A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.
Founder of a dynasty, bu... read full description
Founder of a dynasty, bu... read full description
reviews
Apr 23, 2011
Philip
rated it: 
*Whew* I'm sure that such a ...comprehensive book deserves a comprehensive review, and yet I barely had the fortitude to make it through the reading. Right now I don't even have the desire to attempt a Binksian or Sorensenian book review so I'll just ramble and pretend T.J. Stiles - the author of this book - won't be offended. Maybe he should be. He took the time to organize over 100 pages of footnotes at the end of the thing; the least I owe him is a well-organized book review.
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Jul 14, 2011
Harold
rated it:
This is a very good book, but like Vanderbilt's life, extremely long. Vanderbilt himself was awkward with language, and consequently neither wrote or spoke publicly much during his life, so there is no introspection in this book. And while he aged, perhaps gracefully, to be the preeminent American businessman of his age (dying with as much as 10% of all American monetary value!!) his life didn't have the progression of Rockefeller or Carnegie who transformed from businessman to philanthropist
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Mar 15, 2011
Clif
rated it: 
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't take the mask
off that ole Lone Ranger
and you don't mess around with Cornelius Vanderbilt
This book won the Pulitzer Prize and rightfully so. What an amazing life was this one of over 80 years that played such a vital part in the history of the United States.
Knowing absolutely nothing about the Commodore before starting the book, I was eager to find out about him, expected a scoundrel and More...
You don't spit into the wind
You don't take the mask
off that ole Lone Ranger
and you don't mess around with Cornelius Vanderbilt
This book won the Pulitzer Prize and rightfully so. What an amazing life was this one of over 80 years that played such a vital part in the history of the United States.
Knowing absolutely nothing about the Commodore before starting the book, I was eager to find out about him, expected a scoundrel and More...
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Apr 25, 2010
Tony
rated it:
Stiles, T. J. THE FIRST TYCOON: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. (2010). ****. I’ve been reading this biography in bits and pieces for two weeks now, and finally came to the end. If this isn’t a great example of an exhaustive biography, then I’ve never seen one before. It is extremely well written, and well researched. The author manages to maintain the reader’s interest even in the face of otherewise boring business maneuvers by the group of tycoons of the time. Vanderbilt starte
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Mar 31, 2010
Lars
rated it: 
I did it! Four doorstoppers on Nineteenth Century America. Before 'The First Tycoon': 'What Hath God Wrought' by Daniel Walker Howe, 'A Country of Vast Designs' by Robert Merry, and 'Team of Rivals' by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
The funny thing is I enjoyed it, and actually am inspired to read more American history. As I was finishing Stiles' excellent biography, I heard about President Obama reading Edmund Morris's 'The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,' and immediately wanted to read that. More...
The funny thing is I enjoyed it, and actually am inspired to read more American history. As I was finishing Stiles' excellent biography, I heard about President Obama reading Edmund Morris's 'The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,' and immediately wanted to read that. More...
Dec 27, 2009
judy
rated it:
This is the last book that needs to be written on Vanderbilt for many years--possibly ever. The scholarship is astounding, highly detailed and complete. While it was fascinating, I had to set it down about every hundred pages to keep from being overwhelmed. One simple example of the author's meticulous approach: throughout the book the author recounts well-known Vanderbilt anecdotes. These appear to be true but the author's research has proven them bogus. One of these tales is printed in Vande
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Dec 27, 2009
karl
rated it:
This 700 page 2009 biography was an award winner for nonfiction. The author is a Carlton grad. I found it very well researched, and a wonderful sketch of American economic development centered on Cornelius' businesses running from about his age 15 (around 1810 he had his own ferry) through to his death in his 80's in the 1870's when he essentially controlled the railroads in the NY and nearby areas. His statue is outside Grand Central Station - that was his back in the day.
I am thril More...
I am thril More...
Jul 01, 2009
Dad
rated it:
I'm a great fan of biography and have a fascination with how we came to be the way we are. This books fills both needs. The picture Stiles paints of Cornelius Vanderbilt is completely different from any vague notion you may have had of the robber barons of the gilded age. He was the richest man in America at one time, but lived very simply - his progeny built the Breakers and the other palaces of wealth. He was a huge man who in in his youth never hesitated to enter a brawl or a barroom fi
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Aug 19, 2009
getAbstract
rated it:
Insightful biography of Commodore Vanderbilt
Robber baron Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt emerges from T.J. Stiles’s biography as a captivating character and a ferocious competitor. Nineteenth-century America’s most powerful tycoon had an imposing presence. At more than 200 pounds and six feet tall (two inches taller than the average American male at the time), Vanderbilt stood ramrod straight. A ferocious street fighter in his youth, he remained hale and hearty into his 80s. As a yo More...
