Thomas Mellon and His Times

Judge Mellon is a very talented writer. It is following a Scotch Irish family from their home in Northern Ireland to their life in Pittsburg. I love this book. The Judge's brother, Samuel, is my great-great grandfather and it was enjoyable reading about him.

I enjoyed reading this very interesting book. It along with the autobiographies of Ben Franklin and Andrew Carnegie give many insights on how to raise yourself up from poverty and contribute to society.His insights on the court system based on his 10 years as a judge I think are useful today. Read this before hiring an attorney or going to court.Most tantelizing are his descriptions on how he raised and related to his children and helped them to become successful. He clearly was a stern, strict Presbyterian. But at the same time he was a warm loving parent. His insights on how to raise children to be both successful and close to their parents are more useful than most current child rearing books.And of course for many the most useful part of this book is his description of how he raised himself up from a poor immigrant farmer to the founder of one of America's most wealthy families.I come from a very poor family and now own my own business. I have adult children who I have a good relationship with. I have read this book 3 times over the last 10 years. Each time I get more insights on how to lead a better more successful life.I have probably read 200 books in the last 10 years. I think this is one of the best. And one I enjoyingly return to every 2 to 5 years.