brian0918 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 (edited) Can anyone recommend good books on the subject of Vanderbilt vs. Collins in the steam ship race. I've got Myth of the Robber Barons on my list, but I was looking for a more thorough historical account. Also, regarding Rockefeller and Standard Oil - I found this fully readable book on Google Books (also in PDF format), published in 1903: The Rise and Progress of the Standard Oil Company by Gilbert H. Montague. Montague was an economics professor at Harvard, and actually taught FDR. Can anyone recommend any other Rockefeller/Standard Oil accounts? I may read The History Of The Standard Oil Company by Ida M. Tarbell, although the Amazon reviews say that it covers Rockefellers "illegal practices" (such as "dynamiting the competition" and "innovative rebate plans that discourage competition"). Edit: I found this quote from Montague about his former pupil (FDR) and his National Recovery Administration (NRA): ... hastily, absent-mindedly, without any intention or realization that it was acting fascistically, the N.R.A. snatched at a form of executive law-making that was unconsciously but nevertheless essentially fascistic... The quote comes from FDR's Personal Letters. Edited September 25, 2008 by brian0918 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Email Alex Epstein at ARI. He just did a whole course on Standard and the Oil Industry, as well as an Objective Standard article on Standard. He's got the complete bibliography, and I think he'd be happy to share it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellavision Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 I find Vanderbilt in particular a fascinating historical figure. I commented on a recent biography, Commodore, in this post. I don't like the sneering way in which the biographer treated his subject, but Vanderbilt's story is so great that even a businessman-hating biographer can't kill the enjoyment of learning more about it. As I mentioned in the thread, Vanderbilts and the History of Their Fortune, although written for young adults, has a far better sense of the Commodore's heroism, if less in the way of historical detail. I recommend reading them both -- Commodore for historical detail and Vanderbilts for a truly refreshing perspective on one of history's greatest businessmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 Didn't Bernstein write a bit about Vanderbilt in his book "The Capitalist Manifesto"? I'll bet you can find some lectures at the Ayn Rand book store on these men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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