Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E. W. Marland [Paperback]

John Joseph Mathews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1974

One of America’s most colorful oilmen was Ernest Whitworth Marland, a man who had much in common with other industrial giants of his age-- the Mellons, Rockefellers, the Morgans.

Moving to Ponca City, Oklahoma, from Pennsylvania shortly after the turn of the century, Marland quickly found oil on the lands of the Ponca and the Osage Indians.

E.W. Marland was a man of paradox--an advocate of unhampered oil exploration but also a champion of oil conservation, a man who lived in luxury but espoused the common causes of his idol, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Joseph Mathews, who died in 1979, was one of Oklahoma's genuinely gifted writers. He was the author of Wah' Kon-Tah: The Osage and the White Man's Road, a poetic description in prose of the spiritual life of the Indian, and a Book-of the-Month Club selection in 1932. His other books include Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E. W. Marland (1951), about the controversial governor of Oklahoma and the founder of the company �that later became known as Conoco, and The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters (1961), a narrative history of his tribe. Talking to the Moon was first published in 1945 and is reissued with a foreword by Elizabeth Mathews, his widow. Mathews was the great-grandson of Old Bill Williams, a noted frontiersman, and was a mixed-blood Osage. For many years he served as a member of the Osage Tribal Council. Educated at the University of Oklahoma in geology and at Merton College, Oxford, where he took his degree in natural sciences, Mathews was a fine American blend of scientist and poet, philosopher and producer, historian and storyteller, Indian and white.

Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (December 15, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806112387
• ISBN-13: 978-0806112381
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this book, April 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E. W. Marland (Paperback)

This book is an easy read. There are really two stories told: Marland's biography, and also, an history of early economic development in the northern part of the young state of Oklahoma. In a few chapters you will read about geology, Native American tribes, seizure of Indian lands in the "Cherokee Strip", early oilmen, New York bankers, the roaring 1920's and the Great Depression. They all influenced Marland's career as an oilman. The author's (often acerbic) opinions about persons and events are freely given throughout his book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Oilmen: The Early Years, September 10, 2011

By 

Oklahoma Native "student of history" (Austin, Tx USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E. W. Marland (Paperback)

A good perspective on one speculator who became wealthy yet, took the time to remember the employees and the city which enabled his business to thrive. He was a true rebel in the business world of his day. However, his naive business sense led to his economic downfall. Politically interesting information as well as personal triumphs
and tragedies.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, May 15, 2007

By 

So. Calif book reader "readalot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E. W. Marland (Paperback)

I should have read the title better...."Life and Death of An Oilman: The CAREER of E.W. Marland". (capital letters mine). This was mainly 90% about the business life of Marland, whereas a true life story would have been VERY interesting. How he married his step daughter and lived in that wonderful mansion, but very little is said about any of that. Hence, I skipped through the book and read hardly any of it. Glad I bought it used.