5 comments about Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (Cosimo Classics Biography).

1. This book was pracitically written for the ambitious young man, as there are many references to this. Mr. Carnegie serves as a great role model, which I feel is quite important, especially considering the terrible events in schools lately. Carnegie emphasizes the importance of self-improvement, knowing your talents, being kind, and also the importance of public speaking. You will learn important lessons thru personal anecdotes of his life. This book should be required reading for every adolescent attending high school.



2. It has been over a year since I ground my way through this book. My lack of adaptability to the Olde Worlde English may have contributed to this. I found this to be a long book about an interesting individual whose sole purpose for writing the book, I have concluded, was to leave a lasting, self-congratulatory reminder of his own life. I must disagree with a previous review that stated it was a must for any young ambitious person. I am; it wasn't.
   For sheer inspiration from another person's life, I would recommend works on Lincoln, the Wright brothers (Kill Devil Hill), Richard Branson, Edison, Spielberg, Mme Curie, Bruce Lee, Iacocca and Einstein.



3. The vanity of today's uneducated society is breathtaking. White is black and black is white and 'a little knowledge' is indeed proving very dangerous. This book (along with the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin) should be read by every American citizen - to relearn what America once represented.

   For example, Carnegie Steel, the world's largest company in 1900, was NOT a corporation; it was a private partnership. The sale of the company to JP morgan (for half a billion dollars) was done on a handshake; a contract was a mere afterthought. Reputation and honesty and customer service were THE guiding principles of the era. 'Individual responsibility' was considered a good thing in those days.

   America now has more lawyers per capita than any other nation on Earth. Our politicians now attempt to micro-manage every detail of our lives. You break a fingernail and sue the universe. We have become terrified of freedom. Read this book if you want to understand how America rose from a third world country to a superpower between 1800 and 1900 - without government intervention or welfare or all the millions of rules and regulations we now hold so dear. We have traded away our freedom for security. The price is higher than you think.




4. I'll admit that my primary motivation for reading this book was somewhat shallow--I basically wanted to read about how one of history's most successful businessmen amassed so much wealth. To be honest, the book didn't really give as many details as I would have liked on that particular interest. But what I got along the way made the book worth it.

   First and foremost, after reading 350 pages of Carnegie writing about his life you feel like you really start to know him, to get a sense of what kind of human being he was, and even to get a sense of his somewhat remarkable confidence level that exists in conjunction with his pretty inspiring level of benevolence and compassion. But I think even more than getting a sense of Carnegie, you get a sense of the time he lived in. Some of the most engaging parts of the book for me were the first-hand accounts of Lincoln during the Civil War, or Carnegie's conversations with President Harrison about a small uprising in Chile. You also hear about how he handled the strikes of steel workers, an occurence I'd only read about in history books but never learned directly about from the perspective of the manager.

   All throughout Carnegie peppers with his nuggets of wisdom, and you get the feeling he knows people want them really badly but that he chooses to give them sparingly.

   In the end, I probably will never re-read this book, but I feel better educated about one of history's greatest industrialists, greatest benefactors, and the time he lived in after having read it. If you have a nascent interest in history, you will most likely enjoy this book; if you're looking for a "how to make your millions" from a master, I would look elsewhere.




5. Born in Scotland but an immigrant to the United States as a teenager, Andrew Carnegie has been variously characterized as a "captain of industry" or a "robber baron" by those who have chronicled his rise to wealth and fame in the latter nineteenth century. After selling his steel company to J.P. Morgan at the turn of the century, Carnegie devoted himself to philanthropic goals. He gave away more than $350 million to various causes and endowed more than 250,000 libraries. His philanthropic activities were underpinned by a fundamental belief in the virtue of hard work, perseverance, and self-improvement through education, hence his emphasis on libraries and the endowing of other educational organizations. Fundamentally, this book offers a restatement of the "Horatio Alger" myth of the "American dream" of success through personal commitment. At the same time Carnegie seeks to pass on his wisdom gained through a lifetime of effort. A significant and fascinating statement of American industrial individualism that is required reading for all who wish to understand the history of the United States in the latter nineteenth century, Carnegie's autobiography also served as a model for many others to follow. Unfortunately, few achieved the success that Carnegie enjoyed despite the diligence they may have registered.

