The Great Persuader
The Great Persuader by David Lavender, published by University Press of Colorado in 1998, is a biography that delves into the life of Collis P. Huntington, a prominent figure in the railroad industry. This edition spans 444 pages and is presented in English. The book recounts Huntington’s journey from a storekeeper in Sacramento, California, to becoming a key player in the establishment of America’s first continental railroad, highlighting the high-stakes environment of his time.
Readers will discover the intricacies of Huntington’s operations, including his methods and the ethical boundaries he navigated. The narrative explores his relationships with contemporaries such as Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins, as well as his rivalries with other tycoons. Through previously unpublished materials provided by the Huntington family, Lavender sheds light on the complexities of Huntington’s dealings and the impact of his actions on the railroad industry and American expansion. This biography offers insights into the historical context of business practices and the evolution of transportation in the United States.
Official synopsis Publisher
The Great Persuader is the biography of a robber baron, the greatest railroad mogul of them all-Collis P. Huntington, the Sacramento, California, storekeeper who, along with Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins, parlayed $1,500 into America’s first continental railroad. It is an almost unbelievable story of a high dream of fortune realized through highhanded practices-an adventure which left the national treasury poorer by millions of swindled dollars, and America itself richer by a national railroad system which contributed greatly to the country’s westward expansion.
How did Huntington operate? What were his methods? Was he corrupt? These are questions that were previously unanswered but thanks to the cooperation of the Huntington family who supplied Mr. Lavender with material that had never before been made public, Lavender shows just how Collis P. Huntington operated-and it was defintely outside the law, although well inside the prevailing morality of his time. It shows his complicated dealings with Sanford Hopkins, how he bested such tycoons as Thomas A. Scott, John C. Durrant, Oliver Ames and Jay Gould, how Huntington accumulated the great fortune which was the legacy to his family, and how his great railroad network was to prove an unparalleled legacy to all Americans. The Great Persuader is a powerful story of a remarkable man whose singleness of purpose and ruthless manipulation of men and money propelled the great enterprise forward against all odds.
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