Customer Reviews

Sons of the Profits: There's no business like grow Business. The Seattle Story 1851-1901

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although i got slightly bored at times by a chapter or two, I really appreciated Spiedal's irreverent take on Seattle's history. I got an honest opinion of some local heroes, and learned much about the real reasons behind Seattle's regional dominance. I found the writing style interesting and funny, and refreshingly honest.

Bill Speidel tells us how Seattle was "saved" by its seamstresses, or so they were called. But really when Tacoma got the rail deadhead, Seattle citizens thought they were doomed. However those miners and loggers needed some companionship and something to wet their whistle and Seattle was only too happy to oblige. There was a tax on these businesses and they allowed the city to thrive and prosper.

Anyway the attitude of lets make a buck before anyone else figures it out is very prevalant here and explains the large software company to the East, and the coffee house just South of downtown.

All in all a good read.

Well, I made it through the book. It was way more strenuous than I expected, especially considering Speidel's informal writing style. Where to begin?

Let's start with the good, seeing as I intend for this to be a less than favorable review. First, I do have a greater understanding of the history of my city of residence. I like and appreciate that. I deeply value honest history (not necessarily "revisionist," but definitely honest, which is what we don't get most of the time in America), and this is an honest account of the real people that started and developed this city over its first fifty years. I'm glad to know that I won't be fooled into thinking that Henry Yesler was one of the most generous men to ever live, or that Arthur Denny landed at Alki Point with only a dream in his heart and a twinkle in his eye . . . but those are the things that I walk away from the book knowing. What about the book itself?

First, Speidel wrote this book in 1967 to the intended audience of other long-to-lifetime Seattle residents. The former can't be helped. The latter is a huge problem. If you're going to brave Sons of the Profits, I strongly--STRONGLY--suggest doing some deep research on the chronological history of Seattle from 1851-1901 before picking this up. It also might help you to get out a map and memorize the street grid in Pioneer Square, most of Downtown, SODO and the International District, and have a pretty good understanding of the layout of the Central District and the University District. After that, spend a long time studying the geography of the Pacific Northwest, specifically the locations of every small town you can find in relation to Seattle. Speidel's not going to help you out. The chapters are topic based, not time-based. That can work if done the right way, but it's a headache to follow in this case. I didn't start out completely green on the general topic--in fact, I (a 5-year-so-far Seattle resident) know more about the city than many of my native friends do. But in a single chapter he bounces back and forth dozens of times over multiple decades--ending up in, say, 1879, then references something from, say, 1865, gets lost in a tangent in '65, then bounces back several pages later to '79, expecting you to keep up, and then before long he jumps back to 1870. Maybe I'm just not as bright as I need to be. Maybe readers in 1967 followed this stuff better. But *I* found it frustrating.

Second, he spits out numbers and values and names all over the pages (it is "Profits," after all) and it all ends up getting jumbled. "Person A payed $12,000 for a 300 acre claim from Person B who, in 1858, payed $450, and Person A sold it again in 1890 for $300,000! Well isn't that something!" Imagine that for a 50 page chapter on the railroad wars with Tacoma, and in every other chapter in the book. You know what's interesting about the railroad wars of the 1860-1880's? The fact that they happened, and the events that happened around them. Seattle vs. Tacoma, Union Pacific vs. Northern Pacific, Thomas Burke's speech against Northern Pacific wanting to put a fancy train station along the northwestern 8 blocks of what is now Western Avenue, and so on. In those 50 pages, I could tell that there was an interesting story there, but Speidel rambles off the names and the dollars and mundane details like the lengths of track as if those are the important things, and I would have to take notes to follow him so I could weed out the story buried in it all.

Third, I like Speidel's wit. I don't think I liked it as much as Speidel liked it, though. I've had fun history teachers, and their excitement over the subjects was energizing, and when they projected their clearly fun personalities into the lessons, it made me forget how sore my wrist was from all the note taking I was doing. If Speidel was my history teacher, I'd likely feel that way about him. But in this book, more than a few times I was almost screaming for him to tell me the history and quit trying to set up some witty banter than he can put into a single-sentence paragraph. Sometimes, admittedly, it was funny. Plus, I'm sure that in 1967 his approach was a direct retaliation to the way history was likely taught to him. But there's such a thing as balance.

Lastly . . . this also might be a 1967 vs. 2011 thing, but his celebration of prostitution was pretty over-the-top. Yeah, I get it--the existence of prostitution in Seattle is one of the most important factors of it becoming as important of a city as it is. And the emphasis was no doubt to the degree it was due to the late-60's retaliation against conservative 1950's values. But it's annoying. Especially the way he writes seeming so high and mighty over traditional religious values by pointing all this out, but almost seems to justify or have no issue with the fact that John Pinnell (the first major pimp of Seattle) took young Native American girls from their tribes to work in his house. I could go on with that, but there's not much of a point.

