Reviews for Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business

The average rating for Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-09-02 00:00:00 Justin Moore I read this whole book essentially in a day. Not because I love steel industry history necessarily....just know it’s safe to say I’m writing this review to put off a paper I have to write for class. Nevertheless, it was somewhat interesting. Andrew Carnegie was a man of polarities, as this book explains. He was a business tycoon in every sense, coming from a poor immigrant family he worked relentlessly to learn from as many people as possible and dominate any industry he entered (telegraphy, railroads, speculating, and ultimately steel). He was one of the first monopoly-owners along with fellas like Rockefeller and Morgan, but he ran his businesses with a very competitive mind. He was for labor rights and was charitable, yet his businesses also often hurt the common man and he definitely “out-maneuvered” a lot of other people into bankruptcy and unemployment in order to strengthen his own wealth. All that said, for an obscenely wealthy oligarch he was one of the good ones. He (mostly) succeeded through shrewd business practices and true fiscal conservatism instead of entering into price-fixing trusts, and upon retirement gave away his $300 million dollars worth of steel bonds, built millions of dollars worth of churches, libraries, and public services, and upon his death had truthfully given away essentially all of his obscene wealth to society, fulfilling his own somewhat-more humane interpretation of social Darwinism. Certainly not a perfect man, but a man of strong convictions and moral roots who as a whole was a blessing to our society. Without his steel industry, America may never have become the industrial power that it is. And while becoming that level of rich requires an unfortunate level of greed/callousness, he compensated it with levels of charity unrivaled amongst his peers.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-12-04 00:00:00 Ian Knudsen Short read with so many connections to business and immigration in U.S. History. I loved this book and continually refer to it when I teach this time period to my high school students.