Andrew Carnegie Popular Books
Andrew Carnegie Biography & Facts
Andrew Carnegie (English: kar-NEG-ee, Scots: [kɑrˈnɛːɡi]; November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States, Great Britain, and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away around $350 million (roughly $6.5 billion in 2023), almost 90 percent of his fortune, to charities, foundations and universities. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, expressed support for progressive taxation and an estate tax, and stimulated a wave of philanthropy. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and immigrated to what is now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States with his parents in 1848 at the age of 12. Carnegie started work as a telegrapher, and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges, and oil derricks. He accumulated further wealth as a bond salesman, raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J. P. Morgan in 1901 for $303,450,000 (equal to $11,113,550,000 today); it formed the basis of the U.S. Steel Corporation. After selling Carnegie Steel, he surpassed John D. Rockefeller as the richest American of the time.Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on building local libraries, world peace, education, and scientific research. He funded the Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Peace Palace in The Hague, founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, among others. Biography Early life Andrew Carnegie was born to Margaret Morrison Carnegie and William Carnegie in Dunfermline, Scotland, in a typical weaver's cottage with only one main room, consisting of half the ground floor, which was shared with the neighboring weaver's family. The main room served as a living room, dining room and bedroom. He was named after his paternal grandfather. In 1836, the family moved to a larger house in Edgar Street (opposite Reid's Park), following the demand for more heavy damask, from which his father benefited. He was educated at the Free School in Dunfermline, a gift to the town from the philanthropist Adam Rolland of Gask.Carnegie's maternal uncle, Scottish political leader George Lauder Sr., deeply influenced him as a boy by introducing him to Robert Burns' writings and historical Scottish heroes such as Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, and Rob Roy. Lauder's son, also named George Lauder, grew up with Carnegie and became his business partner. When Carnegie was 12, his father had fallen on tough times as a handloom weaver. Making matters worse, the country was in starvation. His mother helped support the family by assisting her brother and by selling potted meats at her "sweetie shop", leaving her as the primary breadwinner. Struggling to make ends meet, the Carnegies then decided to borrow money from George Lauder, Sr. and move to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in the United States in 1848 for the prospect of a better life. Carnegie's migration to America would be his second journey outside Dunfermline—the first being an outing to Edinburgh to see Queen Victoria.In September 1848, Carnegie arrived with his family in Allegheny. Carnegie's father struggled to sell his product on his own. Eventually, the father and son both received job offers at the same Scottish-owned cotton mill, Anchor Cotton Mills. Carnegie's first job in 1848 was as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory. His starting wage was $1.20 per week ($42 by 2023 inflation).His father quit his position at the cotton mill soon after, returning to his loom and removing him as breadwinner once again. But Carnegie attracted the attention of John Hay, a Scottish manufacturer of bobbins, who offered him a job for $2.00 per week ($70 by 2023 inflation). In his autobiography, Carnegie writes about the hardships he had to endure with this new job: Soon after this Mr. John Hay, a fellow Scotch manufacturer of bobbins in Allegheny City, needed a boy, and asked whether I would not go into his service. I went, and received two dollars per week; but at first the work was even more irksome than the factory. I had to run a small steam-engine and to fire the boiler in the cellar of the bobbin factory. It was too much for me. I found myself night after night, sitting up in bed trying the steam gauges, fearing at one time that the steam was too low and that the workers above would complain that they had not power enough, and at another time that the steam was too high and that the boiler might burst. Telegraph In 1849, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company, at $2.50 per week ($92 by 2023 inflation) following the recommendation of his uncle. He was a hard worker and would memorize all of the locations of Pittsburgh's businesses and the faces of important men. He made many connections this way. He also paid close attention to his work and quickly learned to distinguish the different sounds the incoming telegraph signals produced. He developed the ability to translate signals by ear, without using the paper slip, and within a year was promoted to an operator. Carnegie's education and passion for reading were given a boost by Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night. Carnegie was a consistent borrower and a "self-made man" in both his economic development and his intellectual and cultural development. He was so grateful to Colonel Anderson for the use of his library that he "resolved, if ever wealth came to me, [to see to it] that other poor boys might receive opportunities similar to those for which we were indebted to the nobleman". His capacity, his willingness for hard work, his perseverance and his alertness soon brought him opportunities. Railroads Starting in 1853, when Carnegie was around 18 years old, Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad employed him as a secretary/telegraph operator at a salary of $4.00 per week ($146 by 2023 inflation). Carnegie accepted the job with the railroad as he saw more prospects for career growth and experience there than with the telegraph company. At age 24, Scott asked Carnegie if he could handle being superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. On December 1, 1859, Carnegie officially became superintendent of the Western Division. Carnegie then hired his sixteen-year-old brother Tom to .... Discover the Andrew Carnegie popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Andrew Carnegie books.