Robber baron Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt emerges from T.J. Stiles’s biography as a captivating character and a ferocious competitor. Nineteenth-century America’s most powerful tycoon had an imposing presence. At more than 200 pounds and six feet tall (two inches taller than the average American male at the time), Vanderbilt stood ramrod straight. A ferocious street fighter in his youth, he remained hale and hearty into his 80s. As a yo More...
Jun 01, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it:
Though Stiles's admiration for the man who inspired the phrase "robber baron" shines throughout this extraordinary rags-to-riches story, he harbors no illusions about his vindictive and bad-tempered subject. Stiles is quick to set the record straight when the past has condemned Vanderbilt unfairly, but he details his unscrupulous business dealings and troubled relationships with equal aplomb. Stiles's exhaustive research has resulted in a massive, carefully edited book, and critics wer
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Jul 09, 2011
FittenTrim
rated it: 
It has taken me several months to finish this gigantic book. It's stuffed with fascinating facts about the birth of New York City, steamboats, the Gold Rush, Central America, the development of the green back dollar, the Civil War, Wall Street, Reconstruction, and corporate monopolies... yet the dry, clinical style of the writing made it difficult to get lost in this incredible world. OMG, reading a few paragraphs was sure to put me to sleep.
I bought the book because I've read too m More...
I bought the book because I've read too m More...
Dec 25, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
The story begins in Staten Island in a traditional Dutch/American family, and boats. Vanderbilt worked his way up the business ladder in New York City at a time of war and the advent of steam power. Vanderbilts life coincides with the early USA and a changing understanding of the Constitutional relationship of the states to each other and to the central government. Rules we take for granted now were being worked out then and Vanderbilt would have fit in just fine today as he understood competiti
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Dec 27, 2009
Regina
rated it:
One huge meatball of a read about this rich guy with a passion for screwing his competitors and escaping from his so-so home life. A businessman who gets all sanctimonious about playing by the rules, having first ascertained the game is rigged to his advantage. Today we've seen his type doing the perp walk. But back in his day, there was no such thing as insider trading or labor laws or level playing fields. In his day, Cornelius was revered.
Be forewarned. The author marches you th More...
Be forewarned. The author marches you th More...
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Jan 27, 2012
Alan
rated it:
I think I took on this very long biogrpahy of someone I knew nothing about because the Confidence Men, adn Margin Call and the emerging Presidential campaign has gotten me thinking more about capitalism adn its discotnents. . Vanderbilt was teh first caplitalist in America, so I thought i would go to teh source. The book underscored the difference between a Robber Baron and a Vulture Capialist- Vanderbilt actually created things and put lots of people to work, not like the Romneys and Robert
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Aug 05, 2011
T.J. Stiles’, The First Tycoon is a wonderfully detailed biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Given the topic, this is a daunting task. Vanderbilt kept his cards close to his vest and hated to write. Stiles has managed to cobble together a picture of Vanderbilt based upon newspaper accounts, court records and reminiscences of his contemporaries.
Cornelius rose from nothing – a real Horatio Alger story. Uneducated, he rose from operating a single boat ferrying commuters to and from Manhattan, More...
Cornelius rose from nothing – a real Horatio Alger story. Uneducated, he rose from operating a single boat ferrying commuters to and from Manhattan, More...
Jan 20, 2010
Terry
rated it:
This massive book is the first extensively researched and documented biography of Vanderbilt in many years. It traces the long life of as very poorly educated man who, due to his energy, drive, and foresight, became the wealthiest person in America. He developed steamboat transportation in his native New York, along the East Coast, to Central America and from Central America to California in support of the Gold Rush, and to Europe; helped the Union cause in the Civil War but afterward encourag
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Jun 29, 2010
Becky
rated it:
This was a little dry and most of the financial stuff went right over my head. I do think that it is worth it to read about the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt for a couple of reasons. First, when he died in 1877 he was the richest man in America. If he had liquidated his fortune it would have represented one dollar for every 9 in circulation. His life story embodies the possibility that was available to an American in his generation who rose from relatively humble origins to incredible wealth wit
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Dec 12, 2011
Willis
rated it:
Vanderbilt was a fascinating man - self made multi millionaire. He had a big impact on transportation (steam boats and railroads) but I thought it more interesting to learn about his impact on the stock market and the large corporation. He was a pioneer in forming corporations which didn't really exist before his time. He also had a big impact on the development of New York City as a leading trading center and financial center. His success was due to his extreme competitiveness and agressiveness
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Nov 29, 2010
My favorite book from the summer is T.J. Stiles, The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was at the center of the great economic transformations in the 19th Century. He was the captain on the steamship involved in the litigation in Gibbons v. Ogden. He was born when Washington was president and New York was a village. He mastered steamships and railroads and corporate mergers and acquisitions. He was the Steve Jobs of his time and his life story captures the incredibl
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Mar 12, 2011
I selected this book at my public library because I used to live in a city where Vanderbilt was the name of the major university and medical center. I lived there for more than two decades, but knew nothing about the family or the patriarch, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had amassed a fortune in the 19th century.
