Mellon: An American Life (Vintage) | 
 enlarge | Author: David Cannadine
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 101667
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 832
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0307386791
Dewey Decimal Number: 338
EAN: 9780307386793
ASIN: 0307386791
Publication Date: February 12, 2008
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Product Description
A landmark work from one of the preeminent historians of our time: the first published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, the American colossus who bestrode the worlds of industry, government, and philanthropy, leaving his transformative stamp on each.
Andrew Mellon, one of America’s greatest financiers, built a legendary personal fortune from banking to oil to aluminum manufacture, tracking America’s course to global economic supremacy. As treasury secretary under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and finally Hoover, Mellon made the federal government run like a business–prefiguring the public official as CEO. He would be hailed as the architect of the Roaring Twenties, but, staying too long, would be blamed for the Great Depression, eventually to find himself a broken idol. Collecting art was his only nonprofessional gratification and his great gift to the American people, The National Gallery of Art, remains his most tangible legacy.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
A GREAT biography of Andrew Mellon November 2, 2008
It took me a while to read but I was sad when it ended.
I came upon this book one day and saw the reviews and
decided I needed to read about this man.
A very well written biography of one of our Great American
business men. I enjoy reading biographies and this one
really kept my interest. The art work Mellon purchased
is outstanding. I must go to the museum in Washington
and view this outstanding art work. Mellon lived a very
intriquing life. I truly enjoyed this biography.
Mellon October 18, 2008
It is a complete history of the Mellon family from their immigration from Ulster in 1815 to the death of Andrew Mellon. It absolutely shows the vindictiveness of Franklin Roosevelt in his attempt to convict Andrew of tax evasion and the generosity of Andrew with his gift of the National Gallery of Art and its original paintings to the people of the United States.
Simply the best biography I've ever read. September 13, 2008
This beautifully written and fascinating portrait of Andrew Mellon is the single most compelling biography I can ever remember reading, as well as the most interesting history lesson I've ever had. An amazing piece of work.
A biography that goes above and beyond. April 23, 2008
Cannadine exceeded expectations on a number of fronts with this definitive biography of Andrew Mellon. It has everything you'd expect from a grade-A biography, laying out where Mellon's family came from (both physically and philosophically), how Mellon grew up, his rise, peak, eventual fall from grace, death and legacy. Not only that, but Cannadine does all of this exceedingly well, giving his reader a sense of the nuances and subtleties of Mellon's personality and life. If Cannadine had done nothing else, he'd still have written a five-star book.
This book goes beyond most rock-solid biographies that I've read in Cannadine's sensitivity to the larger meaning of the events in Mellon's life, his place in history and his impact even after his death. While this sensitivity is present throughout Cannadine's book, it really comes together in in his three-part epilogue, which you will absolutely not want to miss, it is the highlight of the book.
The first point Cannadine develops is that Mellon's life straddled the line between two different eras in American history. He shows how Mellon, without changing his behaviors, was perceived one way for much of his life, then a totally different way at the end of his life. Through his awareness of this point, Cannadine really demonstrates to the reader how radical the shift in sentiment was in America in the 1930s.
The second point Cannadine is aware of, as any successful biographer of a great historical figure must be, is the idea that Mellon was a human being with some great strengths and some great flaws. In my experience, people who have the strengths to accomplish the most often have corresponding weaknesses to go with them; Cannadine really makes this point clear in his epilogue, doing a "balance sheet" of positives and negatives of Mellon's character and accomplishments. I've never seen an author take even-handed analysis to a similar place, and it really helped bring together the books ideas at the end.
Finally, Cannadine captures a truth about life, society and politics that imbues the book with a sense of sadness. It becomes obvious that many (though certainly not all) of the good things that happen to Mellon happen out of chance. Similarly, when bad things happen to Mellon, most (again, not all... his divorce comes to mind as an obvious exception) of them are undeserved. Mellon dies near the low point of his public popularity, suffering primarily for sins he did not commit.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of biography and history, it is truly a step beyond a really good biography.
 history and sadness April 9, 2008
What I found interesting about this book is that is a history lesson in American business and early regulatory policies that shaped the landscape we see today. At the same time, it is a story of classic love and betrayal. I found the author doing a great job when the story focused on Mellon's marriage and the demise of such, but he tended to become a bit lost in the details when describing all of the political ups and downs. Overall, a fine book and great American story
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