Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America
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- Create Date：2021-08-29 16:21:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael Hiltzik
- ISBN：0358567122
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Summary
From Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik， the epic tale of the clash for supremacy between America’s railroad titans
In 1869， when the final spike was driven into the transcontinental railroad， few were prepared for its seismic aftershocks。 Once a hodgepodge of short， squabbling lines， America’s railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators， crooks， and visionaries。 The vicious competition between empire builders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt， Jay Gould， J。 P。 Morgan， and E。 H。 Harriman sparked stock market frenzies， panics， and crashes; provoked strikes that upended the relationship between management and labor; transformed the nation’s geography; and culminated in a ferocious two-man battle that shook the nation’s financial markets to their foundations and produced dramatic， lasting changes in the interplay of business and government。
Spanning four decades and featuring some of the most iconic figures of the Gilded Age， Iron Empires reveals how the robber barons drove the country into the twentieth century—and almost sent it off the rails。
In 1869， when the final spike was driven into the transcontinental railroad， few were prepared for its seismic aftershocks。 Once a hodgepodge of short， squabbling lines， America’s railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators， crooks， and visionaries。 The vicious competition between empire builders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt， Jay Gould， J。 P。 Morgan， and E。 H。 Harriman sparked stock market frenzies， panics， and crashes; provoked strikes that upended the relationship between management and labor; transformed the nation’s geography; and culminated in a ferocious two-man battle that shook the nation’s financial markets to their foundations and produced dramatic， lasting changes in the interplay of business and government。
Spanning four decades and featuring some of the most iconic figures of the Gilded Age， Iron Empires reveals how the robber barons drove the country into the twentieth century—and almost sent it off the rails。
Reviews
Marc Daley
，
Not sure why some CEOs today won't need these lessons。 Not sure why some CEOs today won't need these lessons。 。。。more
Christopher
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A book about railroads with very little railroading。 A lively， if rather compressed， look at 19th century railroad magnates and the very complicated/confusing schemes to finance them。Hiltzik's "Iron Empires" jumps right into the fray in describing the chaos that was railroad management， financing， and failure of post-war 19th Century。 There's some irony in that a book about railroads doesn't actually have a lot of railroading in it。 Thematically， this works as the entire era was a large and unwi A book about railroads with very little railroading。 A lively， if rather compressed， look at 19th century railroad magnates and the very complicated/confusing schemes to finance them。Hiltzik's "Iron Empires" jumps right into the fray in describing the chaos that was railroad management， financing， and failure of post-war 19th Century。 There's some irony in that a book about railroads doesn't actually have a lot of railroading in it。 Thematically， this works as the entire era was a large and unwieldy mess of stock options， short-selling， new lines， cartels and trusts。Instead， we get mini biographies of the major RR magnates of the time with JP Morgan and EH Harriman getting the most page time。 But the bulk of the book is dedicated to the byzantine nature of RR financing and the various stock machinations/manipulations that occurred as Dummy Corporation #1 would try to buy Random Line #2 and then name Magnate #3 to its board of directors for the purpose of ultimately securing a controlling interest in Major Railroad #4。 It's more than a little confusing。 Nevertheless， the writing is lively and keeps the narrative going even if we seem to spend far more time in the trading houses of New York than out on the rails。 。。。more
Paul Sutter
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There is little question that at one time， railways were the way of the world。 As more tracks were laid down and railroads ruled America， it was a sign of things to come。 This resulted in railways being big business， the race underway to be part of that new wave。 It was cut-throat at times， becoming survival of the fittest as entrepreneurs and tycoons werepart of the race for the railways。 Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist。 His literary skills shine through in IRON EMPIRES。 There is little question that at one time， railways were the way of the world。 As more tracks were laid down and railroads ruled America， it was a sign of things to come。 This resulted in railways being big business， the race underway to be part of that new wave。 It was cut-throat at times， becoming survival of the fittest as entrepreneurs and tycoons werepart of the race for the railways。 Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist。 His literary skills shine through in IRON EMPIRES。 The book opens with the observations of Robert Louis Stevenson who took note of the many emigrants on the train。 They were treated with disdain and contempt by many of the workers on trains。 It upset him to see such behaviors。 The book discusses the first train derailment in history。 It was 1833 on the route connecting New York and Philadelphia。 One of the passengers on the train was John Quincy Adams， a former President of the United States。 The author delves into the effect of trains in the post-Civil War America。 It was a boon to the economy with thousands hired， and the movement of goods smoothly and efficiently， showed the potential for future growth of this mode of transportation。 Soon， the railway financiers were at odds with one another， and it was a battle for supremacy。 Such men as Jay Gould and Jay Fisk were self-serving， in it only for themselves。 They did eventually clash with the likes of Cornelius Vanderbilt。 They fought for control of the Erie Railroad， and it was ruthlessness at its finest。 But honest people were also involved， thanks to the likes of E。 H。 Harriman and J。 P。 Morgan。 The detail of the book is so precise， which makes the book a joy to read。 Lovers of the railway will find this book a most worthy addition to their library。 。。。more
