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Titan

The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

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Titan

Auteur(s): Ron Chernow
Narrateur(s): Grover Gardner
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À propos de cet audio

John D. Rockefeller, Sr., history’s first billionaire and the patriarch of America’s most famous dynasty, is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now Ron Chernow, a National Book Award-winning biographer, gives us a detailed and insightful history of the mogul. Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist.

Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.

Rockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation’s history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than 30 years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay.

While providing abundant evidence of Rockefeller’s misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously than anyone before him - his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes that have never before come to light.

John D. Rockefeller’s story captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the dramatic post–Civil War shift from small business to the rise of giant corporations that irrevocably transformed the nation. With cameos by Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Jung, J. P. Morgan, William James, Henry Clay Frick, Mark Twain, and Will Rogers, Titan turns Rockefeller’s life into a vivid tapestry of American society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is Ron Chernow’s signal triumph that he writes this monumental saga with all the sweep, drama, and insight that this giant subject deserves.

©2004 Ron Chernow (P)2013 Blackstone Audio
Affaires Amériques Histoire Professionnels et universitaires Économie Âge d’or Capitalisme Mythologie grecque Grèce antique Socialisme Biographie Mythologie Business Biography
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On times and men who have gone before us. Their struggles and the evil some men might do. Its just eye opening,,,,

A very interesting read

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I was hooked through the whole story. John.D was a pretty impressive man and also a controversial man in the same respect. Would recommend 5/5

what a fascinating man and story

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I Found myself wanting to drive, so I could listen to this book. Excellent Story.

Excellent

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The only complaint I have is that it does not include much about the inner workings of Standard Oil and details of the thought processes behind some decisions made. It looks at it from a 20000ft distance angle.
Otherwise the book is great. Very informative on the man and the family too.

Great book on a great man.

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A must read! The life of John D Rockefeller is extraordinary and the book was written so well it was hard to stop listening.

Excellent Story

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Absolutely fascinating story through and through, the duality of his morality, business vs faith and at times their total contradictions. I found it extremely interesting how he came from nothing and when applying for his first job as a book keeper he was constantly rejected and kept focused and when he had applied to all businesses in town, simply started at the beginning of the list and re-applied until he got his foot in the door then walked through it and into history.

Thouroughly enjoyed every minute!!

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I enjoyed this audiobook very much. Rockefeller Sr. comes across as a very hard working man who took advantage of lax regulations and the corruption that was common at the time. Chernow is ambivalent regarding how he presents these facts — at one point arguing that it was perhaps inevitable that someone like Rockefeller would emerge to control the oil industry and save it from collapse due to unfettered competition. At other times, Chernow acknowledges that many of Rockefeller's actions were questionable. This ambivalence is present throughout the book where any criticism of Rockefeller is shown as having a certain degree of unfairness. And, for sure, Rockefeller was a contradictory man who was being pulled in opposite directions by his religion and his impulses (his chaotic childhood probably instilled in him the need to control his surroundings). So, in the end, this is the story of extraordinary greed and generosity, both personified by the same man. While this ambivalence bothered me at first, I appreciated that Chernow left it to the reader to reach our own conclusions.

I actually read Grant before this one so I knew that Chernow does not like any part of his research to go to waste. I think that some parts were unnecessarily detailed since at some points you are listening mini-biographies of people who worked for Rockefeller or of his extended family. Also, did we really need such a long explanation about Junior's approach to art? All that being said, I highly recommend this audiobook.

Very engaging but unnecessarily long

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35 hours is a long listen, but it didn't drag. Great narration by Grover Gardner.

I really enjoyed this book - it should be subtitled "the intersection of faith and work". It was interesting how Rockefeller Sr tried to reconcile his faith & work (arguably failing). It was also interesting how few generations passed before the family turned away from faith.

Fascinating Book

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This was a great listen and covered from before to after his life, including all close family.members.

Was a very good biography, and despite its length I never got bored of it

Great story, very in-depth

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This is an excellent study of one of the worlds richest men. The author did a good job being fair to this very human man and showing both sides of his character. Yes he was a monopolist, before there were any laws preventing this. It was not a foregone conclusion that he would achieve this monopoly status, nor that they could have maintained it in the face of rapidly shrinking world economy. Very fascinating history.

Excellent

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