Ron Chernow

Chernow has a knack for digging into the details of a person's life, personally and professionally. He took on the project of writing John D. Rockefeller Sr's life story after he studied other biographies about the man and discovered that significant parts of Rockefeller's life had either been glossed over or omitted altogether. Other biographers (who shall remain nameless) focused more on Rockefeller the business man than Rockefeller the person after retirement. Even though it is true that John D. Rockefeller was history's first billionaire, he had an interesting life beyond the lifelong quest for money. Never mind the fact that at a young age he did declare that someday "he was going to be the richest man in America." There was more to the man than business smarts. He was a man of great contradictions. While he was a ruthless businessman hell bent on crippling competitors, he also understood the benefits of philanthropy and gave generous to causes and people in which he believed. He continuously bailed his brother out of debt time and time again while disowning his father just as often. More on that later.
By having unrestricted access to interviews and papers and by using Rockefeller's own memoirs, Chernow was able to weave a first person voice throughout the history of the times.
Rockefeller disowned his father at a very young age, telling people his father was dead; his mother, a widow. Indeed, "Big Bill" was a bigamist, scam artist, and liar. Not someone John D. wanted to be associated with. Luckily, John's relationship with his own son, Junior, was not a contemptuous relationship.
By the end of Titan I was overwhelmed by number of projects to whom the Rockefeller name is attached: the Museum of Modern Art, the Grand Tetons, Acadia, Colonial Williamsburg, I could go on and on.… (more)

Very informative and readable. Includes formative years, civil war, and presidency. At 900 pages, takes the time to go into depth on everything. Gives us the early successes and failures; shows us why Grant is considered a tactical and especially a strategic military genius, and a better general than Robert E Lee; gives us reasons (beating back the early KKK, and his not-entirely-successful efforts, with Reconstruction, to make the USA a safe and prosperous place for black citizens) to re-evaluate the Grant presidency in a more positive light.… (more)

Everything about Grant you'd ever want to know--this book was over 1000 pp. long. Covering Grant's life from his early life, civilian failures, his role in the Civil War, postbellum life as President and his around-the-world-trip where he was lionized by many heads of state, to his final days suffering from cancer and feverishly writing his memoirs, finishing just before his death, hoping the book will bring in enough money to keep his wife, Julia, in comfort. The author dispels his time as president, detailing scandals during that time, and in his opinion, a result of his personality traits of naivety and thinking the best of everyone. This leads to his sinking all he has into a Ponzi scheme in which he loses everything. This leads him to write his memoirs, then published by Mark Twain. [Presidents got no pensions in those days.] I liked best the sections on his and Julia's travels and the last chapter, "Taps", a poignant section telling of his last days. I skimmed the president section, but he did do some positive things despite scandals--tried to carry out Reconstruction, protect black people, champion Native Americans, and shut down the Ku Klux Klan terrorizing the South.… (more)