Josh
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This is a really interesting book that wasn't entirely what I wanted。 It's more about the financiers （Vanderbilt， Gould， Morgan， Harriman） who battled in the stock market and courtrooms for control of existing railroads than it is about building railroads and their impact on the American economy。 Yet it makes a convincing point that these financiers' battles over train lines caused multiple financial panics and crashes， even as the railroads they expanded allowed the economy to grow。 I ended up This is a really interesting book that wasn't entirely what I wanted。 It's more about the financiers （Vanderbilt， Gould， Morgan， Harriman） who battled in the stock market and courtrooms for control of existing railroads than it is about building railroads and their impact on the American economy。 Yet it makes a convincing point that these financiers' battles over train lines caused multiple financial panics and crashes， even as the railroads they expanded allowed the economy to grow。 I ended up learning more about bankers and less about trains than I expected， and I wish it spent a little more time explaining the various stock techniques （watering， Morganization， etc。）， but it was interesting to see that much of the top 1% have always been just as rapacious as they are now， and have generally seen economic investments more in terms of what they'll get out of it （and in terms of winning） than in actually building up infrastructure。 。。。more
Kalyan Turaga
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Nice audio book。 Liked listening this story of american rails and backstory of BSNF。 If you are interested in American rail history this your book。
b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb
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An ok read about the history of railroads which focuses more on their financiers。 Not very well written and edited。 It focuses more on the financiers， and in a indirectly fawning way， criticizing them a little but clearly the author is fascinated and in awe of them。 It would have been nice to understand more of the cultural， technological and geographic context for how the railroads grew and changed， but that was mostly subordinate to who raised how much money and whether they were cheating anyo An ok read about the history of railroads which focuses more on their financiers。 Not very well written and edited。 It focuses more on the financiers， and in a indirectly fawning way， criticizing them a little but clearly the author is fascinated and in awe of them。 It would have been nice to understand more of the cultural， technological and geographic context for how the railroads grew and changed， but that was mostly subordinate to who raised how much money and whether they were cheating anyone。There's also some weird manifest destiny style condescension and erasure of indigenous people in the narrative。 Here's an example paragraph with some weird contortions to avoid mention of anyone of non-European existing。 And no， there isn't any context missing here that would improve it。"The America of that era was a youthful land- nearly two-thirds of it's population was age twenty-five or younger。 The country was poised to break out across a continent that for the most part was lightly populated by those of European descent， for some 96 percent of that population was nestled between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean， with about a quarter residing in cities。" 。。。more
Leanne Albillar
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Had some interesting bits， but it was mainly about the stock market and assumed the reader was completely familiar with how all that works。 Brief explanations would have made the book much more readable。
Steve
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Michael Hiltzik delivers a well-studied， in-depth view of the forming of the American railroads from the Gilded Age through the Great War。 Perhaps even too detailed for those of us without intricate knowledge of stocks， bonds， and how Wall Street operates。The initial profiteers， visionaries such as Cornelius Vanderbilt， Daniel Drew， James Fisk， and Jay Gould， used the railroad ventures as vehicles for amassing huge wealth。 John J。 Hill， and later， John Pierpont Morgan and Edward Henry Harriman， Michael Hiltzik delivers a well-studied， in-depth view of the forming of the American railroads from the Gilded Age through the Great War。 Perhaps even too detailed for those of us without intricate knowledge of stocks， bonds， and how Wall Street operates。The initial profiteers， visionaries such as Cornelius Vanderbilt， Daniel Drew， James Fisk， and Jay Gould， used the railroad ventures as vehicles for amassing huge wealth。 John J。 Hill， and later， John Pierpont Morgan and Edward Henry Harriman， then entered the scene to use more responsible decision-making to improve the systems in place， yet still with the main objective of making exorbitant profits。As the magnates grew larger and richer， the general public tired of seeing their own expenses increasing， job security diminish， and their pocketbooks dwindle， causing a dangerous labor movement and provoking journalists to began a “muckraking” campaign against the ongoing injustices practiced by big business。The wars between the railroads were the direct cause of several， depression-like waves of financial panic – one in 1873， another in 1893， forcing the government to regulate not only the railroad industry， but steel， oil， and other monopolies as well （i。e。 Sherman Antitrust Act）。Finally， at the dawn of the 20th century， President Theodore Roosevelt took charge and ended， once and for all， the shenanigans of those big-time players。In hindsight， the robber barons of the late 19th century served a beneficial purpose， as they moved us into the progress of the 20th century。 。。。more