So in closing, I will say that I have nothing over all against Speidel. Speidel's Undergound Tour is awesome. I've heard of some people getting pretty crummy tour guides that apparently did nothing but make poop jokes in basements for 90 minutes; that's unfortunate. I got a guy with a goatee and a ball cap named Jim, and he was very thorough, engaging, interesting, and knowledgeable. Jim and his coworkers all celebrate Mr. Speidel's work for the city quite a bit, which is very warranted, but their promotion of this book is very biased. I'm glad I read it, and I'm glad it's over.

I picked up this book after taking the Speidel underground tour of Seattle, Washington. The underground of Seattle does not refer to a subway; it refers to the ruins and remains of the original city of Seattle, which lies right below the current city. This underground city is unknown to many residents of Seattle, just like the history of Seattle is not as well-known as the histories of New York, LA, or Chicago for instance. This book and the tour it inspired serve to bring this history to life.

Starting with the initial encounters between white explorers and Native Americans, this book traces the history of Seattle and Washington state over the last 200 years. In it we learn about the initial settlements in this area, its growth into a major trading port, industrial hub, and cosmopolitan center. The book also shows how this history was driven primarily by greed; hence the book's title. Everyone got involved, whether they were Native Americans who worked with whites to con their fellow natives out of land, or white ministers smart enough to buy up the good land, or government officials who sold licenses for the right price. One interesting story is that Seattle was named after Chief Seattle, a Native American who betrayed his tribe for land and titles.

The book is quite entertaining to read as a sense of humor flows throughout the book. The author pokes fun at the motives and actions of various historical figures, shows how this person swindled that person, how all sorts of people get their comeuppance, and others get away with the everything. Overall, an enjoyable book to read.

I have just come back from the Underground Tour of Seattle, and I bought this book at the recommendation of our excellent guide. Before going to Seattle, I had read some of its early history. Bill Speidel does not give a rounded view of Seattle's early history; he focuses on the dirt--and very entertaining dirt it is! What prompted me to write this review is that I just found a historical inaccuracy that the author should have caught: On page 5, the book says, "Well, on November 23, 1843--eight years before starting west--Arthur married his new step-sister Mary Ann." Arthur's father, John Denny, married Arthur's step-mother, Sarah Latimer Boren (Denny) on September 10, 1848--about five years AFTER Arthur Denny married Mary Ann Boren. I have not finished the book, but I wonder how many other "facts" are misrepresented in the book. So enjoy the book, but take it with a grain of salt!

I found Speidel's book to be an entertaining view of Seattle's early days and people. His geographic comparison of then and now provided me with more depth of understanding about why things are as they are, including recent events with mass transportation as well as obsessive popular referenda.

This is an extremely interesting book on the history of Seattle.
Learned many things I never realized about the part Seattle played
in the Gold Rush.

If you enjoy a good read about Victorian Entrepreneurship, railroad barons, and a game of monopoly played straight up...you will love this book. I toured the Seattle Underground where they whetted my appetite for more stories and this filled me up. If you are from the Seattle area it is a must read on why you live there.

If you thought 'don't make me read history after high school' you are missing an entertaining time. This book approaches the founding of the city of Seattle with humor and pulls off the mask of "founding fathers". It is well researched plus it gives the reader an insight into relationships of the founders, of their families, and their motivations (money). Greed was named 'good' in the 1980s and 1990s, this book lets you know that there is nothing new about the sin. Plus this book lives because its alive in the "Underground Seattle" tour daily.

I took Speidel's Underground tour while in Seattle and bought this book in the gift shop thinking it would be an entertaining read. I was wrong, first of all do not buy this book in the giftshop, you can get it much cheaper on Amazon, etc. I wouldn't pay more that $5 for this book.

This book is the equivalent of watching paint dry. Unless you have knowledge of the layout and geography of Seattle and its surroundings much of the book will go over your head. If you are a tourist this will probably apply to you. There are so many mundaine facts you get the sense the author is just looking for filler.

The writing style and formatting of the book is simply bad. It seems like a college student was writing their term paper and didn't start until the night before. I get the sense Speidel wrote the book just to say he wrote a book. It so choppy and dry I its a book you only finish because you started it. I am very dissapointed with this book and would not recommend it to anyone. Do yourself a favor and skip this book. There are other ways to learn about Seattle in a manner that doesn't make you fall asleep.