Alfred I. du Pont: The Man and His Family
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.92 (598 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0195043499 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 718 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-05-16 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
About the Author:Joseph Frazier Wall is Professor of History at Grinnell College. He won a Bancroft Prize in 1971 for his acclaimed biography, Andrew Carnegie.
Wall is the author of Andrew Carnegie. Edged out of control of the du Pont industrial empire after a 15-year legal battle, he moved to Florida and devoted his liquid assets to building up his adopted state during the Depression. From Publishers Weekly Family maverick Alfred I. His later marriage to a Virginia farmgirl also raised eyebrows. His recognition that great privilege entails social responsibility echoed the thinking of great-great-grandfather Pierre Samuel du Pont (1739-1817), a liberal French politician who narrowly missed being guillotined and who later emigrated to the U.S. More than a biography of Alfred, this magisterial family saga is checkered with lethal explosions, immense egos, high
In preparing it, Wall had complete access both to Alfred's own papers in Florida as well as the vast collection of the du Pont archives in Wilmington. du Pont was born to "the purple and ermine" of an American industrial dynasty, his life was far from peaceful, pampered, indolent. Wall details his rejuvenation of the family company after Eugene's death, the bitter family feud that followed his marriage to his cousin Alicia, the fifteen-year battle that he waged with some of the family's most powerful members (leading to his ouster from the company in 1916), and his b
Two Stars interesting. Hefty Tome but Wall is a Biographer Par Excellence Nancy L. Farren At first intimidating because of its length, you will find yourself fascinated by this bio! In fact, it's worth running the risk of dropping the heavy volume on yourself as you struggle to stay awake reading it late into the night like I did. The time period covered extends from the French Revolution through our Depression and all the genuinely remarkable DuPonts during those generations. Wall's . Outstanding Biography shrbld As a very frequent reader of biographies, this book was a pleasant surprise. Not knowing much about the DuPont family I was impressed with the character and integrity of Alfred DuPont, a man who was deeply committed to equality of all people. He was a true renaissance man who shared his fortune with people who struggled financially. The author captured the times of the era as well as the social,