David Liang
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Great stories about the hot stocks a 120 years ago
Shaun Jones
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Well researched & detailed。 Leaned more towards a business book。 Nothing Like It In The World is better historical account。 This was a good book; just not exactly what I expected。
Alix
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Whew。 What a ride that was！Life and history are fickle partners， and it is always interesting to me to see how actions taken hundreds of years ago are viewed by today's standards and corporate expectations。 The view from the time would not have been quite so jaded as things appear now。 （Although maybe similarities exist with some of the mega-companies in place now？） A lot of crazy ideas， colorful characters， wild investments， roller-coaster ups and downs， and ultimately we end where we began。 Whew。 What a ride that was！Life and history are fickle partners， and it is always interesting to me to see how actions taken hundreds of years ago are viewed by today's standards and corporate expectations。 The view from the time would not have been quite so jaded as things appear now。 （Although maybe similarities exist with some of the mega-companies in place now？） A lot of crazy ideas， colorful characters， wild investments， roller-coaster ups and downs， and ultimately we end where we began。 。。。more
Justin Ridgell
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As a fan of trains， it was certainly a nice intro into a long forgotten industry。 The focus on Morgan/Harriman was helpful。 While the story gets bogged down at times and can be a little dry it does the job for avid train fans。 Not for everyone but a book I might reference。
Straker
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A good companion piece to David Bain's Empire Express， taking the saga of the great railroads into the early 20th Century。 A good companion piece to David Bain's Empire Express， taking the saga of the great railroads into the early 20th Century。 。。。more
Bryan Alkire
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Good history of the railroad aspect of the Gilded Age。 It would be a good introduction to the railroad industry of the late 19th and early 20th century and that’s the best part of the book。 The opening and closing chapters about the beginning and end of the Gilded Age generally are pretty standard， nothing new there if you’re familiar with the age itself。 However， the book does a great job of focusing on the events of the 80’s and 90’s railroad wars which often don’t get as much attention in wor Good history of the railroad aspect of the Gilded Age。 It would be a good introduction to the railroad industry of the late 19th and early 20th century and that’s the best part of the book。 The opening and closing chapters about the beginning and end of the Gilded Age generally are pretty standard， nothing new there if you’re familiar with the age itself。 However， the book does a great job of focusing on the events of the 80’s and 90’s railroad wars which often don’t get as much attention in works about the period。 I finally got to learn more about Harriman and Hill two barons who never really get a lot of space elsewhere。 That said， I’m not really convinced that the book lives up to the subtitle of the beginnings of modern America…that would be more true of business after WWII…But anyway， it’s still worth reading if you want to learn about the railroad wars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries。 。。。more
William T
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I don't know what to say。 I have been reading about the railroads， and the financiers， and all other history of the decades that encompass the contents of this wonderful book， for my own decades。 Somehow， Mr。 Hiltzik managed to add to my knowledge and keep me enthralled the whole book through。 Well done！ I wish I had time to read it again， now。 I don't know what to say。 I have been reading about the railroads， and the financiers， and all other history of the decades that encompass the contents of this wonderful book， for my own decades。 Somehow， Mr。 Hiltzik managed to add to my knowledge and keep me enthralled the whole book through。 Well done！ I wish I had time to read it again， now。 。。。more
Porter Broyles
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This was a fun little book。 It provided a lot of information in a meaningful interesting manner。
Barbara
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Generally interesting。 It would probably have been better if I had a better understanding of the stock market。
Jon
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I keep looking for the comprehensive tome on how railroads changed America。 This comes pretty close， but because Hiltzik didn't write exactly what I was looking for doesn't mean this isn't a great book。 Well-researched and written with clarity， "Iron Empires" shows how much financial manipulation had to do with railroad development， almost as if building actual railroads was sometimes beside the point。 Great stories about the post-Civil War industrial age titans， their motivations and how their I keep looking for the comprehensive tome on how railroads changed America。 This comes pretty close， but because Hiltzik didn't write exactly what I was looking for doesn't mean this isn't a great book。 Well-researched and written with clarity， "Iron Empires" shows how much financial manipulation had to do with railroad development， almost as if building actual railroads was sometimes beside the point。 Great stories about the post-Civil War industrial age titans， their motivations and how their personal animosities informed their business decisions。 For most of the Gilded Age， railroads were the chief driver of the economy and the stock market。 Hiltzik's book is a must for anyone interested in economic history。 And trains。 。。。more
Josh Hamacher
