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The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt Paperback – Illustrated, April 20, 2010
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WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
In this groundbreaking biography, T.J. Stiles tells the dramatic story of Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt, the combative man and American icon who, through his genius and force of will, did more than perhaps any other individual to create modern capitalism. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, The First Tycoon describes an improbable life, from Vanderbilt’s humble birth during the presidency of George Washington to his death as one of the richest men in American history. In between we see how the Commodore helped to launch the transportation revolution, propel the Gold Rush, reshape Manhattan, and invent the modern corporation. Epic in its scope and success, the life of Vanderbilt is also the story of the rise of America itself.
- Print length736 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication dateApril 20, 2010
- Dimensions6.13 x 1.63 x 9.17 inches
- ISBN-109781400031740
- ISBN-13978-1400031740
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and Kansas City Star Book of the Year
“A mighty—and mighty confident—work. . . . This is state-of-the-art biography. . . . The First Tycoon has been widely praised, and rightly so. . . . This is state-of-the-art biography.”
—The New York Times
“Superbly written and researched. . . . Worthy of its subject.”
—The Economist
“Truly remarkable. . . . A landmark study that significantly enhances one’s understanding of U.S. economic history. . . . [Stiles is] one of the most exciting writers in the field.”
—Foreign Affairs
“Stiles has painted a full-bodied, nuanced picture of the man. . . . Elegance of style and fair-minded intent illuminate Stiles’s latest, expectedly profound exploration of American culture in the raw.”
—The Boston Globe
“Stiles, a superb researcher, has unearthed quantities of new material and crafted them into the illuminating, authoritative portrait of Vanderbilt that has been missing for so long.”
—The Washington Post
“Very absorbing. . . . Much more than a biography. The book is filled with important, exhaustively researched and indeed fascinating details that would profit every student of American business and social history to read.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Stiles writes with both the panache of a fine journalist and the analytical care of a seasoned scholar. And he offers a fruitful way to think about the larger history of American elites as well as the life of one of their most famous members.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Vanderbilt’s story is indeed epic, and so is The First Tycoon. . . .Stiles is a perceptive and witty writer with a remarkable ability to paint a picture of the America in which Vanderbilt lived.”
—The Christian Science Monitor
“Fascinating. . . . A reminder that Vanderbilt’s life and times still have much to teach us.”
—Newsweek
“Gracefully written. . . . [Vanderbilt] was the right man in the right place at the right time, and the meticulous Stiles seems to be the right man to tell us about it.”
—St. Petersburg Times
“Stiles has given us a balanced and absorbing biography of this colorful and often ruthless entrepreneur.”
—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
“Monumental. . . . Arresting. . . . Stiles has a gift for making readers admire unsavory characters. . . . [The First Tycoon] resembles a five-course meal at a three-star restaurant: rich and pleasurable.”
—Bloomberg.com
“Engrossing and provocative. . . . Stiles draws on exhaustive archival research to clear away the apocryphal and celebrate Vanderbilt as an American icon.”
—Tulsa World
“At long last a biography worthy of the Commodore, meticulously researched, superbly written, and filled with original insights.”
—Maury Klein, author of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould
“Stiles writes with the magisterial sweep of a great historian and the keen psychological insight of a great biographer. . . . With panache and admirable ease, Stiles maps the financial and political currents on which Vanderbilt buccaneered and shows that it was Vanderbilt, more than anyone else, who enabled business to evolve into Big Business.”
—Patricia O’Toole, author of When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House
“A brilliant exposition of the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt and the entrepreneurial environment that he shaped. Readers will look at Grand Central Station and much else in American life with fresh eyes.”
—Joyce Appleby, author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism
“The definitive biography of Commodore Vanderbilt. Both as portrait of an American original and as a book that brings to life an important slice of American history long neglected, this is biography at its very best. A magnificent achievement.”
—Arthur Vanderbilt II, author of Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt
“Stiles brings the Commodore, warts and all, to life in this new study, which is at once up-to-date in scholarly terms, analytically incisive, and lucidly written.”
—Raleigh News and Observer
“Sweeping. . . . [A] magisterial, exemplary work . . . [that] offers entry into the storm-tossed world of our current tycoons and the rough waters they have piloted us into.”