Best Seller Andrew Carnegie Books of 2024
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The Library Book
Susan OrleanA REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICKA WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018“A constant pleasu...
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Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie & John C. Van DykeThe book presents Carnegies' memories from his early childhood to the days of his creations, including his overview of significant world events and prognosis for the future, wh...
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Janis
Holly George-WarrenLonglisted for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence This blazingly intimate biography of Janis Joplin establishes the Queen of Rock & Roll as the rulebreaking musical...
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Sing, Unburied, Sing
Jesmyn WardWINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New Yor...
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How the Scots Made America
Michael FryEver since they first set foot in the new world alongside the Viking explorers, the Scots have left their mark. In this entertaining and informative book, historian Michael Fry sho...
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Bone Wars
Tom ReaWith a New Foreword by Matthew C. Lamanna and a New Afterword by Tom ReaLess than one hundred years ago, Diplodocus carnegiinamed after industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carn...
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Manhattan Beach
Jennifer EganNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable BookWinner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in FictionThe daring and magnificent novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winnin...
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Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieThe Gilded Age and the dawn of the 20th century are often remembered as an era full of monopolies, trusts, and economic giants in heavy industries like oil and steel. Men like John...
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Masters of Enterprise
H.W. BrandsFrom the early years of fur trading to today's Silicon Valley empires, America has proved to be an extraordinarily fertile land for the creation of enormous fortunes. Each generati...
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Andrew Carnegie
Samuel BostaphAndrew Carnegie was a leading industrialist who used his fortune to create a legacy of philanthropy and peace advocacy. This biography examines his rise from a povertystricken chil...
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American Capitalism
Louis Hyman & Edward E. BaptistFrom Cornell University Professors Louis Hyman and Edward E. Baptist, a collection of the most relevant readings on the history of capitalism in America, created to accompany their...
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Andrew Carnegie
Barnard AldersonThis book contains a biography of Gilded Age steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
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Andrew Carnegie
Samuel BostaphThis economic biography examines the rise of Andrew Carnegie from a povertystricken childhood to a position of international leadership, philanthropy, and peace advocacy. It presen...
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The Sack of Detroit
Kenneth Whyte"Vigorous, provocative... The Sack of Detroit is compelling, bold and stylishly written."Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal A provocative, revelatory history ...
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Feast Your Eyes
Myla GoldbergONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 20192020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Finalist2019 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist2020 Chautauqua Prize Finalist“A daringly inventiv...
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Andrew Carnegie
Dr James MackayAndrew Carnegie (1835–1922) was a mass of contradictions: a radical Chartist who became a rabid capitalist, an idealist who was also a profound cynic, a committed pacifist who also...
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Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieThe story of any man's life, truly told, must be interesting, as some sage avers, those of my relatives and immediate friends who have insisted upon having an account of mine may n...
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Goliath
Matt Stoller“Every thinking American must read” (The Washington Book Review) this startling and “insightful” (The New York Times) look at how concentrated financial power and consumerism has t...
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Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieA critically acclaimed autobiography that exemplifies the American Dream by one of nineteenthcentury America’s most philanthropic businessmen. Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie wo...
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The 42nd Parallel
John dos PassosThe first in John Dos Passos's acclaimed USA trilogya “linguistically adventurous national portrait for a precarious agehis, and ours” (The New Yorker). John Dos Passos's USA trilo...