5 comments about Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg.

1. Just finished Legacy after a whirlwind of reading. Couldn't put it down. Each chapter of this brilliant biography flowed into the next. Author Ogden has done a magnificent job of weaving this father/son story together, managing to illustrate much of the American century through their compelling (and inspring) tale. Reads like a great novel. I will be recommending Legacy to everyone I know.



2. In this engaging and wonderfully written biography, Ogden describes with consummate skill the origins, careers, hardships and accomplishments of two remarkable men, Walter Annenberg and his father, Moses. Facinating insights on business dealings (sometimes hardball), White House maneuverings (not always exemplary), politics, government, social discimination and class structure in America from the end of the 19th century to the present abound. The childhoods and early family environments of both Annenbergs (quite different for each) are well described. The complexity of the father/son relationship (partly due to very different temperaments) and its continuing influence long after Moses Annenberg's death in 1942 is especially poignant. One need not have a special interest in media empires to find this book engrossing; an interest in the capacity to endure, adapt creatively, and prevail in stunning and magnanimous fashion is quite sufficient. This is a distinctly American 20th century story of the highest order.



3. After having read Legacy I had all of my beliefs about the Great Walter Annenberg confirmed. This man is truely a great and magnanimous individual. His donations are really unprecedented and you could say he has done more for education than any other American. I truely love this man. As an alum of the Peddie school I was astounded by his massive gift in 1993 and I do hope his actions will inspire other alumni to make similiar or even larger gifts.



4. Legacy does an accurate job of portraying POP the way he wanted it and believe me, he certainly controlled the content. As one who is most familiar as an insider, I can say that his goal was to build the image of greatness. Yes, Pop, you were great and no matter what the cost. In the end you won. To the family, you know how he was. Gbird if you get this, im still here, faithful as ever, yet still controlled by old walter from the grave.



5. Since James Annenberg Levee was my roommate and fraternity brother, I was curious about his famous family. The book is well researched, informative and readable. A great rags to riches saga.

No comments about Bugatti: The Man and the Marque.

5 comments about John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire.

1. Perhaps I should not write a review of this book as I did not finish it. I found the subject--Astor, who he was, what he did, and how and why he did it--very interesting, but Madsen's treatment an example of biography at its worst. Why? Because we are presented with the data of Astor's life, but where is Astor? There is virtually nothing communicated as to what type of person he was, WHY he was so ambitious, what he felt and thought about the various activities he undertook, his successes, relative failures, etc. In many instances of course the available data of his life do not necessarily communicate the subjective life of the psyche, only the objective actions. But it is the very task of a biographer--in my view the most vital task--to artfully connect the various "dots" of data so as to reveal the subjective life within, the drama of the mind and heart reacting to events as the events unfold. You don't get that here.



2. Madsen takes the reader through an interesting account of the early fur trade and the opening of the American West. There are interesting anecdotes from Astor's deaings with historical and political figures of the time. However, if you are looking for information on his later business dealings and the development of Astor into New York's largest property owner and landlord then you will be disappointed. Nine tenths of his book is devoted to the development of the American Fur Company and the travials of those who forged through the wild countryside on Astors behalf. There is nothing in this book about how he dealt with tenants, advertised properties, developed systems of management for properties, financing, leverage, nothing.
   So buy it for an interesting histort of the time but don't buy it if your looking for information on how one of the great Real Estate investors of his time developed and managed his system of success.



3. I bought this book to learn about Astor and how he made his fortunes. The book goes into almost too much depth in regards to the fortune made in fur trading and shipping. Out of the 25 chapters, 23 were discussing nearly every detail of Astor, his men, indians, and his competition in regards to trading and shipping. In chapter 23, the author finally gets to where he claims Astor made his largest fortune, real estate. Since that is where he made the bulk of his fortune, then why did the author only devote one chapter to this topic? Most people who buy this book will do so to learn how Astor made his fortune, that is not explained well enough. I have to give the author credit, though, he did uncover many details that the other Astor biographers failed to see.



