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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Industrial History, December 20, 2007
This review is from: Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America (Paperback)
"Meet You In Hell" tells the fascinating stories of Steel King Andrew Carnegie and Coke King Henry Clay Frick and their interactions which shaped much of American Industrial history. It begins with sections on their personal and business backgrounds. It explains how their careers became intertwined as Frick's coke company became a primary supplier to Carnegie Steel. The breaking point of their relationship was the riot at the Homestead Mill, which was opposed by Frick while Carnegie remained in Scotland. Thereafter they became bitter rivals to their deaths. As readers of my Amazon reviews are aware, I am an avid reader of history. This, while being history, is neither political nor military and, thereby, provides a different insight into forces which molded our nation. Two ways that I evaluate books is by whether they teach me things that I did not know or if they do whet my appetite to read more on the subject. "Meet You In Hell" scores well on both tests. I was aware that Pinkerton agents were often used by management in labor disputes. The narrative dealing with the Battle of Homestead illustrates just how violent those disputes were. I had often seen Carnegie Libraries, but I did not realize that he was so resented among the laboring classes. After reading this I cannot wait until I can read another book on Industrial History. Any book that can ace both of these tests merits high marks.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Overall, A Good Period History, February 1, 2007
This review is from: Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America (Paperback)
Les Standiford's work is, overall, a good period piece evoking the culture and events of late nineteenth century industrial America. He retains a critical perspective without damning his subjects as "robber barons," etc., seeing them in the context of their times and their essential humanity - even when behaving inhumanly. There are a few inaccuracies, inconsistencies, irrelevancies, and just plain head scratchers: as on page 29, where he states: "In the wake of Ireland's Great Potato Famine, the family sold everything and came, as so many of their fellow Scotsmen did, to America." While this is factually true, one wonders what the Irish potato famine had to do with Scottish immigrants, particularly the Carnegies of Dunfermline. The relevance to the subject remains obscure, unless there's a connection that Mr. Standiford is not sharing with his readers. (?) In general, though, it's a good read, and a good introduction for the general reader who's just learning about the era, the fruits of which are still part of the life around him: from the 19th century buildings which yet remain in northern US cities, to the remnants of American industry, and the great financial institutions of Wall Street.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating history, very readable, August 4, 2006
This review is from: Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America (Paperback)
I grew up in Pittsburgh, went to the Carnegie Library and Museum, and my dad's first office was in the splendid Frick Building. Obviously this very readable nonfiction history of Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie appealed to me for those reasons initially, but it is fascinating on so many levels. Both men rise from poverty as an immigrants in the US to become the wealthiest men in the US and probably the world. The book is interesting in its coverage of labor issues, the first labor unions, and the srike fiasco at Carnegie's Homestead works which virtually broke unions in the US for 30 yrs. Anyone in the business world will be interested in the story of how one of the greatest and largest US corporations, US Steel, came into being. It was a time in the US when JP Morgan, Andrew Mellon, and others first came into being, and it affected our country more than you realize! If you enjoy well-written nonfiction that reads like fiction, and that enlightens you while managing to be entertaining as well, you will really love this book.
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