Alfred I. Du Pont: The Man and His Family

by Joseph Frazier Wall

If Alfred I. du Pont was born to "the purple and ermine" of an American industrial dynasty, his life was far from peaceful, pampered, indolent. Beginning at the bottom as little more than a teamster and handyman, within fifteen years young du Pont was widely recognized as "the best black powderman in the nation" and the mechanical genius of the du Pont family. In 1902, upon the death of Eugene du Pont, Alfred was brash and confident enough to claim...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195043499
• ISBN13: 9780195043495
• Release Date: April 1990
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 718 Pages
• Weight: 2.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Hefty Tome but Wall is a Biographer Par Excellence

At first intimidating because of its length, you will find yourself fascinated by this bio! In fact, it's worth running the risk of dropping the heavy volume on yourself as you struggle to stay awake reading it late into the night like I did. The time period covered extends from the French Revolution through our Depression and all the genuinely remarkable DuPonts during those generations. Wall's research is impressive. Living in Jacksonville, FL, site of Epping Forest, I was especially interested in "A.I" and also Jessie Ball, his last wife. A.I.'s story does not really end with his death (in 1935 if memory serves), because Jessie carried on his wishes until her death in 1970. Oh, and it was the Port St. JOE Paper Company, not Jones (as mentioned by my fellow reviewer who was quite puzzling to me not much impressed with this book). I'm a voracious reader since age 4 (now 51) and biography is my favorite category of books - there are several bios on the DuPonts, but THIS ONE IS biography at its very best!