Not (much) about the tycoons....

This book is more about the railroad and steel industries and the economy in general. Large sections of the book wander from topic to topic with little (if anything) to do with the four tycoons.

As for the narrative style, you'll find a handful of triple word score options for your next Scrabble game on every page. The author does his best to show his mastery of a thesaurus.

18 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good book wrong title

if you want a biography of the titles characters forget it, if you want an inciteful account if American rail and steel industry in the late 1800's it's good, really it needs a title that reflects it's contentt

17 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

This book is bad!

I wanted to learn about these giants of industry. This book did not do it but I finished it and was one of the worst books I ever listened to.

13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The title is misleading

I wanted to learn about The tycoons As but this book was about 15% tycoons and 85% about other industry both before and after their time

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Excellent plunge into the era of giants of capital

I have read a number of reviews that suggested this book is dry and too choked with the inner workings of large industrial firms. Well, hey, folks, it's not a Tom Clancy novel. But given the topic of how the Industrial Revolution was harnessed and used to create the dynamic American economy we still enjoy, I found the writing to be engaging and quite effective in moving the narrative along. Sure, there is detail about production numbers and how steel chemistry evolved, but the specifics did not get in the way of the great sweep of events that is described. The vignettes of the Carnegie, Rockeller, Jay Gould, and JP Morgan were fascinating and most enlightening. I learned a great deal and enjoyed the trip. Well worth the read.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

In my opinion...

This book is well performed with a very compelling story, but gets very tedious at times.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Well written & Narrated

The author has woven together a fascinating mix of history & business; providing a compelling tale of several of America's first large business tycoons. The narrator holds your attention and makes it easy & comfortable to listen to the story.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Not much about the tycoons!

I wanted to know about these men and it was very minimal. Lots of interesting info on small inventors and a good view of how the industrial revolution played out but hardly anything on the tycoons. The title is deceiving.

Title is misleading

This is a story about the economics surrounding the tycoons from mid to late 1800s. This isn’t the book to read if you are are interested in how the tycoons thought and how they became wealthy. If you want an economics lesson, this is your book.

Half full

Solid read. Seems to assume a certain knowledge base for the reader. How Morgan accumulated wealth and capital, for example, isn’t clear. For a reader seeking a detailed understanding of the characters, there is much left to be learned. Ownership structures, fees, and impacts are often overlooked when important deals are discussed. Leaves me wanting more despite the sufficient length.