Andrew Carnegie is the ultimate "rags to riches" story. He began life in humble circumstances in Dumferline, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States with his family when he was about 13 years old. His family was so impoverished that he was forced to take a job shortly after his arrival in America.
Then followed one of the most remarkable careers ever experienced by a person. Carnegie started as a telegraph messenger boy. He than in quick succession became a telegrapher. He was than hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad to be a telegrapher for a division superintendent. Than he was promoted to division superintendent. All the while this was going on, Carnegie seized other opportunities. He invested in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company which did very well and than was bought out by the Pullman Sleeping Car Company. At this point, Carnegie had made the first part of his fortune and he quit his job with the Pennsylvania railroad to focus on other business opportunities he could invest in.
Carnegie lived in the environs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early on, he became acquainted with the Bessemer process for steel production. He realized that someone who was prepared to produce steel on a huge scale could make a huge fortune. Along with business associates, he first built the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. Later other works were purchased or contructed. The company became known as Carnegie Steel. The profits that were generated in this business were phenomenal. In the early years, Carnegie may have made as much as a 40% annual return on his investment.
For such an astute man, though, Carnegie was unwilling to face certain realities. He couldn't understand that workers in the steel mills would not just stand idly by working long hours at unsafe conditions while his fortune grew ever larger. This lead to the famous "Homestead Steel Mill Strike" of 1892. Carnegie and his manager William Clay Frick prevailed in the dispute, but at an enormous cost in reputation, money, and in human lives. Further, Carnegie could be quite ruthless to men who he had worked with and trusted for years. The way he forced William Frick out of the Carnegie Steel Company is scandalous when you realize how much Carnegie owed Frick.
In 1900, Carnegie sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan and the "House of Morgan" for the than absolutely phenomenal sum of $[...]. That company today is, of course, U.S. Steel.
Carnegie took the money from this sale and spent the remaining 20 years of his life contributing to charitable causes. He is most known for the Carnegie libraries that were established. But, he also was a large contributor to minority education, pensions for college professors, churches, and the cause of international peace.
Wall has written a fine book, but it is a long one. I spent my spare time over several weeks getting through this 1050 page volume. Wall could have condensed some portions of the book and still done a good job telling the story. However, despite the time committment involved, I recommend this book to anyone interested in American History during the Guilded Age and the Progressive Period.
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