The First Tycoon

The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

By: T.J. Stiles

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 28 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.

Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt is an American icon. Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington’s presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation’s largest fleet of steamships to lord of a railroad empire. Lincoln consulted him on steamship strategy during the Civil War; Jay Gould was first his uneasy ally and then sworn enemy; and Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States, was his spiritual counselor. We see Vanderbilt help to launch the transportation revolution, propel the Gold Rush, reshape Manhattan, and invent the modern corporation - in fact, as T. J. Stiles elegantly argues, Vanderbilt did more than perhaps any other individual to create the economic world we live in today.

In The First Tycoon, Stiles offers the first complete, authoritative biography of this titan, and the first comprehensive account of the Commodore’s personal life. It is a sweeping, fast-moving epic, and a complex portrait of the great man. Vanderbilt, Stiles shows, embraced the philosophy of the Jacksonian Democrats and withstood attacks by his conservative enemies for being too competitive. He was a visionary who pioneered business models. He was an unschooled fistfighter who came to command the respect of New York’s social elite. And he was a father who struggled with a gambling-addicted son, a husband who was loving yet abusive, and, finally, an old man who was obsessed with contacting the dead.

The First Tycoon is the exhilarating story of a man and a nation maturing together: The powerful account of a man whose life was as epic and complex as American history itself.

©2009 T.J. Stiles (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“A penetrating portrait of a complex, self-made titan.” -Citation for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography 2010

“With deep and imaginative research and graceful writing, T. J. Stiles’s The First Tycoon tells the extraordinary story of a brutally competitive man who was hard to love but irresistibly interesting as a truly pivotal historical figure. With few letters and no diaries, and with layers of legend to carve through, Stiles captures Cornelius Vanderbilt as a person and as a force who shaped the transportation revolution, all but invented unbridled American capitalism, and left his mark not only all over New York City but, for better or worse, all over our economic landscape.” -Citation for the National Book Award in Nonfiction 2009

“T.J. Stiles presents the magnate as a man in full.” -Boston Globe Best Books of 2009

Amazing

Such a great listen, truly was a pleasure to enjoy this book in its entirety and learn so much about such a fascinating man in American history

thorough and fascinating!

loved learning about Vanderbilt. the author really made it come alive and was detailed. amazing biography!

great man twain wrong

corporations began and control in a positive manner. vandy was the right man @ right time.

A Delightful Experience

Any additional comments?

The biography is interesting. But my highest compliments go to the author and reader of the book. I enjoyed listening to the authors point of view and interpretation of the facts and the reading was excellent.

Okay. Didn’t need to be this long.

This whole bio could have been better summarized in 12-15 hours. I didn’t understand why it needed to be over 20. A great man of our history but no idea why it needed to keep on certain stories so long.

Another Master piece by T.J. Stiles

Loved it. More than just Vanderbilt, lots of context and U.S. History. T. J. Stiles weaves it altogether for a very interesting story.

This was a great listen.

this book gave a comprehensive view of Mr Vanderbilt. it accurately communicated the complexity of the

History of rise of corporate America

Fascinating in its parallels to modern themes such as economic inequality and corporate personhood great

long ok read

It was a long read and not as interesting as the other books about the other financial Titans.

Thorough But Not Bogged Down in Details

This book gives a complete story of Vanderbilt's life while not getting lost in the detail that would drag down the flow of the book. I am no historian, and cannot comment on the accuracy of the reported history or the author's account, but the author often comes to the defense of Vanderbilt providing a counter to historical reports.