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The Mars Room
Rachel KushnerTIME’S #1 FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 FINALIST for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDLONGLISTED for the ANDREW CARNE...
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Andrew Carnegie
David NasawA New York Times bestseller!“Beautifully crafted and fun to read.” Louis Galambos, The Wall Street Journal“Nasaw’s research is extraordinary.” San Francisco Chronicle “Make no mist...
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Creation Lake
Rachel KushnerFrom Rachel Kushner, a Booker Prize finalist, twotime National Book Award finalist, and “one of the most gifted authors of her generation” (The New York Times Book Review), comes a...
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The Gospel of Wealth Essays and Other Writings
Andrew Carnegie & David NasawWords of wisdom from American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie Focusing on Carnegie's most famous essay, "The Gospel of Wealth," this book of his writings, published here together f...
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Heavy
Kiese LaymonNamed a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, Buzzfeed (Nonfiction), The Undefeated, Library Journal (Biography/Memoirs), The Washington Pos...
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Smile
Sarah RuhlA People Best Book of the Year Time and The Washington Post’s Most Anticipated List Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence From the MacArthur genius, twotime Pu...
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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieThe Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie is a very well written and interesting history of one of the most wealthy men in the United states. He was born in Scotland in 1835 and emigrat...
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The Tycoons
Charles R. Morris"Makes a reader feel like a time traveler plopped down among men who were by turns vicious and visionary."The Christian Science MonitorThe modern American economy was the creation ...
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Morgan
Jean StrouseNATIONAL BESTSELLER A century ago, J. Pierpont Morgan bestrode the financial world like a colossus. The organizing force behind General Electric, U.S. Steel, and vast railroad empi...
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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie & Gordon HutnerThe enlightening memoir of the industrialist as famous for his philanthropy as for his fortune. His good friend Mark Twain dubbed him “St. Andrew.” British Prime Minister William G...
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Near Prospect Park
Lawrence H. LevyDaring Brooklyn detective Mary Handley teams up with Teddy Roosevelt to solve her husband’s murder, only to run afoul of nineteenthcentury New York’s elite when she uncovers a dang...
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The Hypomanic Edge
John D. GartnerWhy is America so rich and powerful? The answer lies in our genes, according to psychologist John Gartner.Hypomania, a genetically based mild form of mania, endows many of us with ...
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American Colossus
H. W. BrandsFrom the twotime Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War: a "firstrate" narrative history (The New York Times) that brilliantly portr...
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50 Classic Autobiographies
Mark Twain & Charles DarwinAn anthology of 50 classic autobiographies with an active table of contents to make it easy to quickly find the book you are looking for.The Americanization of Edward Bok by Edward...
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Imagine Me Gone
Adam HaslettFrom a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, a ferociously intimate story of a family facing the ultimate question: how far will we go to save the people we love the mos...
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Great American Lives
Benjamin Franklin, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Carnegie & Henry AdamsBrilliant, captivating, and unforgettable memoirs from four of the greatest minds in American history. Penned between 1771 and 1790 and published after his death, TheAutobio...
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Johnstown Flood
David McCulloughThe stunning story of one of America’s great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.At the end of the ninetee...
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Meet You in Hell
Les StandifordTwo founding fathers of American industry. One desire to dominate business at any price.“Masterful . . . Standiford has a way of making the 1890s resonate with a twentyfirstce...
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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth
Andrew CarnegieFrom his humble beginnings as a Scottish immigrant to his ascension to wealth and power as a 'captain of industry,' Andrew Carnegie embodied the American 'rags to riche...
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American Rascal
Greg SteinmetzA gripping, “rollicking” (John Carreyrou, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Blood) biography of Jay Gould, the greatest of the 19thcentury robber barons, whose brilliance, g...
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The Price of Humanity
Amy Schiller"[Schiller] memorably chronicles why philanthropy is important, how it became flawed and what can be done to transform it for the greater good." Tobias Carroll, InsideHookAn att...
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Acting Techniques for Everyday Life
Jane Marla RobbinsMost people can name at least one situationa business presentation, a job interview, a cocktail party, or a blind datein which they felt uncomfortable, nervous, or simply selfconsc...