4. John Jacob Astor led the life most people do not even dare to dream about. He was a serial entrepreneur at a time when most of the world was composed of farmers. He was so successful at his businesses that when he died he controlled one-fifteenth of all personal wealth in the United States! Among many other things it is safe to say he was a very driven man.

   Born in relative poverty in Germany, he immigrated to the United States via England, arriving just after the Revolutionary War ended. Marrying the daughter of the woman who ran his boarding house in New York, his business career moves from the importing of musical instruments to the exporting of furs. So successful is he in the fur business that he is able to finance the establishment of the first American fort in Oregon and supports this effort with his own ships via Cape Horn. Returning east overland, his employees discover the route that subsequently becomes the Oregon Trail!

   This is a swashbuckler of a story which spans not just the North American Continent but the global economy as it existed in his day as well. Besides furs, he traded tea, seal skins, opium and assorted other commodities through global wars and economic recession on a scale to match the great trading houses of England, the British East India Company and the Hudson Bay Company. He was a man who took huge business risks. A key focus of the book is naturally the fur trade, the dominant wealth generator of its time. This was his first truly big score, one that he engaged in for over 20 years and the primary venture through which he amasses the fortune that provided the investment capital for all the endeavors which would follow.

   Alex Madsen does an excellent job of fitting Astor within the economic and political time period in which he lived. I have found information here on the fur trade I have found nowhere else. This is a very well researched book; one that not only reports on the biography of the life lived but the history of the time as well. There is a lot to appreciate here. It is a book well worth the time.




5. AN INTERESTING BOOK, BUT VERY LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE HUGE AMOUNT OF WORTH GENERATED BY THE REAL ESTATE OWNED BY THE ASTOR FAMILY AND THE CRATION OF THE WALDORF ASTORIA ONE OF THE FAMILY MOST FAMOUS LANDMARKS. IT DID GIVE A LOT OF INSIGHT TO AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE IN THE EARLY 1800'S WHEN JAMES MADISON AND JAMES MONROE WERE PRESIDENTS.

No comments about Visionary Railroader: Jervis Langdon Jr. and the Transportation Revolution (Railroads Past and Present).

4 comments about Benjamin Graham: The Memoirs of the Dean of Wall Street.

1. I bought this book after reading Roger Lowenstein's book 'Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist' (1996) to read on value investing. Unfortunately, this book covers very little about techniques. And I mean VERY little.

   If you want to get to know the person Graham is, get this book. You can skip this book and still produce superior investment returns (this, known as rational allocation of capital). For value investing, read Intelligent Investor, by Ben Graham.

   This book gets 3 stars bcoz it serves its purpose as a biography but at the same time managed to discourage me from spending time finishing it, despite my passion for Graham's investment principles.




2. The Dean of Wall Street confesses. That would be a great lead, except that Benjamin Graham has little to confess. Rather, Graham, considered the father of modern security analysis, tells us about his life, career, and his intellectual passions. He shares his thoughts about a range of issues, and about his experiences. For instance, did you know that he valued his intellectual pursuits more than making money? Or that he was a Broadway playwright? These memoirs are more concerned with Graham's story than with his investment techniques. We [...] recommend this book to those who want to learn more about Ben Graham, the man. It is not for those who want to learn more about Ben Graham, the founder of value investing.



3. The book is very appropriately titled. The story is told directly by Ben, and it covers his life from his family when his father passed away to his education at Columbia after losing his scholarship the first time.

   Ben was a colorful person, and reading an autobiography like this allows the reader to see the paths a great person chose in life to really become what we remember him for.

   Of course, the fact the Warren Buffet was his best student and biggest advocate was probably the reason I picked the book up in the first place, but after reading it, I discovered the Ben was wise in more than just Wallstreet. My favorite wisdom derived from Ben is on the subject of sex and relationships, as he had so many of the latter while becoming the great investor that we first associate with him.

   I feel that I learned skills that will help me grow to be wiser by reading his bio. I definitely suggest the book to anyone who is interested in not only Ben's life but in contemplating how to improve his or her own.




