very readable.......2006-08-05

I grew up in Pittsburgh, went to the Carnegie Library and Museum, and my dad's first office was in the splendid Frick Building. Obviously this very readable nonfiction history of Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie appealed to me for those reasons initially, but it is fascinating on so many levels.

Both men rise from poverty as an immigrants in the US to become the wealthiest men in the US and probably the world. The book is interesting in its coverage of labor issues, the first labor unions, and the srike fiasco at Carnegie's Homestead works which virtually broke unions in the US for 30 yrs. Anyone in the business world will be interested in the story of how one of the greatest and largest US corporations, US Steel, came into being. It was a time in the US when JP Morgan, Andrew Mellon, and others first came into being, and it affected our country more than you realize!

If you enjoy well-written nonfiction that reads like fiction, and that enlightens you while managing to be entertaining as well, you will really love this book.

Average customer rating:

Informative but filled with bias
Angel or Demon?
well-written, but ultimately unsatisfying
A Great Biography and History of the Robber Baron Era
Good book - Noticeable bias throughout

Carnegie
Peter Krass
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471386308

Book Description

One of the major figures in American history, Andrew Carnegie was a ruthless businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry and ultimately gave most of it away. He used his wealth to ascend the world's political stage, influencing the presidencies of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. In retirement, Carnegie became an avid promoter of world peace, only to be crushed emotionally by World War I.

In this compelling biography, Peter Krass reconstructs the complicated life of this titan who came to power in America's Gilded Age. He transports the reader to Carnegie's Pittsburgh, where hundreds of smoking furnaces belched smoke into the sky and the air was filled with acrid fumes . . . and mill workers worked seven-day weeks while Carnegie spent months traveling across Europe.

Carnegie explores the contradictions in the life of the man who rose from lowly bobbin boy to build the largest and most profitable steel company in the world. Krass examines how Carnegie became one of the greatest philanthropists ever known-and earned a notorious reputation that history has yet to fully reconcile with his remarkable accomplishments.

Customer Reviews:

Informative but filled with bias .......2007-07-29

This is a book that gives you limited insight into one of the most influential (negative & positive) men since Franklin, Jefferson etc. Filled with many instances were the author inserts his view point, I couldn't help but wonder what he left out in order to sway the readers opinion against Carnegie.

Also it would seem that beside inserting his opinions throughout, Krass used letters from Carnegie and others as his foundation for the book - this takes little effort and seems a bit lazy. If Krass had spent a little time consulting with economic and business historians, he very well could have written a well balanced perspective of Carnegie.

I can't wholly recommend this book unless you have read other Carnegie books and are looking for more insight just remember to cut through the opinion and bias.

Angel or Demon?.......2007-03-19

Krass's book helped me understand the 'other' side of Andrew Carnegie a lot better. Like most people today, my initial introduction to Carnegie was through the legacy he left by way of libraries and the many references to his role as the catalyst for Napoleon Hill's work in crafting his Principles of Success.

For those who enjoy crisp, brief reads, this book is not for you! But for those of us who love the idea of curling up with a huge tome over a month or more to slowly absorb a deep sense of who important figures in history really were and what circumstances contributed to their development, then I think Krass does his job admirably.

Carnegie's cold, tough side is exhibited in a manner that I thought was unbiased and wholly fair. There is no doubt the steel magnate was responsible for deaths among his lower line workers. There is also no doubt that he spent decades of his life and virtually all his money trying to leave the world a far better place than he found it. The need for redemption runs deep inside each one of us, and in Carnegie's case - based on Krass's writings - he had both the need for and the capacity to try and make amends.

Krass's outstanding word portrait of Carnegie exhibits both the demonic and angelic sides of this titan of early industrialisation. That same tension exists in all of us, so reading about it in this context provides not merely an insight into the mental workings of Carnegie but also into the dichotomies that exist within the very best and very worst of humankind... often in the same person.

well-written, but ultimately unsatisfying.......2006-06-29

Peter Krass's biography of Andrew Carnegie is very well-written; he recounts the waypoints of Carnegie's life: his humble origins in Scotland, his jobs as a telegraph clerk, railroad executive, and steel magnate in the US, and his ultimate metamorphosis into a noted philanthropist and apostle for peace. When you first read this book, you really feel as if you are reading a good book. It's not until you start thinking about the claims Krass makes, and the lessons you think you have learned, that you realize it has gigantic holes.