—American History Magazine
“Superbly researched and elegantly written. . . . Stiles’s will likely prove to be the definitive biography of this epic entrepreneur.”
—Philanthropy Magazine
About the Author
Visit the author's website at www.tjstiles.com.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- ASIN : 1400031745
- Publisher : Vintage; Reprint edition (April 20, 2010)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 736 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781400031740
- ISBN-13 : 978-1400031740
- Item Weight : 2.25 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.13 x 1.63 x 9.17 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #36,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #91 in Women in History
- #149 in Biographies of Business & Industrial Professionals
- #270 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
T. J. Stiles is the author of The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, winner of the 2009 National Book Award in Nonfiction and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Biography, and Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, which won the Ambassador Book Award and the Peter Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship. A member of the Society of American Historians, he wrote his latest book, Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America, with the assistance of a Guggenheim fellowship. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and two children.
Photo credit: Michael Lionstar
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book an engaging read that covers a vital part of American history between the revolution and civil war. They appreciate the author's big-picture view of history and the detailed account of events. Readers describe the narrative as interesting and a page-turner. The book provides a vivid, illuminating portrait of the country at a pivotal phase in its development. The character development is described as real and unique. The author portrays the entrepreneur as resourceful and clever, building his wealth with hard work.
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Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They say it's well worth their time, interesting, and informative. Readers also mention it's a very readable biography of a character.
"...It is, to put it simply, phenomenal; not just the best biography of Vanderbilt ever written, but perhaps one of the best American biographies..." Read more
"...But after reading this impressive work, I have a new appreciation for the Commodore...." Read more
"...book is long and it takes a while to get through this but it is well worth the time...." Read more
"...This book reads like the best fiction...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's history. They find it engaging and well-researched, covering a vital part of American history between the Revolution and Civil War. The author sets the record straight about myths about Vanderbilt. Overall, they describe the book as educational and scholarly.
"...It is, to put it simply, phenomenal; not just the best biography of Vanderbilt ever written, but perhaps one of the best American biographies..." Read more
"...The author also sets the record straight about many myths that have been told about Vanderbilt...." Read more
"...The life of Vanderbilt is fascinating and filled with details about the lives of his colorful contempories like Daniel Drew, Jay Gould, Augustus..." Read more
"...Though it is by no means a polemic, it forces one to contemplate history, economics, political science, human nature, and much else in an entirely..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's narrative quality. They find it engaging and easy to read, with a detailed account of Mr. C. Vanderbilt's life and times. The book seamlessly transitions from the main topic to the surrounding time frame, making it interesting for a wide range of readers.
"...'Monday Morning Quarterbacking,' overall, this composition is an astute narrative, distilled from reams of information, to ultimately, portray a..." Read more
"...Vanderbilt is a fascinating study of opposites, really, in his love-hate relationship with family members and business associates...." Read more
"...A surprisingly interesting account of the life and times of Mr. C. Vanderbilt, which I assumed, incorrectly, to be quite boring and burgoise,..." Read more
"...It’s a page turner that never fails to intrigue. Well worth the time invested in this book to complete the Vanderbilt journey...." Read more
Customers find the book provides a vivid and illuminating portrait of Cornelius Vanderbilt's life. They describe it as a wonderful portrait of America at a pivotal point in its history. The book shows how Vanderbilt built his empire through boldness, ability, and commercial acumen. It provides a panoramic view of the 19th century through the eyes of one of the great figures in 19th-century America.
"...The First Tycoon includes many photos and drawings, as well as maps. But I wish it included a family tree...." Read more
"...This book is a masterful biography, and a wonderful portrait of our country at a pivotal phase in its development...." Read more
"This is a large book on a very interesting subject. There is much detail and very interesting and educational American history tour of early 19th..." Read more
"...' overall, this composition is an astute narrative, distilled from reams of information, to ultimately, portray a distinctly commendable expose...." Read more
Customers appreciate the author's character development. They find the background of this powerful magnate captures his essence, with a real human side and unique person. The book provides a profound image of the entrepreneur and the man.
