From bestselling historian H. W. Brands, a sweeping chronicle of how a few wealthy businessmen reshaped America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant.
From the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War: a "first-rate" narrative history (The New York Times) that brilliantly portrays the emergence, in a remarkably short time, of a recognizably modern America.
American Colossus captures the decades between the Civil War and the turn of the twentieth century, when a few breathtakingly wealthy businessmen transformed the United States from an agrarian economy to a world power. From the first Pennsylvania oil gushers to the rise of Chicago skyscrapers, this spellbinding narrative shows how men like Morgan, Carnegie, and Rockefeller ushered in a new era of unbridled capitalism. In the end America achieved unimaginable wealth, but not without cost to its traditional democratic values.
“Praise for American Colossus "Mr. Brands, a terrific writer who commands his material, handles this sprawling, complicated story with authority and panache. A book that might have been a worthy but boring tome turns out to be as close as serious history gets to a page turner.... American Colossus is a first-rate overview of one of the most important periods in American history, one without which the American Century could not have happened." -John Steele Gordon, The New York Times "A superb new history&.This is a big, brash narrative running from the Confederate surrender at Appomattox to the trust busting of Theodore Roosevelt&.I read swaths of this book twice, just to savor Brands’ storytelling and mastery of detail." -James Pressley, Bloomberg News "Mr. Brands paints a vivid portrait of both this understudied age and those industrialists still introduced by high school teachers as ‘robber barons’: Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan&.As Mr. Brands relates the tycoons’ stories, he drops some anecdotes wonderfully relevant today." - The Wall Street Journal "An excellent book&.H. W. Brands is a smart, lively writer& [who] demonstrates, as the best historians do, that past is prologue." - Dallas Morning News Praise for The Age of Gold “A fine, robust telling of one of the greatest adventure stories in history.” -David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of John Adams “A barn burner . . . Masterfully sketched historical figures, subtly developed themes, and especially well-braided stories . . . Eureka!” - San Francisco Chronicle Praise for Traitor to His Class (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography) “This is a rare book indeed, shedding new light and brilliant insight upon an elusive subject we thought we knew well . . . Traitor to His Class will quickly emerge as the finest one-volume biography of FDR.” -David Oshinsky, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for History “H. W. Brands has accomplished a remarkable feat in this terrific work&. He has brought to vivid life the central figures in his story . . . while at the same time providing a fresh understanding of the rich historical context for their thoughts and actions at every step along the way.” -Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and author of Team of Rivals “This may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come.” - Christian Science Monitor Praise for The First American (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography) “H. W. Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biography for our time.” -Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Founding Brothers “A biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and a large and handsome stock of historical scenery&This is a Franklin to savor.” - Wall Street Journal Praise for Lone Star Nation “Sweeping and specific . . . [Brands] writes the story with clarity and vigor . . . .Clearly adds to our knowledge of an era when men rode to the sound of guns and honor was a comprehensible concept.” - Washington Post Book World “Brands [is] on the path to becoming the preeminent popular historian of his generation.” - Chicago Tribune Praise for Andrew Jackson “A great story . . . Serves up everything you might expect in a ripping yarn: murderous duels, savage Indian raids, equally savage counterattacks.” - Washington Post Book World “Old Hickory rides again in Brands’ elegantly written and carefully researched biography . . . A must-read!” -Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge , winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award From the Hardcover edition.”
“A superb new history. . . . A big, brash narrative.” —Bloomberg News
“A first-rate overview of one of the most important periods in American history. . . . Brands is a terrific writer who commands his material, handles this sprawling, complicated story with authority and panache.” —The New York Times
“Colorful. . . . Sweeping. . . . Brands masterfully chronicles this transformation. . . . His account serves admirably as a survey history of Gilded Age America.” —The Plain Dealer
“An excellent book. . . . Brands is a smart, lively writer. . . . He demonstrates, as the best historians do, that past is prologue.” —The Dallas Morning News
H. W. BRANDS holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. A New York Times bestselling author, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography for The First American and Traitor to His Class.
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