My problem with this book is that Krass makes claims which are dubious, and doesn't furnish credible historical sources to substantiate his less flattering allegations. He doesn't do justice to the reality that Carnegie lived in a different time, nor does he seem to understand the dilemnas that Carnegie faced. Some examples: In the 1870s, the railroad industry was growing by leaps and bounds. When Carnegie won contracts to supply his own railroad-employer, he was one of the few people that the railroad's management knew to be capable, loyal as far as keeping trade secrets, and to have something to lose (his job), if problems arose later. Today this would be self-dealing and cronyism; back then, it happened all the time and sometimes was practically the only way to get the job done. By not putting this into the proper historical context, Krass portrays Carnegie in a false light. Similarly in the 1870s-1900s, the money supply and US economy oscillated between boom and bust. In bad times, when the sales of rails dropped by 85%, Carnegie had no choice but to lower wages at his mills, which Krass duly bemoans.

Krass's book is full of hints that Carnegie was an abusive employer. This is possible, but I wished he had provided wage data for Carnegie's employees, as well as for workers in the area and in comparable trades, so as to leave the reader in no doubt. Krass complains that Carnegie had his workers work either 56 hours a week in good times, and 84 in bad times, but doesn't mention most farmers could only dream of working 56 hours a week. How was Carnegie able to find employees for decades if he was a slave-driver? Krass makes much of the accidents that occurred in Carnegie's steel mills, and mentions that "Captain" Jones a plant manager who enjoyed both Carnegie's and the employees' trust and admiration, died in such a mishap. Jones was so close to both that when Carnegie offered Jones an equity stake in the company, he declined, lest the workers felt he had "sold out;" at this Carnegie paid Jones the salary of the President of the United States. I find it impossible to believe that a man of Jones' caliber would have needlessly risked his life amidst unnecessarily unsafe machinery.

A serious historian won't discuss the safety records in those plants without mentioning other harsh facts of life in those days; the average life expectancy was in the order of 37 years, and presumably lower in the countries from which the many immigrants working in his steel plants had come. Jobs in the mills ultimately allowed the workers to provide their families with sanitation and other amenities that substantially reduced infant, child, and adult mortality. I can't say whether families were better off having their breadwinner work in workplaces that would be unacceptable by today's standards so that they could get out of unsanitary conditions that would be unacceptable by today's standards. But I can say that Krass, by ignoring that these trade-offs existed, and simply flinging mud, writes anti-history. One of Krass' "facts" is seriously wrong; no serious historian denies that the "Black Hand" was close to - perhaps even run by - influential circles in the Serbian army, but Krass does. Krass writes that the Habsburgs were intent on plunging Europe into war by insisting on an outside investigation of Prince Ferdinand's assassination, but doesn't explain how the Habsburgs could have afforded to let those who masterminded the murder of their crown prince go unpunished. This prompts me to question the extent of Krass's understanding of Carnegie's campaigns for peace.

None of this is to imply that Carnegie was beyond chicanery and reproach, but rather that Krass's case is utterly unpersuasive. The pity is that by consulting with competent economists, business historians, and management experts, Krass could have written a phenomenal book that would have inspired its readers, and many business students. Carnegie and his steel company was the Google or Microsoft of its day, and yet Krass has written a book that leaves its readers less enlightened at the end of the book than at the beginning.

A Great Biography and History of the Robber Baron Era.......2006-04-12

Without a doubt, one of the best biographies about Carnegie on the market. This book provides a good history of Carnegie's upbringing, rise to power, and ultimately the formation and sale of US Steel. What really makes Carnegie's life interesting is what he did with his time out of work (he was hardly ever around his steel mills in Pittsburgh). His world travels and philanthropy really make Carnegie a figure worth reading about today. Although his business tactics were questionable and his fortune made at the expense of cheap and inhumane labor practices, he really saved his image for posterity by giving away most of his money - the first intelligent philanthropist. Peter Krass is a decent writer and this book is a great read for anyone fascinated with 19th century America, the rise of American business, the age of Robber Barons, and of course Carnegie. Love him or hate him, Carnegie truly embodied the American dream. In addition to his life story, it's also interesting to note the social circles Carnegie mingled in: be it most American Presidents of the time, the Kaiser, or British Royalty - the access he had to people because of his wealth is quite fascinating. Carnegie lived a long prosperous life and remained a champion of world peace until the day he died - devastated by the outbreak of the Great War (aka World War One).