"..."Tycoon" succeeds mainly by putting Vanderbilt in familiar, human terms, placing him in the context of the national social, political and economic..." Read more
"...One gets a real human side from the author as he details the often strained relationships with his children...." Read more
"...it forces one to contemplate history, economics, political science, human nature, and much else in an entirely pleasurable way." Read more
"...of out-of-the-ordinary photographs and prints, this book is a tour de force deserving every award it receives." Read more
Customers find the book a fascinating biography about an entrepreneur with profound business sense and resourcefulness. They describe him as an unstoppable entrepreneur who built his wealth through hard work and Yankee values of hard work, no-bullshit, and frugality. The book shows how he revolutionized the modern corporate model and developed stock/equity and bond financing.
"...than any other, was responsible for the birth and development of the modern corporate model, and stock/equity and bond financing, securities trading..." Read more
"...is a story about a man who started with nothing and built his wealth with very hard work...." Read more
"...Stiles is an incredibly hard worker. There are over a hundred pages of detailed footnotes with another twelve pages of bibliography...." Read more
"...a shrewd, pugnacious, driven, self-disciplined, and uncommonly industrious ferryboat operator between his native Staten Island and New York City, he..." Read more
Customers have different views on the writing quality. Some find it well-written and easy to follow, with a scholarly style that reads like a novel. Others feel the book is too detailed and descriptive, making it difficult to read.
"...Beautifully written and skillfully crafted, "Tycoon" succeeds mainly by putting Vanderbilt in familiar, human terms, placing him in the context of..." Read more
"...It is exhaustive. It's also exhausting. Stiles writes with numbing detail, often, but not always, buttressing a contention with a quote where..." Read more
"..."He embraced new technologies and new forms of business organization, and used them to compete so successfully that he forced his rivals to follow..." Read more
"...matter has obviously been thoroughly researched, but the author is never heavy-handed in wielding his scholarship...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's difficulty to follow. Some find it comprehensive and engaging, with an approachable style that details both professional and personal life. Others find it difficult to follow, exhausting, and confusing. However, most describe it as a good read that is hard to put down once started.
"...He is a character who is quite difficult to understand and, therefore, one who many biographers have portrayed unfairly as one dimensional...." Read more
"...extremely competent man of business, who combined technical skills with sagacious operational abilities and a subtle appreciation for the value of..." Read more
"...That it is comprehensive is inarguable. It is exhaustive. It's also exhausting...." Read more
"...As some people have already noted, it can be very difficult to follow...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2012About a decade ago, I undertook a personal project: read the best biography in print on each of the most illustrious (or notorious) Robber Barons. I read Chernow on Rockefeller (brilliant), Wall on Carnegie (very good), Strouse on Morgan (solid), and Klein on Gould (disappointment). I very much wanted to read something on Vanderbilt, but to my shock nothing of worth was available. T.J. Stiles' "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt" is the biography I had been longing for. It is, to put it simply, phenomenal; not just the best biography of Vanderbilt ever written, but perhaps one of the best American biographies delivered in many years.
Beautifully written and skillfully crafted, "Tycoon" succeeds mainly by putting Vanderbilt in familiar, human terms, placing him in the context of the national social, political and economic development he did very much to create. Indeed, as Stiles concludes, "Probably no other individual made an equal impact over such an extended period on America's economy and society [as Vanderbilt]."
What makes "The First Tycoon" truly superlative is that Stiles delivers so well on two fronts: explaining Vanderbilt the man and Vanderbilt the businessman.
First, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the man. He was a coarse, tireless, uneducated boor, who just happened to be a true genius of capitalism. Born and raised on Staten Island, Stiles notes that his life and success were ultimately linked with that of his hometown, New York City. At best the nation's third city in his childhood, Vanderbilt's life and affairs would mirror the rise of New York as the principal economic and cultural hub of the new American states. Moreover, Vanderbilt was, from a young age, much like his hometown: aggressive, risk taking, insatiably ambitious - full of what was then called approvingly "to go ahead." From his role in the landmark Supreme Court decision striking down the steamship monopoly in Gibbons v. Ogden to his campaign of consolidation in creating one of the largest railroad monopolies in the New York Central, Vanderbilt was a fearless trailblazer, ever ready to risk his fortune and frequently his life in a struggle for supremacy. It was a conflict that he ultimately won, just like his native New York City.
