Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

This book that I was read years ago, is perfect for this time. I don't know if the novel is realistic or fantasy, but, some think born from this page.

This is the 3rd Ron Chernow book I've read after "Washington: A Life" and "Alexander Hamilton". Titan is the biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., who was the founder of "Standard Oil". The book tells his story from his youth to the end of his long life (he lived to 97). John D's dad was a very interesting con man who was loving to his family, but deserted the family for long stretches of time, ultimately leaving the family and assumed another identity. He married another woman while still married to John D's mother. John D's mother raised the family deeply religious Baptists, never knowing about her husband's other life. The family never went hungry, but they struggled to get by, and John D learned to be thrifty and learned the value of money. As he grew up, through hard work and luck, he got into oil refining after oil was discovered in 1859 nearby. He became a master at organization and ultimately his "Standard Oil" company controlled almost all the oil business in the USA. John D got fantastically rich, eventually becoming the richest man in the world. John D was a very private man who's life was a total contradiction. All his life he remained extremely religious and donated large amounts of money to charities. On the other hand when it came to business he was totally cutthroat, extremely cunning and greedy, and was one of the most hated men in America. While reading this book, you will feel much admiration for the man one minute, then feel that he was one of the worst human beings that ever lived. As cutthroat and greedy as he was at business, he retired before he was 60 and devoted the rest of his life to giving away most of his money for causes to better mankind (religion, charity, education, and medical research). As an old man, he was pretty much forgiven by the press for all his past deeds and he became much admired for all his generosity. This book is almost 700 pages and explains John D's life quite thoroughly and has a lot of good pictures. I really enjoyed reading it, as I did Ron Chernow's other two books.

This is a well-written, intriguing book. One of the main things that drew me to purchasing a book about John D. Rockefeller was the fact that his wealth surpasses that of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates combined if you were to use inflation in modern day economics. So I figured, if I wanted to learn a thing or two about becoming wealthy, why not learn it from the best? This doesn't have to be a subjective debate, but clearly, if John D. was alive, it would be him. I found it fascinating that the once richest man in the world was not only exceedingly wealthy and generous, but he was also a devout Baptist. In fact, it was cliche for others during his time to see John D care only about two things in life: "Oil, and the Church." Not only was he a fine model to follow because of his business ethics, but his character was much more supreme and a direct result of why he became so wealthy. It is a tragic ideology and often misconception that the rich are wealthy because of their evil doings and oppression towards the poor. However, countless of books and stories of self-made men have proved otherwise. If I was to write a book about John D. Rockefeller and how he became the richest man in the world (and still is if you used inflation), I would include the following points based on reading this book by Ron Chernow: 1. Frugality. John D. Rockefeller kept a detailed accounting of everything he spent, not just in his personal life and what he had spent but as well as in his own business. In business he did everything he can to be resourceful and keep costs at a minimum. At one point, his oil business were purchasing oil barrels from a certain company. When he figured out his business would save more money by making their own barrels, he decided to go this route rather than purchasing directly from a company. While most business executives as a poor waste of time, John D. did this over and over again--proving how he had built his wealth. 2. Have faith. John D. believed it was his calling to apply what John Wesley often said, "Earn as much as you can, save as much you can, and give all that you can." John D. had tremendous faith and devotion to God and it was his meditation to the Bible and prayer that attributed to his success. The Bible tells you how to live your life in a moral way. Not movies, not opinions, not books. Because Rockefeller lived his life according to the Bible, he became wealthy. (I was a graduate student attending seminary for the last 2 years, so I know that there are over 94 verses attributing to prosperity and wealthy in the Gospel. But bear in mind that money is one of the biggest debates in churches.) 3. Hard work. Is it possible to become wealthy and successful without God? Yes. But I don't think they'll get as far as John D. has. Well, that's it for now. This is a great book and I'm looking forward to finishing all of it in the next few days. In conclusion, all I can say is that John D. Rockefeller was an inspiring man. I will definitely read more books about him in the future.

Like all of Ron Chernow's biography, this book is long, extremely detailed and massively researched. One area I was hoping to get some insight on but came away disappointed. Why did Rockefeller devote so relatively little of his his enormous charitable giving towards his home city of Cleveland? Especially when, in retrospect, he unleashed an absolutely staggering amount of pollution onto the city and saddling Cleveland with a notorious reputation that they still battle to this day. It seems that New York City functioned as his industrial "parlor room" and Cleveland functioned as the "outhouse". New York got all of the cash, and Cleveland got all of the waste. Chernow briefly mentions the lack of largesse to Cleveland in passing, and never even discusses the environmental disaster Standard Oil created there.

Awesome book,very interesting.

Wonderful portrait of a brilliant man, who was the first to develop the modern day corporation in America. His creation of Standard Oil was a monumental achievement. I enjoyed the work so thoroughly, I make it a point to fuel at EXXON whenever possible.

Eye opener

I received my book in better quality than expected. Nothing to complain about. shipment arrived on time as expected. Highly recommend.

I ordered the hard bound version twice and the product was way below standards. However, much appreciate Amazon's return policy. After returning the book back I luckily got this paper back edition. Excellent service, product delivered before the actual promised schedule. Product quality very good.

Bought this from’Ultimate Treasures’ and it said “Used: Very Good” but if “Used: Very Good” looks like that... Waited a long time to get the order so no ‘Fast delivery’. Very disappointed, very bad condition wit loads of marks and stains. Other than that the book is a must read.

Was supposed to be a gift the quality wasn’t suitable