Good book - Noticeable bias throughout.......2005-10-13

I got this boook from local library and have read about 80 of 520 pages.

There is a wealth of information in this book as to the man Andrew Carnegie and how he formed his character / the relationships in his upbringing and generally how he came to be the man he developed into. In the beginning it was a little confusing b/c the author introduced so many names of relatives without clearly defining who each was and their relation to Andrew.

The reason I gave it 3 stars is b/c the author has an undertone that he really doesn't like Carnegie b/c his father worked slave type of labor in Carnegie's steel mills. It's not enough to ruin the book - but he takes some personal jabs at Carnegie as a person based on the author's personal views and hangups. The author doesn't seem to appreciate capitalism and holds that against Carnegie throughout the reading. There is an undertone of the author's feelings throughout the book - and I am more interested in Carnegie than the author's feelings of capitalism / politics / carnegie etc.

Good book - but I plan to read another biography or autobiography to confirm or challenge some of the author's portrayals of Carnegie himself. But definitely a wealth of info to where you can learn ALOT about Andrew Carnegie and the activities / decisions that lead him on path to the Giant he became.

Jake

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

Average customer rating:

BORING
Worst Book Ever
boring book
Bad Book
Worst required reading...

Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business (2nd Edition)
Harold C. Livesay
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321043731

Customer Reviews:

BORING.......2004-10-18

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

Worst Book Ever.......2004-09-21

"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.

boring book.......2004-09-21

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.

Bad Book.......2004-09-21

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.

Worst required reading..........2004-09-21

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.

Average customer rating:

A monumental work - though rather dry at times
Amazing and Contradictory Man
Social Critique
World's richest man
Immense

Andrew Carnegie
Joseph Frazier Wall
Manufacturer: University of Pittsburgh Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822959046

Book Description

The definitive biography of an industrial genius, philanthropist, and enigma.

Customer Reviews:

A monumental work - though rather dry at times.......2007-08-19

2nd Edition (1989), University of Pittsburgh Press, 1,117 pages (of which 1,047 for main body)

Andrew Carnegie is another of the twenty books that Charlie Munger recommends at the back of the second edition of Poor Charlie's Almanack. If you've read any of my other reviews this will not surprise you, as I am working my way through his list. After all, if a man like Munger - whose thinking prowess is revered by a man of Buffett's abilities - takes the trouble to recommend only twenty books out of all those he has read over a long life time, surely one should actually read them?

You can see from the page count that even reading this book (described by the author as a 'massive tome') is a significant undertaking (let alone the 'many long years' that Wall spent on it). I am left with somewhat mixed feelings after finishing the book: admiration for the vast amount of research that went into it, but also a certain amount of disappointment that some part of Carnegie's character seemed to be missing.

When I reviewed 'Titan', the biography of Carnegie's contemporary, Rockefeller, by Ron Chernow (also on Munger's recommended list) earlier in the year I awarded the book a maximum five stars and said that it was as entertaining as a novel. I also said that I'd not read many biographies and so was somewhat hesitant in my opinion. Andrew Carnegie was thus a particularly useful book to read, as it covers a similarly successful businessman over roughly the same period and location.

I felt that Titan gave a fuller view of Rockefeller, the man, and the things that drove him. I've spent some time considering why Wall's biography of Carnegie seems somewhat two-dimensional in comparison. I've concluded that it probably has something to do with the way that Wall would say, for example, that Carnegie wrote a speech or worked on his autobiography but he doesn't give much indication of how Carnegie would actually spend his day.

Did he work all day on some days, or only at certain times of the day? How did he fit in work (whether business or, later, philanthropy) with the many visitors at Skibo in Scotland? Did he vary his work habits during the year as he moved between Scotland and the US? Did he plan his writing (he was a prolific author of speeches, articles and books) and did he find writing easy as well as enjoyable? I found the absence of these mundane details made it harder to identify with Carnegie.

That said, there were some very interesting and even exciting passages in the book. There is a marvellous story about how Carnegie's manager and business partner, Henry Clay Frick, was shot twice with a small pistol in the neck at short range and stabbed three times in the hip and legs by a would-be assassin. Frick sat in a chair without anaesthetic, directing the doctor as he extracted the bullets. He then insisted upon returning to his desk to cable his mother and Carnegie and to finish some urgent paperwork. It was at the time of the infamous strike at the Homestead plant and before Frick would allow himself to be taken home by ambulance he prepared this statement:

"This incident will not change the attitude of the Carnegie Steel Company toward the Amalgamated Association. I do not think I shall die, but whether I do or not, the Company will pursue the same policy and it will win."