But, more surprisingly, Stiles demonstrates that Vanderbilt was also faithfully sober and reflective, self-possessed and often emotionally distant. He saw himself as a man of honor and integrity, and an American patriot who staunchly supported the Union during the Civil War and then devoted himself to national reconciliation in its aftermath (Nashville, Tennessee's Vanderbilt University is the most enduring monument to that cause). And, according to Stiles, it mattered deeply to Vanderbilt that others saw him that way: a gentleman worthy of dignity and respect. Deliberately apolitical, he espoused a personal philosophy of laissez-faire that, Stiles writes, "morphed from radical to conservative [over the course of his professional life from the 1820s to the 1870s] without him even noticing."
Vanderbilt's relationship with his namesake and second son, the dissolute gambling addict Cornelius Jeremiah, forms a key pillar of Stiles' biography. It adds a painful, human shading to the remarkable story of his business career. His son brought Vanderbilt so much torment and shame, marital strife and personal agony, yet the old man never quite gave up on him, forever holding out hope that Cornelius would change his ways. This father-son sub-story, more than any other, brought Vanderbilt to life for me.
Second, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the businessman. Some men become millionaires simply because they were at the right place at the right time. Few are truly transcendent; business geniuses, who possess a rare combination of intelligence, drive, shrewdness and what Napoleon called "the inner eye" that virtually assured dramatic success, who can perceive the future contours of business life and transactions before any of their rivals. Vanderbilt was clearly such an individual, an extremely competent man of business, who combined technical skills with sagacious operational abilities and a subtle appreciation for the value of new technology, such as steam power or the railroad, and new organizational devices, such as the corporation or common stock (Vanderbilt led the way toward stock price as a value of the future value of a company rather than the total investment capital divided into $100 shares). He was competitive, physically strong and brave, never shrinking from settling matters with his fists, if necessary, who regularly sought out challenges for impromptu horse drawn carriage drag races down Manhattan streets, and who often pushed aside his steamship captains during treacherous seas to take the reins personally. As he entered his eighth decade, Stiles notes, "He had survived fistfights, boiler explosions, a train wreck, heart trouble, Nicaraguan rapids, exposure to tropical disease, Atlantic storms, and wagon smashes." Imagine a daredevil executive today who personally designed his own aircraft, served as the chief test pilot, who frequently pushed aside his appointed captains to personally pilot the plane through severe weather, and who has an established reputation for racing his custom-made Ferraris in illegal sideshows on the weekend. That was Cornelius Vanderbilt. Richard Branson is the closest contemporary comparison point - and a pale benchmark at that.
Known (and remembered) for his ruthlessness, Stiles demonstrates that Vanderbilt was usually successful because his operations were so much more efficient and cost effective than his competitors, especially the steamships that he personally designed, which often used half the fuel of competitors. And when he moved to railroads, his empire (the New York Central and Hudson Lines, and the Harlem) boasted the flattest, straightest and thus the most fuel efficient lines. In short, his success was no accident or the mere result of price gauging. Vanderbilt always ran the most cost effective and operationally efficient operation, whether it was steamships or railroads, and his wealth grew accordingly. And when he was aggressive and acquisitive, Stiles stresses that Vanderbilt's motivation was positively Roman: he took over competing (i.e. barbarian) lines only to ensure the safety and health of his core trunk lines leading to his home port of Manhattan.
Mark Twain evidently held a low opinion of the Commodore (likely the result of jealousy): "How I do pity you, Commodore Vanderbilt! You seem to be the idol of only a crawling swarm of small souls, who love to glorify your most flagrant unworthinesses [sic] in print; or praise your vast possessions worshippingly; or sing of your unimportant private habits and sayings and doings, as if your millions give them dignity." But the author makes clear that there was much about Vanderbilt that was "worthy" and that his "vast possessions" were the fruit of innovation, relentlessness, and an enterprising spirit - the very spirit that has animated the growth and success of the United States of America.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2010Before reading The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles, I didn't know much about the man except that he was one of America's first robber barons and the richest man in America. But after reading this impressive work, I have a new appreciation for the Commodore.
Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island to hard-working but thrifty parents. He got his start in boating when he was sixteen. He borrowed $100 from his mother to purchase a periauger. Soon, he was ferrying people and goods to New York City, plowing his profits into more ships, and then steamboats. As a competitor, he was cut-throat. Some of his enemies actually paid him to discontinue his lines. At the age when most men at that time were no longer alive, he abandoned ships and started a new career in railroads. The Commodore started small, and then added more and more lines--consolidating them as he went. Before Vanderbilt established the trunk line, the New York Central, it took 17 trains to ride from New York to Chicago. Many enemies tried to swindle or outsmart the Commodore, but his deep pockets protected him in almost all situations.
Many things impressed me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. He was a strapping fellow who knew how to take command. He was a financial genius when it came to the stock market. He knew ships well enough to produce revolutionary designs that made for safer, more economic travel. Although not a political man, he was a patriot. During the Civil War, he donated and leased a number of ships to the Union. Afterward, he helped to heal the wounds between North and South by providing the bond to free Jefferson Davis and to create Vanderbilt University on Southern soil. He helped to put New York City on the map as America's financial capital. Although some considered him a scoundrel, he had a code of honor and his word was binding. He battled many men over the years and was betrayed by his friends. But he rarely held a grudge and knew how to separate business and friendship. "He embraced new technologies and new forms of business organization, and used them to compete so successfully that he forced his rivals to follow his example or give up. Far ahead of many of his peers, he grasped one of the great changes in American culture: the abstraction of economic reality, as the connection faded between the tangible world and the new devices of business, such as paper currency, corporations, and securities. With these devices he helped to create the corporate economy that would define the United States into the twenty-first century."
Stiles does an admirable job of detailing both the professional and personal life of the Commodore. The business side could be quite complicated at times--especially the stock market and financial maneuverings. The author also sets the record straight about many myths that have been told about Vanderbilt. I do wish there was more information about his daughters, but there is little of written record from these women.
The First Tycoon includes many photos and drawings, as well as maps. But I wish it included a family tree. But what kept me from giving this book five stars is that the index is shoddy. Many items are off by a page or two. Toward the end, many of the names mentioned are lacking page numbers in the index. Some names are missing entirely. For instance, who is Harry Allen (page 534)? Maybe it had to do with shifting from hardback to paperback versions. Also, my copy is a large paperback and the binding glue was not strong enough. My book was is pieces before I finished, although I didn't deduct any points for this and Amazon is replacing my copy.
While the Vanderbilt fortune no longer exists, the Commodore's contributions are still relevant today. I think that The First Tycoon will stand as the most comprehensive biography done to date. It was certainly deserving of the Pulitzer Prize.
Top reviews from other countries
- EddieReviewed in Canada on August 6, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Great book, very well written, historically accurate. Another wonderful work by this author.
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Samuel Dahlin Leite MottaReviewed in Brazil on March 28, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Ainda não lí, mas esteticamente o livro é lindo.
O material da capa, mesmo sendo a capa fina que comprei é um material diferente, meio fosco, meio texturizado.
The material of the cover is very beautiful, even though a thin cover is of a different material, a little matte and textured.
-
Florian SchwarzReviewed in Germany on December 31, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Wahnsinnig gut recherchiert, eindrucksvoll geschrieben und erstaunlich aktuell.
Dieser beeindruckende Wälzer lehrt interessierte Leser eine Menge über das Geschäftsleben. Man muss allerdings eine Menge Durchhaltevermögen und Disziplin mitbringen, um sich durch die zahlreichen Aktiendeals von Vanderbilt zu lesen. Doch das wird mit hochinteressanten Insights in die Seele eines der größten Unternehmer aller Zeiten belohnt.
- Shawmit ChoudharyReviewed in India on October 28, 2015
3.0 out of 5 stars Got a little bored
Having read biographies of great businessmen like John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and JP Morgan I'm no stranger to such books but this one was one the the more boring ones I've read and it failed to keep me interested for a long time. It was written more like an essay rather than a compelling biography. I would recommend Titan by Ron Chernow over this one
- philippe kohnReviewed in France on July 5, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars great book! everything i expected
For anyone who wants to learn about who actually defined the country we live in, start with this book!
then ill do carnegie, Morgan and Rockfella ;)