Synopses & Reviews
To Americans living in the early twentieth century, E. H. Harriman was as familiar a name as J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. Like his fellow businessmen, Harriman (1847-1909) had become the symbol for an entire industry: Morgan stood for banking, Rockefeller for oil, Carnegie for iron and steel, and Harriman for railroads. Here, Maury Klein offers the first in-depth biography in more than seventy-five years of this influential yet surprisingly understudied figure.
A Wall Street banker until age fifty, Harriman catapulted into the railroad arena in 1897, gaining control of the Union Pacific Railroad as it emerged from bankruptcy and successfully modernizing every aspect of its operation. He went on to expand his empire by acquiring large stakes in other railroads, including the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore and Ohio, in the process clashing with such foes as James J. Hill, J. P. Morgan, and Theodore Roosevelt.
With its new insights into the myths and controversies that surround Harriman's career, this book reasserts his legacy as one of the great turn-of-the-century business titans.
Review
Serious students of the age of rail expansion and the robber barons will find this work a trove of insight.
Kirkus Reviews
Review
This book gives us an intimate understanding of a complex man and should remain a standard biography for generations.
American History
Review
A vastly informative and entertaining biography of a major figure in American history.
Wall Street Journal
Review
A book that should be read by anyone interested in United States financial history or in the history of American railroads.
Journal of Economic History
Review
It may be the most even-handed treatment of Harriman ever to appear.
Trains
Synopsis
This biography of E. H. Harriman (1847-1909) reasserts his legacy as one of America's greatest financiers and railroad leaders. A Wall Street banker until age 50, Harriman catapulted into the railroad arena in 1897 by gaining control of the Union Pacific Railroad as it emerged from bankruptcy. He later acquired large stakes in the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore and Ohio, sometimes clashing with James J. Hill, J. P. Morgan, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [449]-504) and index.
About the Author
Maury Klein is professor of history at the University of Rhode Island. His previous books include Unfinished Business: The Railroad in American Life and The Life and Legend of Jay Gould.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue. Mr. Kennan Writes a Biography
Part I. Duchy, 1848-1898
Chapter 1. Sources of Pride and Strength
Chapter 2. Sources of Advancement
Chapter 3. Sources of Growth
Chapter 4. Sources of Education
Chapter 5. Sources of Revelation
Chapter 6. Sources of Opportunity
Part II. Kingdom, 1898-1900
Chapter 7. Going West
Chapter 8. Going for Broke
Chapter 9. Going Modern
Chapter 10. Going Back Together
Chapter 11. Going Elsewhere
Chapter 12. Going North
Part III. Empire, 1900-1904
Chapter 13. Seeking Order
Chapter 14. Seeking an Advantage
Chapter 15. Seeking Trump
Chapter 16. Seeking Hegemony
Chapter 17. Seeking the Perfect Machine
Chapter 18. Seeking the Perfect Organization
Chapter 19. Seeking the World
Chapter 20. Seeking Relief
Part IV. Immolation, 1904-1909
Chapter 21. Fighting the Tide
Chapter 22. Fighting Formidable Foes
Chapter 23. Fighting Others' Fights
Chapter 24. Fighting a Former Friend
Chapter 25. Fighting a Formidable Friend
Chapter 26. Fighting Nature
Chapter 27. Fighting for Survival
Chapter 28. Fighting Back
Chapter 29. Fighting the Inevitable
Epilogue. The Good That Men Do
Notes
Index
Illustrations
George Kennan in 1903
Mary and E. H. Harriman in 1909
Stuyvesant Fish
Map of the Illinois Central system
Jacob Schiff
E. H. Harriman at his desk
Steam shovel near Buford, Wyoming
A track crew, 1900
The tunnel at Sherman Hill
The "spider web" bridge
The new Dale Creek fill
Shale backdrop of the Fish cut
Cars dumping their loads onto a large fill
The ninety-five-foot-high fill for the Lane cutoff
The refurbished Omaha machine shop in 1903
Union Pacific system, 1900
A. L. Mohler
James Stillman
Union Pacific and part of the Southern Pacific system
George J. Gould
James J. Hill
J. P. Morgan
W. A. Clark
Julius Kruttschnitt
Map of the Lucin cutoff line
A gravel car dumps its load
The Lucin cutoff line to the sink
E. H. Harriman and guests at the Lucin cutoff opening ceremony
Horace G. Burt
J. C. Stubbs
E. H. Harriman in 1906
Harriman as the czar of railroads
Imperial Valley, the Colorado River, and the Salton Sink
Channel cut by the Colorado River
Submerged towns of Calexico and Mexicala
Maxwell Evarts
Judge Robert S. Lovett
Harriman with his sons at the Omaha Field Club, 1908
Harriman in Denver, 1909
Harriman returning from Europe, 1909