The History of the Standard Oil Company [Hardcover]

Ida M. Tarbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1987

This muckraking classic, which eventually led to regulation of the Standard Oil Company, was the inaugural work for crusading journalists whose mission was to expose corruption and abuse during the early 20th century. The history combined descriptions of John D. Rockefeller's business practices with his personal characteristics, creating an image of a cunning and ruthless person.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Muckrakers" was the name that Theodore Roosevelt gave journalists of the early part of the 20th century who exposed abuses in American business and government. Ida Tarbell, one of the original muckrakers, was able to help shut down the Standard Oil Company monopoly that had hampered her father's efforts in the oil industry in Pennsylvania. Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, irked by her stinging éxpose, dubbed her "Miss Tarbarrel."

The History of the Standard Oil Company is listed number five among the top 100 works of twentieth-century American journalism by the New York Times in 1999.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Buccaneer Books (June 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899666167
• ISBN-13: 978-0899666167
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,348,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Early History of Standard Oil, February 21, 2000

By 

Tom Larson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of The Standard Oil Company (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful account of the beginnings of the Standard Oil Company - from the perspective of one of the premier muckracker's of the 19th century. The book is mainly a series of articles strung together detailing some of the more illegal efforts of John D. Rockefeller to create a monopoly in the oil industry. It is a classic account of how to create a monopoly and has stories that involve everything from dynamiting the competition to innovative rebate plans that discourage competition..

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the caspian sea oil, December 17, 2001

By 

g. crisp (asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of the Standard Oil Company (Hardcover)

This book is over 800 pages, starting from the early U.S. oil companies competing with one another in an 1890's style industrial struggle. It has detail. If you like hard data this is the source. Daunted by the size of this tome? read the last three chapters first. "The Price of Oil", "The legitimate Greatness of The Company" and "The Conclusion": these three chapters will put the present day in a new light for you. The Caspian Sea was an oil field before the Bolschevik Revolution. At that time czarist Russia was a world contender. Now Caspian Sea oil has been "rediscovered". What was the Burma oil co.? What were the yearly production figures? what were the various allocations of oil use? What role were other countries playing? This is the place to find it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mediocre kindle edition, October 3, 2011

By 

[e-mail] (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of the Standard Oil Company (Kindle Edition)

The kindle edition of this book is cheap (99 cents) for a reason. Tons of typos and missing words/sentences. It's still readable but frustrating at times to follow.