Eventually Frick and Carnegie ended up in open warfare over the control of Carnegie Steel. Wall quotes sections of the board minutes as the fight begins and one feels almost like a direct spectator. Now you know something of Frick's character, you'll be unsurprised that I thought this was the most exciting part of the book.

Rather like Rockefeller, Carnegie retired from business and devoted himself to philanthropy. Also like Rockefeller, Carnegie found giving his money away more difficult and burdensome than actually making it (in fact it nearly gave Rockefeller a breakdown). I think the key here is that it is easy to give money away, but if you are determined to do it effectively (and it was anathema to men like Rockefeller and Carnegie to do it any other way) then it is extremely hard. Particularly when vast quantities of money are involved.

However, Wall's book contains a superb example of the superpower of incentives (and also of an extremely strong positive unintended consequence). Carnegie created an endowment to provide free pensions for university professors because he was concerned that their very low wages (senior professors earned salaries comparable to clerks working for Carnegie Steel) and lack of pensions were causing two major problems:

1. A lack of talented people becoming teachers.
2. Professors staying on long after they should have retired because it was the only way colleges could pay them a pension (again preventing entry of young people).

It had a huge effect because the trustees evaluated all of the colleges in the US and only approved around 50 of over 400 that applied (most were rejected because of low academic entry standards or because of sectarian requirements). The effect of the good teachers wanting to move to colleges where they could access a free pension was so strong that it forced a significant improvement of entry standards across the country, which in turn drove a significant improvement in standards in schools across the country that fed the colleges. It also forced many sectarian/religious colleges to become non-sectarian.

Munger has said that perhaps the most important job in management is to get the incentives right. The marvellous example above shows that, with the right incentives, apparently intractable problems can sometimes simply resolve themselves (just as with FedEx's initial delivery problems).

Overall, Andrew Carnegie is a fine and worthy book, but one that takes some reading.

Amazing and Contradictory Man.......2007-03-15

Andrew Carnegie is the ultimate "rags to riches" story. He began life in humble circumstances in Dumferline, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States with his family when he was about 13 years old. His family was so impoverished that he was forced to take a job shortly after his arrival in America.

Then followed one of the most remarkable careers ever experienced by a person. Carnegie started as a telegraph messenger boy. He than in quick succession became a telegrapher. He was than hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad to be a telegrapher for a division superintendent. Than he was promoted to division superintendent. All the while this was going on, Carnegie seized other opportunities. He invested in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company which did very well and than was bought out by the Pullman Sleeping Car Company. At this point, Carnegie had made the first part of his fortune and he quit his job with the Pennsylvania railroad to focus on other business opportunities he could invest in.

Carnegie lived in the environs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early on, he became acquainted with the Bessemer process for steel production. He realized that someone who was prepared to produce steel on a huge scale could make a huge fortune. Along with business associates, he first built the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. Later other works were purchased or contructed. The company became known as Carnegie Steel. The profits that were generated in this business were phenomenal. In the early years, Carnegie may have made as much as a 40% annual return on his investment.

For such an astute man, though, Carnegie was unwilling to face certain realities. He couldn't understand that workers in the steel mills would not just stand idly by working long hours at unsafe conditions while his fortune grew ever larger. This lead to the famous "Homestead Steel Mill Strike" of 1892. Carnegie and his manager William Clay Frick prevailed in the dispute, but at an enormous cost in reputation, money, and in human lives. Further, Carnegie could be quite ruthless to men who he had worked with and trusted for years. The way he forced William Frick out of the Carnegie Steel Company is scandalous when you realize how much Carnegie owed Frick.

In 1900, Carnegie sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan and the "House of Morgan" for the than absolutely phenomenal sum of $[...]. That company today is, of course, U.S. Steel.

Carnegie took the money from this sale and spent the remaining 20 years of his life contributing to charitable causes. He is most known for the Carnegie libraries that were established. But, he also was a large contributor to minority education, pensions for college professors, churches, and the cause of international peace.

Wall has written a fine book, but it is a long one. I spent my spare time over several weeks getting through this 1050 page volume. Wall could have condensed some portions of the book and still done a good job telling the story. However, despite the time committment involved, I recommend this book to anyone interested in American History during the Guilded Age and the Progressive Period.

