The Life and Legend of Jay Gould

by Maury Klein

He was, for Joseph Pulitzer, "one of the most sinister figures that have ever flitted bat-like across the vision of the American people." According to the New York Times, "the work of reform is but half done... when people claiming to be respectable are not ashamed of being associated with a man such as he." He was Jay Gould, the individual who for a century has been singled out as the most despicable and unscrupulous of the Robber Barons. In this splendid biography, Maury Klein paints the most complete portrait of the notorious Gould that we have ever had. His Gould is a brilliant but ruthless businessman who merged dying railroads into expansive and profit-making lines, including the giant Union Pacific.

Genres: Biography, History, Business

640 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

Maury Klein is renowned as one of the finest historians of American business and economy. He is the author of many books, including The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America; and Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929. He is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Rhode Island. He lives in Saunderstown, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very even-handed account of one of the notorious "Robber Barons". Well-researched and well-written, the author points out that media bias did not begin in the late 20th century and was alive and well in the 19th century. The "Legend" of Jay Gould largely grew out of newspaper reports which were largely editorial in nature. The author starts each chapter with a few quotes from those articles and then presents the documented facts around each episode. Jay Gould was not a Saint, but he was not the Mephistopheles that 19th century newspaper editors made him out to be.

[Paul Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it 3 stars ONLY because it is *very* detailed. Half way through I lost interest in the details of this or that stock maneuver or floating debt or corporate directorships or agreements. I'm glad Klein went to the effort of searching out all those details (almost 100 pages of footnotes and citations!) and putting them together in a carefully researched document on Gould's life (plus a chapter of what happened to his children and the estate he left them). But it's not for me.

Contrary to the what muckrakers wrote (and others have uncritically parroted), Gould wanted to build a great industry in transportation (railroad) and communication (telegraph). Yes, he lobbied judges and legislatures for favorable rulings. Yes, he squeezed wages and expenses. But he also wanted them to be healthy on their own. He worked incredibly hard to learn every detail of how these industries work. For example, evaluating how many more miles engines could get from some coal than other coal (and whether it was worth the cost of shipping the better coal thousands of miles). Klein writes (page 496) "... Gould's business ethics were probably no worse and in some respects better than those of most men. What separated him from others was not the dishonesty but his talent, his daring, his sense of vision. He was quick to change his mind but not at the expense of abandoning an ally or commitment. No man who was his friend need fear for his wallet; no man who was his foe dared sleep at his post."

Jay's problem was that he was not the athletic hero entrepreneur: "... his passion for books and flowers was hardly the basis on which to build a reputation for machismo." (page 493) "When business hours are over, I go home and spend the remainder of the day with my wife, my children, and my books. ... They are not calculated to make me particularly popular in Wall Street ...". (page 493) He was very secretive in his personal life and the broader aims of his business dealings, surprising even those in his employ. "... Gould snubbed convention at every turn. In business he was ruthless and devious, clever and unpredictable, secretive and evasive. ... [others] loathed Gould because he was too honest for minds used to dealing with reality under wraps." (page 492) "By keeping his numerous act of charity behind the scenes he deprived himself of the standard act of atonement expected from men of vast wealth." (page 492)

In three days of testimony before the Pacific Railroad Commission "Gould is frankness itself, and that low, persuasive voice always gently turns the current of evidence the way he wants it, no matter how hard the fact it may be damned with. ... If Anderson wanted facts they were provided or others put in their place. Gould's books were demanded and, to everyone's astonishment, offered with pleasure." (page 369)

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to esteemed author and historian Maury Klein, and I wasn't disappointed. Written in 1986, its subject is Jay Gould, a business magnate who is commonly thought of as one of the infamous robber barons of the Gilded Age. Aside from those with a keen interest in American history, however, Gould is largely a peripheral figure in the big picture, despite his influence in the fields of transportation and communication. Most historians have not treated Gould kindly, branding him an unscrupulous and deceitful character whose sole interest was to buy a going concern, squeeze as much profit from it as possible, and discard it unceremoniously. Klein, however, was not satisfied with this assessment or the work of others on the subject, and he set out to find the real Jay Gould. Klein’s assertion was that most authors and historians who would later write about Gould (and the other robber barons in general) did sloppy work and simply parroted contemporary newspaper editorials, in which many editors at the time took an almost blood-feud approach to editorializing about those who were out of favor with them. In fact, Klein takes several noted authors to task by name in pointing out what he terms lazy work on their parts. (At times, he almost seems to take their perceived lack of effort personally). Therefore, the book is not simply a retelling of Gould’s life; it’s a debunking of myths about the true Jay Gould. The physical layout provides a nice juxtaposition of those myths versus Klein’s asserted realities. Each chapter starts with several disparaging quotes from his contemporaries about a certain part of Gould’s life or a particular event. In the subsequent chapter, Klein uses primary source documents, including Gould’s own words, to counter the negative comments. For example, Gould is commonly considered a destroyer rather than a builder when it came to his business acquisitions. One chapter opened with several comments to that effect. In the pages immediately following, Klein laid out his case for the opposite using financial documents and personal correspondence that showed significant financial investment and genuine concern for growing a particular business. While not giving Gould a free pass for his behavior personally or professionally, the author does remind us indirectly that Gould’s decisions and actions should be judged according to the business and social climate of the times. Using that scale, Klein makes a good point that Gould was no more or less ethical, moral, or criminal (according to some) than most other influential figures of his time, and he was certainly not the cold, thoughtless, immoral scoundrel many historians and authors have largely made him out to be.

[M Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is exceedingly well-researched and well-written. It extensively details Gould's various deals and empire-building activity. In the end, the author is unable to decide how revisionist he wishes to be - he defends Gould's integrity but also recounts some instances of extremely unethical behavior, seemingly without realizing how bad it is or that nobody else was acting quite so poorly over such a long period. There is no attempt to explain why Gould could behavior honorably and ethically on some occasions and completely sociopathically on others.

[Bob Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew!! An excellent book that was 50/50 Jay Gould and railroad empire building. Make sure that you keep a copy of the railroad abbreviations handy. A flowchart of the main characters wouldn't hurt either.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to cure your naïveté? Read this book.