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Mellon
An American Life
by David Cannadine
ISBN: 0679450327
ISBN-13: 9780679450320
Format: Hardcover
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Summary
This monumental biography of the businessman and philanthropist Andrew Mellon recounts his early youth in Pittsburgh and his relationship with his banker father, as well as his rise to the top through canny investments. Mellon was active in Pennsylvania politics and later served as Secretary of the Treasury under three presidents. Biographer David Cannadine recounts Mellon’s lifelong interest in collecting art, and his gift to the nation of the National Gallery of Art. Cannadine does not gloss over Mellon’s troubled personal life, which including a failed marriage and a strained relationship with his daughter, nor does he ignore Mellon’s many critics and his trial for tax evasion. Overall, MELLON is a lively, accessible account of an entrepreneur’s private and public life.
Customer Reviews
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Media Reviews
"A well-written, richly detailed chronicle." -- Steve Forbes
"With MELLON, Cannadine writes like a storyteller, and the book often reads as compulsively as one of those immense fictional sagas that weigh down the best-seller lists. Sin and redemption are always close to the center of those family tales, and so they are in MELLON." -- Russell Baker
"[A] fascinating biography of Andrew Mellon....[A] sprawling work of a sprawling life...Parallel to the family history, Mr. Cannadine paints a vivid picture of 19th-century Pittsburgh as a crucible of the Industrial Revolution." -- Roger Lowenstein
"A superb biography."
"[A] perceptive and absorbing biography...." -- Steve Fraser
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc Published date: 2006 Size: 6.5 x 9.75 inches Weight: 3.05 pounds Pages: 779
Publisher's Notes
A landmark portrait of Andrew Mellon describes his rise to the heights of political and financial power, his controversial role as treasury secretary under three presidents, and his remarkable philanthropy and gift to America of the National Gallery of Art. 30,000 first printing.
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Mellon: An American Life
David Cannadine
Knopf. Used - Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! ( more information) Offered by Better World Books (United States)
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Mellon : An American Life
Cannadine, David
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Hard Cover. Condition: Acceptable ( previous owner's sticker and name in pen on the front paste-down ) in good dust jacket ( light shelf wear to the edges ). Nice reading copy. 776 pages. Phptographic illustrations.. ( more information) Offered by Seventies Bookstore (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life
Cannadine, David
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006 xvi, 778 p.: 16 unpaginated (and unopened) pages of illustrations; 24 cm. (9 inches). Blue-green paper over boards with gilt-stamped spine title; color illustrated dust jacket. Includes appendix, a note on sources, abbreviations for notes, notes, acknowledgments, and index. First Edition, third printing. The masterful, thorough, superbly written biography of one of America's most distinguished and innovative entrepreneurs and the owner of one of the world's most spectacular collections of art, the genesis of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Mellon would also serve three presidents, Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, as treasury secretary and would be praised as the architect of the roaring twenties and denigrated as the architect of the Great Depression, ultimately being prosecuted unsuccessfully by Roosevelt for tax evasion. The definitive study of Mellon, a must-read for anyone interested in American economic and social history. Book is in Fine/As New Condition. Dust Jacket is in Fine/As New Condition.. Fine/Fine. ( more information) Offered by Classic Books and Ephemera (United States)
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mellon - an american life
cannadine, david
Hard Cover. Knopf 2006. All books in VG or better condition. ( more information) Offered by Sixth Chamber Used Books (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life [Hardcover] (Qty: 2)
Cannadine, David
Gift quality. Clean, unmarked pages. Good binding and cover. Hardcover and dust jacket. Ships daily. (BIO)New ( more information) Offered by SequiturBooks (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life
Cannadine, David
NY: Knopf, 2006. 1st printing of 1st edition. fine hard cover book in fine dust jacket. Inscribed by author on half-title pg., "To xxxx, With special thanks and all good wishes for the Holidays and 2007. ( more information) Offered by Lorrin Wong, Bookseller (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life
David Cannadine