Social Critique .......2006-11-30

I have three main problems with this book:
1) The author explores the social critiques of Carnigie's life in detail and seems to side with a leftist point of view.
2) The author dwells on the personal side of Carnigie's life to the detriment of the business side of his life.
3) The first two issues result in a long tedius book to read.

I definitely would not suggest buying this book. I finally gave up on the book about 2/3 of the way through it.

It would be nice to read a book on Carnigie by someone who understands, business, capitalism and freedom.

World's richest man.......2005-11-21

Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835 and came to America at age 13. He started working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and then got in on the ground floor of the steel business. Unlike Rockefeller, his great rival in the race to become the world's richest man, who was motivated by a pious Baptist fervor, Carnegie was a Scottish agnostic Darwinist. (He was three times richer than Rockefeller, by the way.) A frequent contributor to popular magazines of the day, mainly on economic and social issues, he was a follower of Herbert Spencer.

Practical and somewhat crude in manners, the bottom line is what drove him in business. He retired in 1900 and devoted himself to philanthropy (he published a book that year - THE GOSPEL OF WEALTH - in which he proclaimed it was the duty of those who had become extremely wealthy to help those who were less fortunate). Among other things, he began donating library buildings (always just the buildings, never any books) to communities around the country. They were a huge success. Late in his life he became obsessed with world peace and pacificism, less successfully. Although the book is overwritten at 1,200+ pages, Wall writes well and commands our interest. Highly recommended.

Immense.......2004-09-01

The blurb "as thick and densely-packed as a rail of steel" would fit nicely on the back cover of this book, I think. Blurbs aside, Wall writes well and seems to have an exceedingly good handle on every aspect of Andrew Carnegie's life. The beginning is slow to get going but as momentum builds, the author's use of source material, insightful opinions, and historical detail provides a portrait of Carnegie that would be impossible to glean from a smaller study. This is a book designed for scholars that is written well enough for a layperson. It is, however, a commitment: one to the tune of about 1000 pages. Black coffee, comfortable chair, good reading light, and an overwhelming interest in the life of Andrew Carnegie are all suggested before turning over the first page.

The theme that Wall works with is: To understand the public man, the reader needs to know the private man. And vice versa. The author never states this but as can be assumed by the length of this study, the book is intended to be encyclopedic. It lives up to the promise. Wall takes the reader through Carnegie's life in Dunfermline, his early radical leanings, immigration to America, the Pennsylvania Railroad years, steel, the Bessemer process, his Spencerian thoughts and other writings, Homestead, selling out to J. P. Morgan, and, of course, early and late philanthropy. That is a brief overview. Also included are portraits of major and minor characters in Carnegie's life. Writing about these people and events, the author exposes aspects of Carnegie that seem brilliant, tragic, comedic, stubborn, hypocritical, and downright cold-hearted; in some cases, such as the events surrounding the Homestead strike, all at the same time. Did I mention that this book is encyclopedic? Public and private correspondence, newspaper articles, books, financial records, and historical economic figures are quoted judiciously but often. Be prepared to work for your understanding. Wall is a terrific tour guide, however, and if you enjoy the level of detail David McCullough presents in his biographies, you will be comfortable with what is offered here.

The payoff of all of this research and writing is an understanding of Andrew Carnegie and the Gilded Age that few other texts could hope to provide. In an age when most of the robber barons (or "empire builders" as Wall prefers) were boring in their personal life, Carnegie is by far one of the most interesting. This book has a lot of qualities to recommend it but is not intended for the casual historian.

Also recommended: PBS American Experience: Andrew Carnegie.

Average customer rating:

Essential Reading in the History of American 19th Century Business
Different than what I expected, but still a very rich book
Essential Reading
A literary chore
The Bill Gates of a century ago.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie , and Cecelia Tichi
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 155553001X

