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The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by Stiles, T.J
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0375415424
- ISBN 13
- 9780375415425
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Xiii, 719 Pp. Brown Cloth Spine, Gilt; Blue Boards. First Edition Stated. Fine In Fine Dust Jacket Priced $37.50. Pulitzer Prize Winner About The Builder Of One Of The Great American Fortunes, Whose Work Would Almost Entirely Be Monumentally Illegal And Morally Objectionable Today, Most Notably Including Major Participation In The Shipment Of Opium From India To China, But Resulting In Nothing But Fame, Wealth, Social Privilege And Honor For His Descendants, Few If Any Of Whom Ever Developed A Skill Of Humanitarian, Educational, Scholarly, Or Common Usefulness, But An Iconic Model For Economists And The Totally Unprincipled Everywhere, Including A Certain Orangutan Also From New York, Having Raised American Gdp, Income, And Wealth By Any Means Whatsoever, And Contributing Mightily To The Increase In Value Of New York Real Estate
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.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Arroyo Seco Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 057337
- Title
- The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Author
- Stiles, T.J
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition 1st Printing
- ISBN 10
- 0375415424
- ISBN 13
- 9780375415425
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2009
- Pages
- 736
- X weight
- 0 lbs
Terms of Sale
Arroyo Seco Books
Payment by credit card, check, PayPal or, for orders over $1000, by bank transfer. US Shipping by USPS media mail, at standard rate shown, but large or heavy items may require additional postage. Shipments valued over $200 may be sent with insurance, and/or with signature confirmation required. International shipments sent only by insured USPS mail (Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail or Express Guaranteed). Shipments to the UK may require additional shipping charges to provide insurance as they lack a nationally insured postal system. Sales within California and many other states are subject to sales tax. International shipments may be subject to Customs duties or fees and/or VAT which are the responsibility of the buyer. Postage will not be refunded for unaccepted packages; please review your order for correct addressing.
About the Seller
Arroyo Seco Books
Biblio member since 2013
Pasadena, California
About Arroyo Seco Books
Arroyo Seco Books lists about 26,000 used books in all fields, including physics, art, philosophy, social science, literature, science fiction, etc. We also stock modern and antiquarian prints and other art. Most items are listed in 100 catalogs titled by subject matter, and available on this site. We purchase interesting private libraries. Member of IOBA. Contact: Stephen Clauser, 626-372-3863.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- 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....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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