Titan

The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

Ranked #3 in Oil, Ranked #11 in Business Biographysee more rankings.

John D. Rockefeller, Sr.--history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty--is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now Ron Chernow, the National Book Award-winning biographer of the Morgan and Warburg banking families, gives us a history of the mogul "etched with uncommon objectivity and literary grace . . . as detailed, balanced, and psychologically insightful a portrait of the tycoon as we may ever have" (Kirkus Reviews). Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's exceptionally rich... more

Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Titan from the world's leading experts.

Charlie Munger Vice Chairman/Berkshire HathawayRecommends this book

Charles T. Munger Vice Chairman/Berkshire HathawayRecommends this book

Ryan Holiday AuthorA biography has to be really good to make read you all 800 pages. To me, this was one of those books. Since reading it earlier this year, I’ve since found out it is the favorite book of a lot of people I respect. I think something about the quality of the writing and the empathic understanding of the writer that the main lessons you would take away from someone like Rockefeller would not be business, but life lessons. In fact, when I went back through and took notes on this book, I filled out more cards for Stoicism than I did for Strategy, Business or Money. I found Rockefeller to be... (Source)

Matt Calkins This is how a creative and intense person wrestled with the emergence of an industry. By owning the oil refining stage, he figured he could protect oil from the otherwise inevitable boom-and-bust cycle that would tear up investments made in the industry. It was a business feat to put together Standard Oil, and this history makes it clear what kind of person it took to achieve that feat. (Source)

John Doherty I am trying to gain insight into what made one of the most successful people in recent history successful. I believe in learning about people like him, both the good and the bad, and thinking critically about how I want to live my life. (Source)

Ola Olusoga Like Charlie Munger once said: “I’ve long believed that a certain system - which almost any intelligent person can learn - works way better than the systems most people use [to understand the world]. What you need is a latticework of mental models in your head. And, with that system, things gradually fit together in a way that enhances cognition. Just as multiple factors shape every system, multiple mental models from a variety of disciplines are necessary to understand that system". You can read this book to start building a "latticework of mental models in your head". (Source)

Adam Townsend @Sociopathlete Great book (Source)

Anas Alhajji @Morg2006 Yep, I already have it. great book. (Source)


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