Uncovering the Legacy of John D. Rockefeller Sr. with 'Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.'

Riley F: Very long, but well written read about Mr. Rockefeller. This author did a great job of presenting a non-biased view of the titan based off research collected from opposing view point. This book also does a great job explaining 19th and 20th century US capitalism

United States on Nov 09, 2023

Amazon Customer: It's a doorstop sized read, but well worth the time investment. Many of the topics of the day - antitrust, greed, philanthropy, inequality of wealth and opportunity - are played out in these pages. JDR Sr's life was such a nest of contradictions. He was a fierce competitor who hated to lose, yet he was quite in favor of cooperatively controlled markets rather than free markets. Just so long as he was on top! This is an important American story that all Americans should know.

United States on Nov 03, 2023

tlszpiech: I knew nothing of John D Rockefeller, Senior, except for standard oil. I was fascinated by his life, all that he did in humanity knowing some of the families history, but not knowing where all they were placed in US history.

United States on Oct 14, 2023

Srini Lia: First I’ve received damaged item but after I replaced it, which took a lot of time and then I received the good new book which I loved.

But I wish that delivery time for this book after I’ve replaced it should be minimal

India on Feb 08, 2023

LenZen: I recently read Thomas Sowell's Intellectuals and Society and noticed that Sowell had a much different opinion of Rockefeller and Standard Oil then those presented by Richard White in The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 from the Oxford Series on United States History. To resolve the matter I resolved to do a basic "spot check" of Sowell's claims to see whose opinion was closer to the truth: at least at some point in time... After procrastinating on this, one day a message arrived in my Inbox informing me that Ron Chernow's biography of Rockefeller was on sale. Was this a sign that this was a book I was meant to read? Almost certainly it was merely a coincidence but it did seem like the book would present me with more than enough information to get to the bottom of the different views of the Gilded Age's "Robber Barrons". It would, however, require a bit more reading than the "spot check" I had originally intended...

At the outset Chernow makes it clear that he wants to cover more aspects of Rockefeller's life than are typically covered by other books which tend to focus on Rockefeller's business career....

United States on Aug 22, 2022

C.A. Gray: Chernow is quickly becoming one of my favorite historians! While I realize that nearly every author probably can’t help but include some element of “spin,” the depth and detail of his research helped to convince me that he was as intellectually honest as he could possibly be with the evidence available.

I went in to this biography with a preconceived notion of John D Rockefeller, Sr; I thought he was a greedy scoundrel who was more or less responsible for the state of modern medicine as we know it: specifically, “sick care” which involves treating symptoms with drugs that suppress and cause a myriad of other problems, rather than trying to get to the root cause and heal the patient. I believed, based on what I had heard, that he was not content with the billions he had made in Standard Oil and the railroads, and that the Flexnor Report of 1910 was his attempt to squash all competition and achieve a complete monopoly in medicine, too.

As I listened to the story of his very difficult upbringing, with a bigomist charlatan father who abandoned his mother and the family, I felt sorry for John. I admired his hard work and determination to pull himself up by his...

United States on Mar 11, 2022

joshua kumar: This is the best biography that I have ever read; very interesting to see how Mr Rockefeller transitioned from a simple rural boy into a business leader. Chernow has a very beautiful writing style and portrays Rockerfeller's exploits in the oil industry in a very Machiavellian manor. The book does lose momentum when talking about the life of John D rockerfeller Jr and gives a lot of unnecessary details about senior's retirement routine. Overall a great book and highly recommended for anyone who wants to get started in Business or who wants to study American history

United Kingdom on May 14, 2021

Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer: I’ve always found biographies and autobiographies great reads. To be able to study successful people and emulate elements of their practices into your own life is a great way to build your own standard of wealth.

This book by Ron Chernow is very well written. It is comprehensive and clearly illustrates what sort of person John D Rockefeller was as well as the struggles he had growing up.

We often think that successful people have always had it that way, but this book illustrates the grit that is needed for one to become successful, no matter what their endeavour.

United Kingdom on Jul 19, 2020

Robert ‘Bob’ Macespera: This is a good book in line of the author's other great biographies of great Americans (Hamilton, Morgan, Washington, Grant). Mr Chernow does know well his trade and writes quite well.
However, the books suffers from two reasons, and thus the three stars. Firstly, the most interesting part of a self-made billionaire is how he got to be one. But this is told only suscinctly and in a handful of pages - we see John D Rockefeller as a trader in Ohio and ten pages later he is already an oil tycoon.
Secondly - and this is common in these "great lives" of Mr Chernow - once the main character retires, there's really not much to tell, and we have the sensation of the author's will to produce a large book, just for the sake of it. So we spend two hundred pages reading John Rockefeller's odd habits and routines, playing golf, travelling to Europe and doing all those things the American millionaires do when they retire, and which are not interesting at all. Add to this that his heir, John jr, is a far less interesting character. However, we're told what he likes and does and how many children he had. (This happens too in another good book by the same author, that one about the House of...

United Kingdom on Feb 21, 2020

Butler baboo: Easily the best biography I’ve EVER read, (well apart from Autobiography of a Yogi), Titan is a marvel. Written in a flawless, lucid style, the book describes the life and times of John Rockefeller, the legendary business tycoon of 19th century America.
Described unfairly as a robber baron, Rockefeller amassed a fortune and an empire the world had scarcely seen. Yes, he ruthlessly ripped apart competition; yes he bribed his way to industrial sovereignty. But one must not forget that he was working his way in old frontier America, an America which  hardly had any competition or industrial laws. Cowboy capitalism was the name of the game, and Rockefeller was our Clint Eastwood- the strong, silent leader.
Reading this book is an education- one sees the forces of capitalism, law, politics and personalities clash and collide, creating new industries, new wealth and new leaders. Its wonderful. Its addictive. 
What stands out in the whole narrative is the man himself- Rockefeller was an enigma. Deeply religious, he often displayed eerie powers of self control and awareness. His rock-solid composure often made me think  of the Bhagwan Gita’s idea of...

India on Oct 12, 2017