Mellon

An American Life

By: David Cannadine

Narrated by: John H. Mayer

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.

Following a boyhood in 19th-century Pittsburgh, during which he learned from his Scotch-Irish immigrant father the lessons of self-sufficiency and wealth accumulation, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America's greatest financiers. Across an unusually diverse range of enterprises, from banking to oil to aluminum manufacture, he built a legendary personal fortune, tracking America's course to global economic supremacy. The Mellon way was to hold companies closely, including such iconic enterprises as Alcoa and Gulf Oil.

Personal happiness eluded Mellon, however: his loveless marriage at 45 to a British girl less than half his age ended in a scandalous divorce, and for all his best efforts, he would remain a stranger to his children. He had been bred to do one thing, and that he did with brilliant and innovative entrepreneurship. Collecting art, a pursuit inspired by his close friend Henry Clay Frick, would become his only nonprofessional gratification. And by the end of his life, Mellon's "pictures" would constitute one of the world's foremost private collections.

The issues Andrew W. Mellon confronted, concerning government, business, influence, the individual and the public good, remain at the center of our national discourse to this day. Indeed, the positions he steadfastly held reemerged relatively intact with the Reagan revolution, having lain dormant since the New Deal. David Cannadine's magisterial biography brings to life a towering, controversial figure, casting new light on our history and the evolution of our public values.

©2006 David Cannadine (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Lavish....Insightful....Grand successes and epic failures, engrossingly recounted....Emphasizes the man rather than the money." (Kirkus)

Very in-depth life story

Went from hearing the name to a deep knowledge of the family history of the Mellon family

Mellon Biography is one of the best

The biography of Andrew Mellon is one of the best written biographies that I have ever read. The story of the man laced with the history of his incredible 82 years is literally a page turner. The reader is one of the best.

Fascinating life

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely

What does John H. Mayer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A great reader. Good inflection, soothing voice; one of your best

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

An extraordinarily and unexpectedly interesting biography of an important but little known or understood man.

remarkably evenhanded

for the author openly stating he prefers FDR, he is very fair to Mellon. very long, but very informative and most all of the information truly helps to establish the character of a man who shaped America more than most Americans realize, or likely would be comfortable with.

Long, but good.

The book is extremely thorough. The author is quite skillful in his writing, but the book is almost too long. Also the narrator reads horribly slow. Set it to 1.25x speed and its perfect.

great book

the book is very comprehensive and I learned from Mellon's life and got a lot of ideas

Wow

Interesting, fantastically researched, written, and very entertaining
Narrator was terrific
Epilogue was excellent also
I highly recommend

So many Mellons in this story made it hard to follow at times, but overall good listen to learn about his years at the Treasury.

Story was hard to follow and Mellon was kinda boring but was overall good. Learned about his passion for art and how he thought about policy. Amazing how all these greats from a previous era were all connected in one way or another.

Great Book

The author did an excellant job on protraying Andrew Mellon, although it is very dificult to write a biography on a person and really catch the human nature of the person, since humans are very complex, but this book did an excellant job of bringing forward Andrew Mellon as living complex person. I really enjoy the beginning with Mellon's Ancestory, it help me to understand the movement and events that shape the lives of people in Pittsburgh Pa., in the 1800's. It is also of interest the latter part of the book to understand how his philosophies continue down to our day. I would highly recommend this book.

Wonderful biography of a forgotten titan

The author does a wonderful job with the life of Thomas and Andrew Mellon presenting the essence of what it took to build the family fortune. He presents a good analysis of the sacrifices necessary and emotional/personality holes in A.W.'s psyche and some of their consequences on him and his family. Of the biographies of the great industrialists I've read, this one is the most interesting due to the varied life A.W. led and the story that was told of a nearly completely forgotten titan.