The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy Paperback – October 3, 2006

Sorry for the clunky title.This book is really a book on economics disguised as a history book, disguised as a non-fiction novel. In other words it is easy to read and very informative. You do not have to be a economics junkie or micro information egghead to get a lot out of this book.It tells the story of industrial revolution America and America's rise to prominence on the world between 1830 and 1900. It tells this story through the four men who were its leaders and what they did in their respective fields. So to me, this book is more about America's rise to power than the four men in the title.What struck me more than anything else about what I learned from this book was how different this time period was compared to how it was taught to me in high school. I always had a slightly negative feeling about America - post Civil War to 1900 - and thought the era was rather brutish and at times disgraceful. I had never read or was taught a positive thing that happened in the era in high school or college.How completely wrong that is. I hate to get political here because the book itself is not political, but much of the legislation passed starting in 1900, and continues today, was in response to what had happened in America in the previous 40 years. The perception of America between (1870-1900) is completely off base. This book helps put some balance on that misconception. It also tells the story of just how positive capitalism is for the general welfare of the population despite its excesses and opprobriums.

Charles Morris’s The Tycoons gives a good account of how the 19th century tycoon came into power. Charles Morris has a different view of the entrepreneur Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan, and gives supporting facts about each entrepreneur’s character.The opening is a bit surprising because Morris does not mention the four characters that are in the subtitle. The book starts with the United States surpasses Britain in the world economy by mechanization and automation. The story of the tycoons begins in chapter three and does not have any connection to the first two chapters. Some chapters stray away from the four tycoons, but are still very interesting. The title of the book should be different because Morris writes about more than just the 19th century tycoon. This is not an easy read, and some of the analogies are out of place and do not make any sense. Overall Morris’s The Tycoons gives interesting history of how the United States because a world economic super power.

Superior scholarship went into the writing of this book. Too often the Reconstruction Era is reduced to the social evils visited upon the ex-slaves in a post-war South. Reconstruction includes the plight of blacks in the South, but also the rise of capitalism, industrialization, urbanization, organized labor, and the ingenuity of American inventors which hastened the country's progress into the Gilded Age. We cannot ignore the conquering of the West / final solution for Native Americans, and the solidification of the power of the central / Federal government ( both legislative and executive branches) over state governments. It can be argued that in the Jim Crow South States rights primacy lingered on into the 20th century, however the story of this book is the story of steel, oil, banking, and railroad industries all converging into making America very much feared by foreign competitors in Europe. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould, and JP Morgan were ruthless tycoons, yes, and the average worker and small business person concerns were often crushed by their monopolistic practices, including blatant market and currency manipulations. The passage of Interstate Commerce legislation and Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the progressive anti-monopoly rhetoric of Prez Teddy Roosevelt are not part of this story (that was later) but those subjects are worth looking into. Some of this book's contents are technical when it comes to marketing ploys and manipulations: I can't pretend I understood all the maneuvers by the tycoons but that is likely a strong testament to their success. Lastly we need to remember that these tycoons were guided by the Darwinistic "survival of the fittest" mentality of that period. WHATEVER it took to succeed warranted the actions taken, the tycoons argued. Were the tycoons alive today they would still insist their actions were for the betterment of American progress in a ruthless late 19th century world. (Rockefeller was purportely a devout Christian). And ultimately the American worker benefited by the actions of the tycoons, they themselves would contend. Many of us today would conclude the carnage the tycoons wreaked for their own individual profit resulted in American global primacy before, during, and in the aftermath of WWI. In other words, you have to view history in the long term, not just the immediate cause and effect. The debate, in many ways, continues today. Read this book. It's good. RH

fairly well written , researched and informative however , Morris has the annoying and very distracting habit of using very unusual words many times in this book reminiscent of a child who has learned a word in school and is dying to repeat it. I believe most people will not know what some of these mean and fewer have ever used any them. This seems to happen more often as the book does start to drag in the second half as Morris spends way too much time covering stocks and attempting to impress us with his vocabulary

I purchased the book, The Tycoons, because I have been fascinated with each of the 4 detailed in this surprisingly interesting book. The author goes into great detail how each worked his magic, but the really interesting part for me is that he thoroughly paints for the reader all of the small details of that period that made the advancement of the 4 possible. His descriptions of the background information is so very thorough and is an easy read with much substance. Interestingly, comparisons of then and now are very real and make the time of the tycoons quite a contrast with our current political and economic environment. I have read the extensive histories of Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and others. This book puts them in a context that is very understandable. A very surprising and enjoyable read. I'm even getting my wife to consider the read even tho she's not so much a history buff.