The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by Stiles, T. J
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Fine/Very Good Plus to Near Fine
- Seller
-
SANTA BARBARA, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2009. Nice copy in its fifth printing. Unmarked, tight and square. Text crisp and clean. Price intact jacket has National Book Award winner label on front panel with crimping on left side of label. Light wear at head of jacket's spine and some light soiling to rear panel. No paper loss. In mylar. . Fifth Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good Plus to Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Synopsis
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.From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Timothy Norlen Bookseller
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 016484
- Title
- The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Author
- Stiles, T. J
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good Plus to Near Fine
- Edition
- Fifth Printing
- Publisher
- Alfred A Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2009
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9&f
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern First Editions;
Terms of Sale
Timothy Norlen Bookseller
Books sent out within 24 - 48 hours upon receipt of order. Return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 15 days after delivery if an item arrives that is not as described.
About the Seller
Timothy Norlen Bookseller
Biblio member since 2019
SANTA BARBARA, California
About Timothy Norlen Bookseller
I am a internet based bookstore that specializes in Modern First Editions, film sources, Mystery and Detective fiction and Western Americana. I have approximately 10,000 books, primarily first editions with about 1300 of them signed by the author. I try and stock only books that are sound, clean and attractive.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
This Book’s Categories
What is a first edition?
Even if you’re only peripherally aware of book collecting, you’ve doubtless heard the term, first edition, bandied about but you may still be in the dark as to what makes them such a big deal. Learn about first editions and why collectors value them here.
Collecting Nebula Award Winners of the 1980s
The Nebula Award has been awarded to stories in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre every year since 1966. Learn about the winners of the 1980s!
