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I didn't see this, so I have to recommend Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Through school I always thought the industrial/gilded age stuff was way boring and viewed it from a negative standpoint, but picked this up after seeing a few things about Standard Oil. The first parts of the book are about the ruthless business practices of Rockefeller and the rise of Standard while the rest are about his family and later charity work. The author explores the benevolent and machiavellian sides of him in a really interesting way in describing his family life and the importance of religion as his cold reputation grows. Honestly both aspects were mindblowing in their scope, from Standard Oil men literally following competitors to undercut their prices to the point of giving away their own oil, to all the institutions created with Rockefeller money for the benefit of blacks and the post-Civil War South. Just an immensely interesting man with a legacy, good and bad, that affects so many people to this day.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:28
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Juanito posted:This book sounded good to me, and I got it a few years ago. When it showed up, I was intimidated. It's a big book. How long did it take you? I haven't read it yet, but it's definitely in my queue. Honestly as a guy who reads around a dozen books a year it took me a few months. YMMV though, I can burn out on nonfiction that long. I found the parts about Standard to be fascinating and then as the book moves into his charity work I kind of slowed down, but kept on truckin because there really is just so much interesting about him from his family life even through retirement. Once you've gotten past some of the foreshadowed things it becomes less focused, but the circle of people around him and the anecdotes from his retirement build on his characterization. And even though the individual charity work can get tedious, it starts accumulating and you really start appreciating the scope of it. I was engrossed just finding out anything I could about the guy by the end, to the point where I got a little sad when I realized I was getting to the end of his life. Red Fructidor fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Jul 13, 2012 |
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Jul 13, 2012 05:40
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:I asked about books in general about Mexico in the recommendations thread and didn't get a response, so I figured I'd try here. Any good history books on Mexico? I'm mainly interested in the Mexican-American War, but I'd appreciate anything from the arrival of Cortés to the modern day. Thanks in advance! I read River of Darkness by Buddy Levy and while it was ok it was kind of light reading for my tastes. I just finished Conquest: Montzeuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas and found that it was perfect for what I was looking for. I don't know where you fall on the spectrum but for me it was dense enough with the facts without being too dry and still presented a really gripping narrative and elaborated on the character of the major players. YMMV but honestly it's an amazing story no matter who presents it.
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Jun 1, 2013 23:44
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