American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900

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From Publishers WeeklyIn this timely study, University of Texas historian Brands (Traitor to His Class) describes the rise of the great corporate capitalists after the Civil War. J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie constituted an trinity of power-obsessed individuals who instinctively understood that wealth was the ultimate political weapon. They defined the cold-blooded authority of big business. Fascinating detours away from the tale of corporate empires examine the Reconstruction process in the South, the Indian Wars of the West, the opening of the Great Plains, immigration in the East, and the rise of organized labor and the agrarian reformers. Effectively, excerpts from the first-person accounts of Booker T. Washington, Black Elk, Jacob Riis, and others convey the drama of the time. Perhaps the only significant omission in this fast-paced, engrossing narrative is a tendency to dwell on political doctrines that sought to repudiate or restrain capitalism while only briefly discussing the dogma of Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism, which favored the monopolists. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewPraise for American Colossus "Mr. Brands, a terrific writer who commands his material, handles this sprawling, complicated story with authority and panache. A book that might have been a worthy but boring tome turns out to be as close as serious history gets to a page turner...._American Colossus_ is a first-rate overview of one of the most important periods in American history, one without which the American Century could not have happened."—John Steele Gordon, The New York Times "A superb new history….This is a big, brash narrative running from the Confederate surrender at Appomattox to the trust busting of Theodore Roosevelt….I read swaths of this book twice, just to savor Brands’ storytelling and mastery of detail."—James Pressley, Bloomberg News "Mr. Brands paints a vivid portrait of both this understudied age and those industrialists still introduced by high school teachers as ‘robber barons’: Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan….As Mr. Brands relates the tycoons’ stories, he drops some anecdotes wonderfully relevant today."—_The Wall Street Journal _"An excellent book….H. W. Brands is a smart, lively writer… [who] demonstrates, as the best historians do, that past is prologue."—_Dallas Morning News_ Praise for The Age of Gold“A fine, robust telling of one of the greatest adventure stories in history.”—David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of _John Adams_“A barn burner . . . Masterfully sketched historical figures, subtly developed themes, and especially well-braided stories . . . Eureka!”—_San Francisco Chronicle_ Praise for Traitor to His Class(Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography)“This is a rare book indeed, shedding new light and brilliant insight upon an elusive subject we thought we knew well . . . Traitor to His Class will quickly emerge as the finest one-volume biography of FDR.”—David Oshinsky, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for History “H. W. Brands has accomplished a remarkable feat in this terrific work…. He has brought to vivid life the central figures in his story . . . while at the same time providing a fresh understanding of the rich historical context for their thoughts and actions at every step along the way.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and author of _Team of Rivals_“This may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come.”—_Christian Science Monitor_ Praise for _The First American_(Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography) “H. W. Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biography for our time.”—Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Founding Brothers “A biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and a large and handsome stock of historical scenery…This is a Franklin to savor.”—_Wall Street Journal_Praise for Lone Star Nation“Sweeping and specific . . . [Brands] writes the story with clarity and vigor . . . .Clearly adds to our knowledge of an era when men rode to the sound of guns and honor was a comprehensible concept.”—_Washington Post Book World_“Brands [is] on the path to becoming the preeminent popular historian of his generation.”—_Chicago Tribune_Praise for Andrew Jackson“A great story . . . Serves up everything you might expect in a ripping yarn: murderous duels, savage Indian raids, equally savage counterattacks.”—_Washington Post Book World_“Old Hickory rides again in Brands’ elegantly written and carefully researched biography . . . A must-read!”—Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge, winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award