Titan by Chernow Ron

Ron Chernow’s Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. is a stunning and insightful portrayal of one of corporate America’s highly controversial public figures, and perhaps the first billionaire the world has ever seen.

Summary Of The Book

The founder and patriarch of America’s biggest business dynasties, John D. Rockefeller has always remained somewhat of a mystery and an enigma to the world. Although he was considered a controversial figure largely due to some questionable business ethics, he set the pace for growth and development in America through the birth of giant corporations that forever changed the face of American history.

The man whose true nature remained a secret for many generations, has now finally been portrayed in this biographical account of his rise to success and extraordinary life. Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.written by award winning journalist and author Ron Chernow, presents an insightful and objective portrayal of his complex personality, including all of its hidden facets, for the very first time. This was made possible through the author’s complete access to Rockefeller’s prized documents and papers.

The book begins at the very roots, studying the early life of Rockefeller, who was born to a flashy salesman selling snake-oil, and a strict, conservative, and religious mother. It documents his dramatic rise to success and creation of phenomenal wealth by monopolising the world’s most powerful commodity namely, Standard Oil. The company at one time, sold 90 percent of the oil produced in America.

Eventually, Rockefeller became the world’s wealthiest man, often criticised by peers and critics for resorting to questionable strong-arm business tactics, including unfair pricing, espionage, bribery, and collusion to achieve his goals.

While the book lays the lid open on these allegations and misdeeds, substantiating them with enough proof, it also allows readers to avoid stereotyping him as a monster, and rather, see him in all entirety, including his eccentricities, quirks, astounding generosity and philanthropy.

Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. was praised by the literary world, for being detailed and balanced in its approach to capturing the business mogul’s life story.

About Ron Chernow

Winner of the National Book Award in 1990, Ron Chernow is a New York based author, journalist, and commentator.

He is the author of The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance, The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family, Alexander Hamilton, andWashington: A Life.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1949 and completed his Honours Degrees in English Literature from Yale and Cambridge Universities. Thereafter, he freelanced as a journalist, writing articles and cover stories for several publications. After working in the area of Financial Policy, he took to writing books. Apart from writing book reviews and articles for The New York Times and other journals, he also appears frequently as a commentator on business and financial shows for radio and television, on CNN, CNBC, and Fox News Channel.