4. This book concerns Benjamin Graham, the man (well, he wrote it). There has been virtually no mention about investment principles other than his career. But I like the book because I wanted to find out more about the man who was arguably the greatest original thinker in security analysis and investment. [And I do derive consolation from the fact that one does not have to be good at everything to be a good investor - Ben does has his dose of shortcomings as well! :P] Sadly, it is out of print; I am fortunate that I obtained a pristine used copy at a reasonable price. Nowadays the book can fetch a very high offer price.

5 comments about A Remarkable Medicine Has Been Overlooked: Including an Autobiography and the Clinical Section of the Broad Range of Use of Phenytoin.

1. As a pharmacist, I found the book to be very inaccurate. Dilantin has proven nothing short of miraculous for millions of epileptics for the past 65 years, and has proven useful for peripheral neuropathy and (to a very minor extent) bipolar disorder, but it has side effects that are often very unpleasant and is notorious for producing drug interactions.

   I believe that many alternative and off-label therapies have legitimate use, but this is a vanity publication that has about as much merit as supermarket tabloid advertising.

   I am grateful that people have not bombarded their doctors with requests for this "miracle" drug.




2. As a pharmacist, I found the book to be very inaccurate. Dilantin has proven nothing short of miraculous for millions of epileptics for the past 65 years, and has proven useful for peripheral neuropathy and (to a very minor extent) bipolar disorder, but it has side effects that are often very unpleasant and is notorious for producing drug interactions.

   I believe that many alternative and off-label therapies have legitimate use, but this is a vanity publication that has about as much merit as supermarket tabloid advertising.

   I am grateful that people have not bombarded their doctors with requests for this "miracle" drug.




3. This is a remarkable story, a remarkable man, and a remarkable medicine. A Dr. first gave this book to me 14 years ago - it changed my life. Like Jack Dreyfus I lost interest in things I once enjoyed and like Jack Dreyfus I lost perspective and couldn't watch the news which is full of so much horror and sadness. People would tell me I needed to keep well informed, but it created panic attacks and I couldn't get it out of my mind. Drs. experimented with all kinds of medications that made me very ill and some that are habit forming nightmares. ONE INFORMED Dr. gave me this book and with Dilantin helped me get off all the "expensive, helpful medicines" that were making me worse. This book is written from the heart - just as the research was conducted. Thanks Dr. Roberts - Thanks Jack!!!



4. I find it interesting that Jack Dreyfus had his own severe anxiety / depression / insomnia cured almost immediately by use of Dilantin. I find it even more interesting that Mr. Dreyfus is STILL going strong at age 92 (yes, he turned 92 this year).
   
   It seems apparent that this particular reviewer did not fully read the book - or didn't understand it??? (In fact sounds like one of those in the "medical profession" whose very attitude has stonewalled legitimate extensive testing and education regarding this clearly remarkable medication). I say this as the doses recommended for use in this book are far below that used by epileptics and side effects at those levels have been very minimal. In fact, Dilantin is beginning to be thought of (in low dose formulas) as a component of antiaging medicine.
   
   I also find it amazing that there's an admission that "proven nothing short of miraculous for millions"... and yet is then immediately described as a very unsafe medication (???).
   
   Hmmm... who now seems to have a specific agenda here?
   
   Did this particular reviewer even bother to check out the huge number of studies and trials done on PHT (Dilantin)? Or was this more a matter of "don't confuse me with the facts"?
   
   A pharmacist specifically should have known that the fact is that PHT (Dilantin) has considerably fewer side effects and less serious ones than most of the more "modern" medicinces being pushed today. And at the doses recommended for non epileptic uses, those side effects are even much less of a problem. (At a well-looking age 92, it doesn't seem that the PHT / Dilantin has hurt Mr. Dreyfus to any noticeable degree)....
   
   What is even more ironic is that most educated people today know that most people in the medical profession obtain a significant amount of their "education" of pharmaceuticals from drug company sales reps (whose agenda is clearly to push the latest patented versions of whatever the "flavor-of-the-month" happens to be).
   
   Finally, Jack Dreyfus - nor ANY of his organizations - have ANY financial interest in Dilantin (PHT) in any form whatsoever. And his ongoing foundation (the Dreyfus Medical Foundation)? It is strictly a charitable medical organization.



