Customer Reviews

Villard: The Life and Times of an American Titan

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The authors tell German-American history in the last century combining the individual story of a young ambitious man living some of the outstanding political events of the nineteenth century in Germany as well as in the United States. The enthusiasm of the 1848 revolution in the Palatinate and the disappointment of a whole generation in Germany, that led to a great wave of emigration to the United States. What would have happened to Germany if that generation would have stayed? The story of a young man who even changed his name to adapt himself more easily to America. I read it with my "German" point of view at the same time and I recommand to anybody who is interested in German American history. The book is very pleasantly styled, a lot of photos intensify the atmosphere of the story. It is just four generations away and we can be happy to find out that there are authors that have the courage to do all the research.

Being a member of the German "Hilgard" family myself I was very pleased to find it by chance.

This book delivers on two levels. First, it is a well told journey through 19th Century American history. Henry Villard personally witnessed many of the transformational events of that time: the Colorado gold rush; the 1860 Republican Convention; Lincoln's journey from Springfield to Washington for his inauguration; the Civil War Battles of Bun Run, Shiloh, Corinth, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg; the completion of the second transcontinental railroad; and the clashes of the industrial barons of the Gilded Age. This book takes you briskly through those events with Villard as the central figure. The story is that of a 19th Century Forrest Gump.

On another level, the book describes the rags to riches personal journey of this extraordinary man. Indeed, Villard's own life is a quintessential American story: a penniless immigrant becomes a star journalist and acquaintance of legendary generals and a president. After the war, he metamorphoses into an industrial titan and rival of Morgan and Gould, before suffering substantial financial setbacks and then revived fortunes that permit him to regain his place at the pinnacle of American Society.

The book is a very enjoyable read that describes important events in American history and the story of a man who played a significant, if largely forgotten, role in those events. It deserves more attention and a wider readership.

This book is throughly researched by Harry Villard's great grand daughter. Despite the relationship the author looks at the pros and conns of the man.

This book is able to appeal to many interests. It is the story of a very young man, new to America who eventually makes it to the very top of society. It is a lso a story about the politics and battles during the Civil War; and it is a story of the Guilded Age and the railroad wars.

All this history centers on the life of Henry Villard, German born, young immigrant, newspaper reporter, and fiinally tycoon. A fascinating read with lots of history.

All this

This well-written biography gives a very empathic account of Villard and his contemporaries. Characters' weaknesses are described as forthrightly as their strengths.

The account covers more than Villard's participation in the financial world. It also tells of his experiences as a poor immigrant. Most vivid are the chapters that describe Villard's career as a Civil War correspondent, a 'special' to coin a period term.

Reading this book was enjoyable both because of the story, and the way it was told. The writing style is sometimes poetic, sometimes cheeky, but always concise.

I would highly recommend this book to those interested in the Civil War, or in war journalism. The chapters dealing with Gilded Age industrialism were more biographic than historically comprehensive. For a better historic account, I'd recommend "Titan : The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr" by Ron Chernow.

I had the privilege of meeting Ms. Villard de Borchgrave when I applied for a job with her. After learning more about her, I ordered this book and was fascinated by it. I received the book in excellent condition.

This biography by A.Villard De Borchgrave, Henry Villard's great granddaughter, and the knowledgable man of letters, John Cullen, is an admirable book and much more than a biograpy. It follows the life of Heinrich Hilgard resp. Henry Villard in all its ups and downs, its great asset however is the comprehensive representation of Villard's worlds. The Palatine history after the failed revolution of 1848, Bismarck and German history before and after unification, the German-Americans in Civil War America, the rise of American journalism, the immensely detailed history of the Civil War with close-ups of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Garrison and of course the history of transcontinental railroads.

The book is well written, clearly structured and contains a fine selection of photos graphically documenting Villard's life. I was most impressed by the close scrutiny of young Henry's seemingly unending struggle to survive in his first few immigrant years. He retained his optimism even after hard blows, he stuck to a life in style inspite of his spare means , his determination to succeed to prove his critical and somewhat narrow-minded father wrong - these character traits mainly make him an "American Titan". The "wanderer between two worlds" finally turned out to be a true American when he freely extended his generosity to manifold causes, especially in his home towns in the Bavarian Palatinate where his philanthropism is still very well known. In Speyer ( and not in Zweibrücken!- p. 344) he helped found a hospital with a nursing school whose huge buildings you will today find in "Hilgard-Straße" not far from his birthplace and the fine and ancient cathedral. Hilgard/Villard surely loved this imposing building, but as a catholic place of worship it could hardly have been the place of his protestant confirmation(p.11). While the book dutifully covers Villard's contacts with the most influential German-American at that time,Carl Schurz, it is a pity that it does not refer to the Palatine Thomas Nast, the Father of American Caricature and creator of Father Christmas.

This well-written biography gives a very empathic account of Villard and his contemporaries. Characters' weaknesses are described as forthrightly as their strengths.

The account covers more than Villard's participation in the financial world. It also tells of his experiences as a poor immigrant. Most vivid are the chapters that describe Villard's career as a Civil War correspondent, a 'special' to coin a period term.

Reading this book was enjoyable both because of the story, and the way it was told. The writing style is sometimes poetic, sometimes cheeky, but always concise.

I would highly recommend this book to those interested in the Civil War, or in war journalism. The chapters dealing with Gilded Age industrialism were more biographic than historically comprehensive. For a better historic account, I'd recommend "Titan : The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr" by Ron Chernow.