Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

Liked a review I had read in Christian Science Monitor and one in The Week, so decided to purchase from you. Have been fascinated with Vanderbilt since visiting his estate in North Carolina. Saving the book as a birthday present from my wife, so won't actually read until after July 12, 2009.

At his death in 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the "Commodore", had amassed more money than any American. Edward J. Renahan's book is a brief examination of his personal and professional life. Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island, New York, to a poor family that had to sail if they were to escape from their relative isolation. From his earliest days, Vanderbilt provided reliable transpoprtation of people and freight for the lowest fees. Gradually, he acquired larger and more modern craft and expanded his activities around the Northeast, and then the Western hemisphere. He acquired his first railroad as a short connector between docks, but eventually came to control or own stock in many rail companies. What made Vanderbilt different from most people was his drive to keep expanding. Not only did he increase water routes, but he branched into steamships, then to railroads and finally to backroom stock manipulation. Most people would have curtailed their radical growth and been content to do one thing well, but Vanderbilt was comfortable with the constant thrill of new routes, better machines and continual competition. The competition was cutthroat and many big lines would have gladly smothered the hard-working Vanderbilt had he not moved into less developed, more profitable arenas. And, he had no compunctions about strangling his rivals whenever he could. Renehan's portrait of the Commodore is generally unfavorable. He was a wiley businessman and had practices that are now illegal. He treated his family badly- eg. had his wife committed when she refused to move to a new home. He also was intent on keeping his fortune together and left scraps to most of his children. (Only one son, Billy, won his approval as the mogul who would take his place.) The Commodore had a weakness for lower class harlots and paid for his wenching by dying miserably of syphilis. Perhaps most damning, is the fact that Vanderbilt gave away very little of his fortune. (Vanderbilt University somehow coaxed about $1 million from him, but noblesse oblige was not in his world view. Despite this, there are admirable traits that shine through. Vanderbilt had no family connections or inherited wealth to draw from. He was virtually illiterate and required secretaries to read and write his business transactions. He lacked polish and the drawing room manners so essential for acceptance in New York society. But, the Commodore didn't pretend to be what he was not. He did not waste his money fawning over European arts and pleasures; racing steeds and racy strumpets seem to have been his only extravagances. There seems to be a solid historical record of Vanderbilt's business dealings, but this biography lacks the family tales and back-room, old boy yarns that would give this book more human interest. (I don't know that this is the author's fault- maybe the Commodore was silent or humorless.) Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable study of one of the 19th century's most important men.

Cornelius Vanderbilt's life makes for anything but a dull story. It is a classic 19th century rags to riches story in which a farmer's cunning and pugnacious son forges a powerful shipping empire through any means at his disposal. The Commodore goes so far as to orchestrate a coup against an American puppet government in Nicaragua to push up the value of his stock. Renehan spins a fine yarn, but also dwells in tedious detail on the antitrust and state vs. federal government dynamic - i.e. his sections on Ogden and Gibbons - which are unnecessary and less relevant in a brief book about Vanderbilt. Overall, the book is informative and colored with choice anecdotes. During his slow syphilis induced demise, a septuagenarian Vanderbilt takes a pair of young sisters - one only in her twenties - as mistresses which he believes to have magnetic healing powers. Ultimately the two women go on to start the first female owned brokerage - relying on inside information provided by Vanderbilt's son in an effort to keep them away from his married father - the Commodore.

Tycoon "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt is an important figure in the history of American business. Author Edward J. Renehan Jr. set out to "put a face" on Vanderbilt's ambition, enterprise and mania for wealth, and he succeeded. You will get a solid understanding of the vast, rapid changes the U.S. experienced during Vanderbilt's life and his significant role in that change. His descendants, including his granddaughter, designer Gloria Vanderbilt, and her son, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, continue to be prominent. Though this interesting, reportorial biography could have focused more on the historic context and economic impact of this financial giant, and a bit less on his all-too-human failings, getAbstract finds that it deserves to be read by anyone who is interested in American history.

I grew up during the 1960s and the term "Robber Barons" was still fashionable and it was shorthand for dismissing all those nineteenth century tycoons. Somehow, we were supposed to just simply know that these guys all got their wealth by taking it from others in a zero sum game. However, the more you know about history, how men like Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller actually earned their money the less that explanation satisfies. This very interesting biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt reports a picture of the man from his hard youth on Staten Island and his work on its surrounding waters since he was eleven years old in 1805. While unschooled, Cornelius was obviously intelligent about the ways of sailing, was physically strong, brave, and a tireless worker. He admitted to a mania for making money and was willing to work in conditions that left others too afraid or too sensible to sail in. He saved much of his money, but was willing to spend some on drink and rough women around the docks. As his reputation and collection of sailing vessels grew, the newspapers named him "the Commodore" and he retains that title to this day. Vanderbilt was always willing to challenge the status quo and not let others rest on the political advantages or wealth. He worked for Thomas Gibbons for several years and worked with him in Gibbons breaking the New York monopoly that awarded steamboat trade to a preferred group. Using the Commerce Clause in the Constitution with Daniel Webster arguing their case, Gibbons and Vanderbilt beat the monopoly and bankrupted a man with whom Gibbons had a persona feud. But after Gibbons death and the Commodore's deteriorating relationship with Gibbons' son, he struck out on his own in 1829. As Vanderbilt grew his fleet and range to span the continent through Nicaragua, his personal fortune grew to $20 million by the time of the Civil War. During the Civil War, Vanderbilt refitted his ship "Vanderbilt" and piloted it with the intention of ramming and sinking the Confederate ironclad the "Merrimack". But the confrontation never took place because the Confederates blew it up in the river in which it had taken refuge and fled. After the war, Vanderbilt was awarded a medal for his generosity and bravery (even though he had intended the use of the "Vanderbilt" as a loan rather than a gift, it ended up being a gift). His son, William, began to play a bigger part in the Commodore's business, as did the railroad business. At the time of his death, Vanderbilt's wealth was more than $100 million. William, who had done much of the work in growing the $20 million into $100 million, used the remaining eight years of his own life to take the family total to $200 million. That was the zenith of Vanderbilt wealth. Subsequent generations did little earning and many simply squandered their patrimony. Yes, Cornelius was a sharp dealer and was merciless with his competitors, but he made his money through industry, thrift,