I completed only one-third of this very hefty book, simply because I'm not fond of biographies. But the 230+ pages I read were enough to realize the excellent biography and hist More...
I completed only one-third of this very hefty book, simply because I'm not fond of biographies. But the 230+ pages I read were enough to realize the excellent biography and hist More...
Jun 28, 2010
Johnsergeant
rated it:
Narrated by Mark Deakins
28 hrs and 44 mins
Publisher's Summary
A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.
Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt is an American icon. Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington's presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation's la More...
28 hrs and 44 mins
Publisher's Summary
A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.
Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt is an American icon. Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington's presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation's la More...
Jul 15, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
How do we go through American history in high school and learn about the impact of Vanderbilt and the other so-called Robber Barons? They had a huge impact and we live with the ramifications of their influence today.
This is a comprehensive look at the first big time tycoon who was a leader in the movement from small individual businesses to a major corporate structure, not to mention the creation of the first national transportation system and a vast fortune.
The book has More...
This is a comprehensive look at the first big time tycoon who was a leader in the movement from small individual businesses to a major corporate structure, not to mention the creation of the first national transportation system and a vast fortune.
The book has More...
Jun 11, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
Great book. Well written and researched. A rags to riches story. What stands out about the book was less about the man himself and more about the incredible times he lived. I loved following Vanderbilt from the his boyhood in Staten Island when NYC was not much more than a village till the City emerges as the most important metro in the US. Also a great history of steamboats in the New York Harbor. Who would of guessed this would be so interesting. Was struck by how politics in Albany an
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Mar 26, 2010
Peter
rated it:
I'm not a big reader of biographies, but I thought it was promising that the epigraph for this one was the quotation from Midnight's Children: "To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world." And it turns out that Vanderbilt's life provides an excellent focus for explaining vast social changes in America in the nineteenth century. Stiles emphasizes that Vanderbilt went from being a radical, believing in free competition and bringing down ruling-class monopolies, to being
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Dec 05, 2010
Evan
rated it:
Just started and it's already coming across as being very well written.
* * *
Well, a few weeks later and it's finally done.
I have to say Vanderbilt's life, because of its longevity, and his position at the center of the changes the nation was going through at the time, is an excellent window into three distinct eras.
The fact that we have seen Wall Street throw the nation into several financial convulsions in the past, particularly when it was trying some ne More...
* * *
Well, a few weeks later and it's finally done.
I have to say Vanderbilt's life, because of its longevity, and his position at the center of the changes the nation was going through at the time, is an excellent window into three distinct eras.
The fact that we have seen Wall Street throw the nation into several financial convulsions in the past, particularly when it was trying some ne More...
Sep 07, 2009
Autumn
rated it:
I came to this book because of T. J. Stiles rather than out of any interest in Vanderbilt. Stiles' biography of Jesse James is one of my favourite biographies, and I was curious to see who he would tackle next. I enjoyed the Vanderbilt book a lot, mostly because it is so good at describing the settings and events surrounding Vanderbilt. As a man, he didn't leave a lot of personal letters, diaries, etc, but the book does a really good job at revealing his character through his business dealings.
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Jan 28, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
I'm working my way through this slowly but surely. It's a fascinating, if dense, read. I know almost nothing about the history of economics, so it was somewhat surprising (perhaps reassuring?) to see that the country's current economic woes are nothing new, nor are the various prevailing attitudes about banks and governments. Also interesting to note that the defining characteristics of hugely successful (in the financial sense) people, then as now, appear to be unrelenting greed and an unquench
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Jul 12, 2010
Eric
rated it:
I listened to the audiobook.
Great book. Not so much for the recounting of the story of the man, which was a story well told, but for the incredible times during which he lived. This is the sort of story that would make a good history novel, you learn so much about the times during which he lived.
You read about the expansion of US steamships; railways; California gold rush; increasing abstration in US economy: the ascent of paper money, the corporate person, limited liability, use of st More...
Great book. Not so much for the recounting of the story of the man, which was a story well told, but for the incredible times during which he lived. This is the sort of story that would make a good history novel, you learn so much about the times during which he lived.
You read about the expansion of US steamships; railways; California gold rush; increasing abstration in US economy: the ascent of paper money, the corporate person, limited liability, use of st More...
Jan 08, 2012
Brian
rated it:
T. J. Stiles provides a masterful biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt from his childhood to the tremendous impact he made on this country as a tycoon and "commodore" in the various industries he transformed. From his early time running steamboats and laying the groundwork for one of the most important Supreme Court cases (Gibbons v. Ogden) to the time he was running railroads Vanderbilt displayed tremendous business acumen and skill. He had a simple principle to making money which w More...
