The First Tycoon, The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by TJ Stiles
As usual, I listened to the audio version. It is well narrated.
Not a person intrically familiar with corporate finance, I found some of the writing difficult to follow. The author cronicles The Comodore’s business dealings the way other authors cronicle their subjects love affairs. I think this is a book I will have to re-read at some point to totally absorb. Not a lot of time is spent on his personal life, which may make it more of a “guy” novel.
I do appreciate the author’s sense of history and his ability to describe the “mood” of the era. One note, he states at the time “government subsidies” were considered a benefit to the rich only and were not well received by the common man. He describes Vanderbilt as a Jacksonian. I also found it interesting the the “unfettered” competition drove prices down substantially. To the point that the average worker at the time could easily afford transportion.
There are a lot of issues discusssed in the book that are relevant today.