Book Description

The losses men encounter during a business life which seriously embarrass them are rarely in their own business, but in enterprises of which the investor is not the master. -from Chapter XI Much more than a book of sage business advice-though it is that, too-this extraordinary autobiography of one of the greatest American success stories is the tale of the nation's entrepreneurial spirit itself. The man who made a fortune in steel relates, in a lively and at times even poetic voice, the story of his life, from the vital lessons he learned from his "poor but honest" family about the value of hard work and a generous, liberal philosophy and his early work in telegraph and railroad offices to his investments in oil and steel and the great pleasure he took in his philanthropic causes, including setting up pensions for his steelworkers. Published in 1920, just after his death, and written as if to family and friends, this is an important reminder that there was a time in American business when a multimillion-dollar deal could be conducted on a handshake and greed wasn't good. Entrepreneur and philanthropist ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919) was born in Scotland and emigrated to America as a teenager. His Carnegie Steel Company launched the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and after its sale to J.P. Morgan, he devoted his life to philanthropic causes. His charitable organizations built more than 2,500 public libraries around the world, and gave away more than $350 million during his lifetime.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reading in the History of American 19th Century Business.......2006-07-16

Born in Scotland but an immigrant to the United States as a teenager, Andrew Carnegie has been variously characterized as a "captain of industry" or a "robber baron" by those who have chronicled his rise to wealth and fame in the latter nineteenth century. After selling his steel company to J.P. Morgan at the turn of the century, Carnegie devoted himself to philanthropic goals. He gave away more than $350 million to various causes and endowed more than 250,000 libraries. His philanthropic activities were underpinned by a fundamental belief in the virtue of hard work, perseverance, and self-improvement through education, hence his emphasis on libraries and the endowing of other educational organizations. Fundamentally, this book offers a restatement of the "Horatio Alger" myth of the "American dream" of success through personal commitment. At the same time Carnegie seeks to pass on his wisdom gained through a lifetime of effort. A significant and fascinating statement of American industrial individualism that is required reading for all who wish to understand the history of the United States in the latter nineteenth century, Carnegie's autobiography also served as a model for many others to follow. Unfortunately, few achieved the success that Carnegie enjoyed despite the diligence they may have registered.

Different than what I expected, but still a very rich book.......2002-08-18

I'll admit that my primary motivation for reading this book was somewhat shallow--I basically wanted to read about how one of history's most successful businessmen amassed so much wealth. To be honest, the book didn't really give as many details as I would have liked on that particular interest. But what I got along the way made the book worth it.

First and foremost, after reading 350 pages of Carnegie writing about his life you feel like you really start to know him, to get a sense of what kind of human being he was, and even to get a sense of his somewhat remarkable confidence level that exists in conjunction with his pretty inspiring level of benevolence and compassion. But I think even more than getting a sense of Carnegie, you get a sense of the time he lived in. Some of the most engaging parts of the book for me were the first-hand accounts of Lincoln during the Civil War, or Carnegie's conversations with President Harrison about a small uprising in Chile. You also hear about how he handled the strikes of steel workers, an occurence I'd only read about in history books but never learned directly about from the perspective of the manager.

All throughout Carnegie peppers with his nuggets of wisdom, and you get the feeling he knows people want them really badly but that he chooses to give them sparingly.

In the end, I probably will never re-read this book, but I feel better educated about one of history's greatest industrialists, greatest benefactors, and the time he lived in after having read it. If you have a nascent interest in history, you will most likely enjoy this book; if you're looking for a "how to make your millions" from a master, I would look elsewhere.

Essential Reading.......2002-03-06

The vanity of today's uneducated society is breathtaking. White is black and black is white and 'a little knowledge' is indeed proving very dangerous. This book (along with the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin) should be read by every American citizen - to relearn what America once represented.

For example, Carnegie Steel, the world's largest company in 1900, was NOT a corporation; it was a private partnership. The sale of the company to JP morgan (for half a billion dollars) was done on a handshake; a contract was a mere afterthought. Reputation and honesty and customer service were THE guiding principles of the era. 'Individual responsibility' was considered a good thing in those days.

America now has more lawyers per capita than any other nation on Earth. Our politicians now attempt to micro-manage every detail of our lives. You break a fingernail and sue the universe. We have become terrified of freedom. Read this book if you want to understand how America rose from a third world country to a superpower between 1800 and 1900 - without government intervention or welfare or all the millions of rules and regulations we now hold so dear. We have traded away our freedom for security. The price is higher than you think.

A literary chore.......2001-10-30

It has been over a year since I ground my way through this book. My lack of adaptability to the Olde Worlde English may have contributed to this. I found this to be a long book about an interesting individual whose sole purpose for writing the book, I have concluded, was to leave a lasting, self-congratulatory reminder of his own life. I must disagree with a previous review that stated it was a must for any young ambitious person. I am; it wasn't.
For sheer inspiration from another person's life, I would recommend works on Lincoln, the Wright brothers (Kill Devil Hill), Richard Branson, Edison, Spielberg, Mme Curie, Bruce Lee, Iacocca and Einstein.