Knopf, 2006-10-03. Hardcover. New. Hardback w/ DJ. Enjoyable reading copy for your personal pleasure. This copy is nearly flawless! You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now!!! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again!!!! ( more information) Offered by International Book Source (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life (Qty: 29)
Cannadine, David, Professor
Alfred A. Knopf. New. All items are BRAND NEW. Delivery Confirmation provided with shipping confirmation email. Fast Response to all emails. ( more information) Offered by Movies With A Smile, Inc. (United States)
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9)
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Mellon An American Life
Cannadine, David
Knopf. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 2006. Hardcover. 2 x 9.4 x 6.2 Inches; 800 pages; <p>A landmark work from one of the preeminent historians of our time: the first published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, the American colossus who bestrode the worlds of industry, government, and philanthropy, leaving his transformative stamp on each. <br><br>Following a boyhood in nineteenth-century Pittsburgh, during which he learned from his Scotch-Irish immigrant father the lessons of self-sufficiency and accumulation of wealth, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America’s greatest financiers. Across an unusually diverse range of enterprises, from banking to oil to aluminum manufacture, he would build a legendary personal fortune, tracking America’s course to global economic supremacy. Personal happiness, however, eluded him: his loveless marriage at forty-five to a British girl less than half his age ended in a scandalous divorce, and for all his best efforts, he would remain a stranger to his children. He had been bred to do one thing, and that he did with brilliant and innovative entrepreneurship. The Mellon way was to hold companies closely, including such iconic enterprises as Alcoa and Gulf Oil. Collecting art, a pursuit inspired by his close friend Henry Clay Frick, would become his only nonprofessional gratification. And by the end of his life, Mellon’s “pictures&# 8221; would constitute one of the world’s foremost private collections.<br><br>Mellon’s wealth and name allowed him to dominate Pennsylvania politics, and late in life he was invited to Washington. As treasury secretary under presidents Harding, Coolidge, and finally Hoover, he made the federal government run like a business̵ 2;prefiguring the public official as CEO. But this man of straightforward conservative politics was no politician. He would be hailed as the architect of the Roaring Twenties, but, staying too long, would be blamed for the Great Depression, eventually to find himself a broken idol. The New Deal overthrew Andrew Mellon’s every fiscal assumption, starting with the imperative of balanced budgets. Indeed, he would become the emblem—and the scapegoat—for the Republican conviction and policy that the role of government is to help business create national wealth and jobs. At the age of seventy-nine, the former treasury secretary suffered the ultimate humiliation: prosecution by FDR’s government on charges of tax evasion. In the end Mellon would be exonerated, as he always trusted he would be, and throughout the trial, which lasted more than a year, he never abandoned what had become his last dream: to make a great gift to the American people. The National Gallery of Art remains his most tangible legacy, although he did not live to see its completion.<br><br>The issues Andrew W. Mellon confronted—concerning government, business, influence, the individual and the public good—remain at the center of our national discourse to this day. Indeed, the positions he steadfastly held reemerged relatively intact with the Reagan revolution, having lain dormant since the New Deal. David Cannadine’s magisterial biography brings to life a towering, controversial figure, casting new light on our history and the evolution of our public values.</p> . ( more information) Offered by Hammonds Books & Music (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life (Qty: 14)
Cannadine, David
Knopf. Hardcover. 0679450327 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life (Qty: 15)
Cannadine, David
Knopf. Hardcover. 0679450327 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life (Qty: 2)
Cannadine, David
Knopf. Hardcover. 0679450327 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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MELLON, An American Life
Cannadine, David
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.. Illustrated by three b/w and color photographs sections . Stated first (SD) edition. Extensive 4to Glossy Publisher press and review folder including Kirkus review. Green cloth, color illustrated eps, uncut fore-edge. 8vo. pp. xvi, 779, [3] about author. Index. As New/In like jacket/Unclipped price in mylar. Flawless oversize copy. ISBN: 0679450327.. Andrew William Mellon 1855-1937, Banker, Diplomat, Industrialist, Philanthropist. ( more information) Offered by OLD WORKING BOOKS (since 1994) (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life (Qty: 5)
