Mellon: An American Life
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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 nineteenth-century Pittsburgh, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America s greatest financiers. Across an unusually diverse range of enterprises, he would build a legendary personal fortune, tracking America s course to global economic supremacy. Personal happiness, however, eluded him. He had been bred to do one thing, and that he did with brilliant and innovative entrepreneurship. Mellon s wealth and name allowed him to dominate Pennsylvania politics, and under presidents Harding, Coolidge, and finally Hoover, he made the federal government run like a business. But this man of straightforward conservative politics was no politician. He would be hailed as the architect of the Roaring Twentie... Library Journal Cannadine (British history, Inst. of Historical Research, Univ. of London; The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy) presents the first comprehensive biography of Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937), a long-awaited, extensively researched project that serves its subject well. Cannadine introduces us to the shy, reticent Mellon, born into a Pittsburgh family of achievers, before moving on to his early work in lumber and banking, his ill-fated marriage to Nora McMullen, and his constant indulgence of his children, Paul and Ailsa. In 1914, he was the richest man in the United States. In public life, he served as the longest and most controversial secretary of the Treasury, retaining that office during the politically conservative years of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. He reduced the public debt from $26 billion in 1921 to $16 billion by 1930. Late in life, he gave $10,000,000 and 21 masterpieces purchased from the Hermitage in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), to establish the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. As Cannadine shows us, when Mellon's life ended during the New Deal, he stood for fiscal policies that were no longer supported. This is a valuable portrait of a banker, statesman, philanthropist, and art collector whose initiatives still resonate today. Highly recommended for all libraries, especially public libraries with a well-established history or business collection. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.] Mary C. Allen, Everett Lib., WA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Preface xiPrologue: A Family in History 3In the Shadow of His Father, 1855-1900The Patriarch Presides: Father and Sons, 1855-73 27The Family in Business: Boys and Banks, 1873-87 58The "Mellon System" Inaugurated: "My Brother and I," 1887-98 89The Great Leap Forward: Mergers and Matrimony, 1898-1900 123Wealth's Triumphs, Fortune's Travails, 1900-1921The Transition Completed: Family Man and Venture Capitalist, 1901-1907 155The First Scandal: Separation and Divorce, 1907-12 186Life Goes On: Business (Almost) as Usual, 1907-14 215New Careers for Old: Single Parent, Aging Plutocrat, Emerging Politician, 1914-21 245The Rise and Fall of a Public Man, 1921-33Hard Times with Harding: Political Realities, Getting Started, Settling In, 1921-23 277Better Years with Coolidge: Mellonizing America, Aggrandizing Himself, 1923-26 313Carrying On with Hoover: Great Ideas to Great Crash, 1927-29 356Triumphs amid Troubles: Fortune's Zenith, Russian Pictures, Pittsburgh Woes, 1929-31 395"The Man Who Stayed Too Long": Depression, Departure, London and Back, 1931-33 435Old Man, New Deal, 1933-37His World Turned Upside Down: An Unhappy Homecoming, 1933-34 473The Second Scandal: The"Tax Trial" and the National Gallery of Art, 1933-36 505Beginnings and Endings: The Gallery Established, a Life in Its Fullness, 1936-37 546Epilogue: A Fortune in History 583The Mellon Family 622A Note on Sources 625Abbreviations for Notes 629Notes 633Acknowledgments 735Index 739