5. I continually was fighting suicidal feelings and had gained 60 lbs in just over a year on prescription anti-depressants when I saw this book, A Remarkable Medicine Has Been Overlooked, by Jack Dreyfus, in Barnes and Noble and bought it in March 1998. I had just turned 48 years old.
   
   After reading the book I gave it to my psychiatrist, who read it and agreed to let me give low-dose Dilantin a try. I take low-dose Dilantin to this day, and by the time the first script needed renewal my family doctor agreed to prescribe it as I no longer was seeing a psychiatrist.
   
   Without Dilantin I don't know where I'd be today. Low-dose Dilantin has had only side-benefits for me. For instance, in addition to brightening my outlook with no other medications, it cured me of cold hands and feet, a lifelong problem, and I lost 50 of those 60 extra pounds easily. It also allows me to sleep a normal 7 to 9 hours a night instead of the 14-16 hours I had been sleeping for nearly a decade prior to finding out about low-dose Dilantin.
   
   Jack Dreyfus is one of my heroes. Thanks, Jack.

No comments about My Story.

5 comments about Prince Charming: The John F. Kennedy, Jr. Story (Revised).

1. This book does appear to offer a fairly accurate and close look at John Kennedy, Jr. But, it spends too much time discussing the Kennedys and Jackie. It should have focused more attention to the subject itself: John. A huge indiscrepancy is that John Jr. was born on Thanksgiving Day. Any good fact checker could have easily discovered that November 25, 1960 was a Friday, not a Thursday. When an author commits such a mistake, their credibility for accuracy of the rest of material in the book has to be questioned. As another reviewer wrote, any magazine offers a better biography of John Kennedy, Jr. than this book does. The best part of this book, however small, was the photos.



2. This book had many good points, and I finished it fairly quickly. It made me laugh out loud, and at other poignant moments I cried. I enjoyed reading about John's college exploits, his years as an assistant D.A. and details of his relationships with the ladies. It was vividly written, capturing my imagination in a way that presented me with a good sense of his splendid personality, in turn giving me an evengreater admiration of the man. Too much time, I think was devoted to his early childhood days, and I was disappointed that missing was a major portion of his later life after the debut of GEORGE, and of his married life. I would recommend this book, though, to anyone wanting a keepsake to revisit the memory of our beloved John Jr.



3. This back of the book cover led me to believe there would be interesting information on his wife, Carolyn. Ha! There was practically no information on his wife. I learned more about her in a single magazine article then from this book. It has the basic geographic info: born, lived, schooled. Boring. If you are a diehard JFK JR then go for it, otherwise there are much better books on him. If you are looking for Carolyn info, look elsewhere. Period.



4. this book is nothing but gossip.this lady prints facts people already know. dont waste your money



5. As a generation "Xer" this book intrigued me for one shallow purpose at the forthright. John F. Kennedy, Jr. was and will always remain in the public's eye as a sex symbol. I was glad that the author started out with something familiar when introducing her book. Beginning with the how and why of John's appointment to the sexiest man alive was something that I remembered and could identify with. Without any knowledge of the Kennedy "clan" as she terms them, and even less historical knowledge, I could identify with the placement of John on the cover of People magazine. While I had heard of President Kennedy's alleged affairs it came as a shock to see other members of the Kennedy family hold such little esteem for marriage vows. The author really brings Jackie Kennedy down to earth and sure makes me long for her happiness and admire the strength of such a delicate looking woman. She certainly isn't short on male companionship and some of her relationships leave you wondering why she didn't just go it alone. The details behind John's relationships are intriguing and the relationship with Madonna was particularly surprising to this reader. The author paints the picture of John being less than the smartest Kennedy but far outshining with his personality, athletic abilities, and Kennedy charisma. The well-known ending is tragic and left me with the same sinking feeling as I did watching the T.V. hoping his plane would be found or by some chance to find out he hadn't been on board at all. A good read for anyone wanting more information on the Kennedy family and most importantly on John Jr.

No comments about Memoirs of a Recovering Autocrat: Revealing Insights for Managing the Autocrat in All of Us.