The Bill Gates of a century ago........1999-05-26

This book was pracitically written for the ambitious young man, as there are many references to this. Mr. Carnegie serves as a great role model, which I feel is quite important, especially considering the terrible events in schools lately. Carnegie emphasizes the importance of self-improvement, knowing your talents, being kind, and also the importance of public speaking. You will learn important lessons thru personal anecdotes of his life. This book should be required reading for every adolescent attending high school.

Andrew Carnegie: Industrial Philanthropist (Lerner Biographies)

Average customer rating:

Andrew Carnegie
An interesting and well written biography

Andrew Carnegie: Industrial Philanthropist (Lerner Biographies)
Laura Bufano Edge
Manufacturer: Lerner Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Ancient | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0822549654

Customer Reviews:

Andrew Carnegie.......2006-01-26

Andrew Carnegie went from living in poverty to becoming one of the wealthiest businessmen of his time. Born in Scotland, in 1835, Carnegie lived in poverty for several years. In 1848, Carnegie and his family moved to America and settled near the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started out making very little money working in factories and as a messenger boy, but worked up to jobs such as a telegraph operator and different positions in the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He excelled at every job he worked at and made many wise investments. While working with railroads, Carnegie saw that steel would soon replace iron as the primary building material in the U.S. He then built a steel factory which soon was joined by others to make an empire. By the time Carnegie sold the Carnegie Steel Company to J.P. Morgan in 1900 for 480 million dollars, he was one of the richest men in the world. Before he died in 1919, Carnegie spent most of his money on charities including the donating of more than 50 million dollars worth of libraries and creating the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the largest charitable fund of its time. Andrew Carnegie is an interesting biography that will please anyone who wants to learn the details of Andrew Carnegie's life.
Carnegie excelled at every job he worked at. As he provided office help to a factory owner named John Hay, he decided to change Hay's single-entry accounting system to a double-entry system, which he'd heard all great businesses had. He took a night class to learn accounting just to make this change. When Carnegie was working as a telegraph operator, he heard that some operators in other cities could take messages by ear. He worked hard and succeeded in becoming only the third operator who could translate Morse code in this way. While running his steel company, he put the profits back into the factories so that he always had the best equipment and could keep production costs low, even though the other partners wanted to spend the profits as they pleased.
Throughout his life, Andrew Carnegie never forgot his family. The Carnegies were poor when they came to America. Andrew got a job when he was twelve working in a bobbin factory to support his family, even though it only paid one dollar and twenty cents a week. At age twelve, Carnegie promised his mother, Margaret that he would take her back to their hometown of Dunfermline in Scotland and that they would ride in a fine carriage and the whole town would see them. Thirty-three years later, once Andrew became a successful businessman, he fulfilled his promise to his mother. Carnegie felt that he should not get married while his mother was living and he kept to that moral. He was fifty-one years old when he finally married Louise Whitman in 1887.
Carnegie performed many charitable acts before his death. One of his first acts of charity was when he donated a library to his hometown of Dunfermline in Scotland. During his lifetime he paid for 2,811 at a cost of over 50 million dollars. He provided funds to create the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and established the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He also created the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which gave pension to heroes (and their families) who became injured or died while trying to save others. In 1911, he created the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the largest charitable fund of its time. He gave 125 million dollars to the corporation. After he created this corporation, he had given away ninety percent of his fortune.
Andrew Carnegie is an interesting biography that is informative about every aspect of Andrew Carnegie's life. It shows how he became one of the most successful businessmen in history, but also shows the unknown sides of him. It shows how he was good to his family and how he contributed to society. All of the information is in detail, making it easier to understand clearly.

An interesting and well written biography.......2003-12-10

This nonfiction book is a rare gem. Not only does it detail the life of a fine man, but the reader wants to turn every page to see the next development in this fantastic tale. Andrew Carnegie was a hard worker and able to succeed with determination. His is a rags to riches story with love and devotion to his family. He was often in the right place at the right time to benefit from the knowledge of others. Not only did he receive wealth beyond his dreams, but is a prime example of sharing his good fortune with others. Libraries across the United States were built due to his generosity and interest.

A wonderful book for ALL ages.The text and numerous pictures make this book hard to put down.

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