David Cannadine
Knopf, 2006-10-03. Hardcover. New. Brand New. In Stock. Order Now. Free upgrade with tracking. Over 600,000 items available. Buy from a trusted Power Seller. ( more information) Offered by *** www.HarvardBooksellers.com *** (United States)
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Mellon An American Life
Cannadine, David
Knopf. New in New dust jacket. 2006. First Edition. Hardcover. New stated first edition Knopf cloth hardcover and dust jacket in very fine condition. Protective mylar cover. ; 2 x 9.4 x 6.2 Inches; 800 pages . ( more information) Offered by SVIRDEN BOOKS (United States)
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Mellon: An American Life
Cannadine, David
New York: Alfred A. Knopf; A Borzoi Book, 2006 Cloth, gilt, xvi, 779 pp., [48] pp. of plates, illus. (some col.), bib. notes, index; 25 cm. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Spine rolled at the crown. Stated "First Edition." Dust jacket protected in a mylar book cover. OVERSIZE! No priority/air, except by special arrangement. "A landmark work from one of the preeminent historians of our time: the first published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, the American colossus who bestrode the worlds of industry, government, and philanthropy, leaving his transformative stamp on each. Following a boyhood in nineteenth-century Pittsburgh, during which he learned from his Scotch-Irish immigrant father the lessons of self-sufficiency and accumulation of wealth, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America's greatest financiers. Across an unusually diverse range of enterprises, from banking to oil to aluminum manufacture, he would build a legendary personal fortune, tracking America's course to global economic supremacy. Personal happiness, however, eluded him: his loveless marriage at forty-five to a British girl less than half his age ended in a scandalous divorce, and for all his best efforts, he would remain a stranger to his children. He had been bred to do one thing, and that he did with brilliant and innovative entrepreneurship. The Mellon way was to hold companies closely, including such iconic enterprises as Alcoa and Gulf Oil. Collecting art, a pursuit inspired by his close friend Henry Clay Frick, would become his only nonprofessional gratification. And by the end of his life, Mellon's 'pictures' would constitute one of the world's foremost private collections. Mellon's wealth and name allowed him to dominate Pennsylvania politics, and late in life he was invited to Washington. As treasury secretary under presidents Harding, Coolidge, and finally Hoover, he made the federal government run like a business--prefiguring the public official as CEO. But this man of straightforward conservative politics was no politician. He would be hailed as the architect of the Roaring Twenties, but, staying too long, would be blamed for the Great Depression, eventually to find himself a broken idol. The New Deal overthrew Andrew Mellon's every fiscal assumption, starting with the imperative of balanced budgets. Indeed, he would become the emblem--and the scapegoat--for the Republican conviction and policy that the role of government is to help business create national wealth and jobs. At the age of seventy-nine, the former treasury secretary suffered the ultimate humiliation: prosecution by FDR's government on charges of tax evasion. In the end Mellon would be exonerated, as he always trusted he would be, and throughout the trial, which lasted more than a year, he never abandoned what had become his last dream: to make a great gift to the American people. The National Gallery of Art remains his most tangible legacy, although he did not live to see its completion. The issues Andrew W. Mellon confronted--concerning government, business, influence, the individual and the public good--remain at the center of our national discourse to this day. Indeed, the positions he steadfastly held reemerged relatively intact with the Reagan revolution, having lain dormant since the New Deal. David Cannadine's magisterial biography brings to life a towering, controversial figure, casting new light on our history and the evolution of our public values. / David Cannadine was born in Birmingham, England, in 1950 and educated at Cambridge, Oxford, and Princeton. He is the author of many acclaimed books, including the prizewinning The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy. He has taught at Cambridge and Columbia universities and now at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London." - Publisher.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Collectible. ( more information) Offered by Left Coast Books (United States)
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