The Life and Legend of Jay Gould

by Maury Klein and Professor Maury Klein

Book Overview

Jay Gould was an individual who for a century has been singled out as the most unscrupulous of the turn-of-the-century robber barons. In this splendid biography Maury Klein paints the most complete portrait of the notorious Gould ever written. Klein's Gould is a brilliant but ruthless businessman who merged dying railroads into expansive, profit-making lines, including the giant Union Pacific. 40 illustrations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801857716
• ISBN13: 9780801857713
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.5" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Wonderful reading

This is book that one needs to purchase if you are interested in the guilded age and one of its smoothest operators. Rising from humble roots Gould camer to dominate the american railroad and finance businesses. Launching many famous raids on wall street, he teamed up with Fisk to try and corner the Gold market. Jay Gould is a classic american. A trader who was born and worked in a tannery and as an surveyor as a young man he rose to fame and infame. An amazing story, worth the read!

a book which separates fiction from fact

Jay Gould is remembered as the worst of the 19th century "Robber Barons" - a destroyer of companies - yet as Maury Klein so ably details, this reputation was almost wholly fabricated by the media and bears little resemblance to a man obsessed with building a transportation and communications empire. Klein's book is more than about Jay Gould, it's about the vast gulf separating all-too-common media generated myths and the truth.

a very good read, very well-researched, not always objective

Klein's in-depth Biography is a fascinating account of the life of businessman Jay Gould. Although accurate, Klein's analysis is too kind and almost invariably forgiving to the highly contrversial actions of this complex figure. I recommend this book very strongly!