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As is my custom， I'm not actually rating this book as I abandoned it at about the 12% mark。 It was on a two-star trajectory， though。I've invested a week in this book - and， as mentioned above， made it only 12% of the way through。 This seems to be a book almost entirely about the personalities of the "robber barons"， with very little emphasis on the details of financial transactions and none whatsoever on the practicalities of running a railroad。 As someone who rarely reads biographies， I just co As is my custom， I'm not actually rating this book as I abandoned it at about the 12% mark。 It was on a two-star trajectory， though。I've invested a week in this book - and， as mentioned above， made it only 12% of the way through。 This seems to be a book almost entirely about the personalities of the "robber barons"， with very little emphasis on the details of financial transactions and none whatsoever on the practicalities of running a railroad。 As someone who rarely reads biographies， I just couldn't get drawn into this book， and every morning I had to force myself to read a few pages。 。。。more
Kevin
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The story of the Great American Railroad Empires， notably the Vanderbilt's， Morgan's， Gould families。 Insider Trading， Back-stabbing， Strikes， Stock market booms and busts， and the Racist passenger policies of the day。 Things I learned from this book:- Rifle Diet， advice for dealing with Strikers， attributed to Thomas A。 Scott。- Morganization， a strategy employed by J。P。 Morgan to create industrial monopolies。 - The Sherman Act 1890 - outlawed trusts and and "monopolization。- Watered Stock， an a The story of the Great American Railroad Empires， notably the Vanderbilt's， Morgan's， Gould families。 Insider Trading， Back-stabbing， Strikes， Stock market booms and busts， and the Racist passenger policies of the day。 Things I learned from this book:- Rifle Diet， advice for dealing with Strikers， attributed to Thomas A。 Scott。- Morganization， a strategy employed by J。P。 Morgan to create industrial monopolies。 - The Sherman Act 1890 - outlawed trusts and and "monopolization。- Watered Stock， an asset with an artificially-inflated value。- Thurman Act， congressional amendment to solve railroad industry disputes。 - Pullman car， a sleeping car built by the Pullman Company， founded by George Pullman。- Robber baron， derogatory term applied to late 19th-century American businessmen。 - The Gilded Age， an era of rapid economic growth - named for the title of a Mark Twain novel。- Burnetizing Wood， saturation in a solution of chloride of zinc， to prevent decay - named for Sir William Burnett。[Audiobook edition] 。。。more
Annie Jacobs
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3。5
Don Parriott
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Started out ok but didn’t hold my interest。
Rita
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Unfortunately， an interesting topic was presented in a confusing and disjointed manner。
Brian
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Iron Empires by Michael Hiltzik looks at the development of railroads from the early days of Cornelius Vanderbilt to their height under Harriman and Morgan before the trustbusting of the 1900’s。 This book follows the chaotic development of laying down track， massive corruption and the exploits of Jay Gould。 It culminates with the organizational skills of Harriman and Morgan who would make standard gauges and grades and box car sizes to move people and freight from coast to coast。 In doing so the Iron Empires by Michael Hiltzik looks at the development of railroads from the early days of Cornelius Vanderbilt to their height under Harriman and Morgan before the trustbusting of the 1900’s。 This book follows the chaotic development of laying down track， massive corruption and the exploits of Jay Gould。 It culminates with the organizational skills of Harriman and Morgan who would make standard gauges and grades and box car sizes to move people and freight from coast to coast。 In doing so they would unlock huge wealth for themselves and others and form some of the biggest corporations in US History。 These would eventually draw the attention of progressives in the 1900’s who would following the death of McKinley begin enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act。 This book also details the work of people like pullman and the labor unrest caused by the “robber barons” of the day。 Well written， fast paced and a wide ranging survey of railroad history。 。。。more
Craig Pearson
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Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book。 Whilr this book does describe the growth of railroad empires in the United States， it suffers from the in depth descriptions of the personality conficts inherent with the newly rich of the period。 Don't get me wrong， this is certainly part of the story but it is given here much more that is needed。 'Iron Empires' belongs as part of anybody's history collection。 I do not give it five stars because， as mentioned， it Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book。 Whilr this book does describe the growth of railroad empires in the United States， it suffers from the in depth descriptions of the personality conficts inherent with the newly rich of the period。 Don't get me wrong， this is certainly part of the story but it is given here much more that is needed。 'Iron Empires' belongs as part of anybody's history collection。 I do not give it five stars because， as mentioned， it can be rather dry in parts。 。。。more
Max McDevitt
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I enjoyed reading this book， the stories are fascinating ones and the writing is very good。 I am an economic historian and my PhD dissertation is on railways and government in the 19th century: I like reading this type of stuff。But there are some major issues I have with this pop-history:1。 The author， Michael Hiltzik， doesn’t understand finance especially finance of the late 19th C。 well enough and makes errors repeatedly。 Especially statements about watering stock and subsequent over-capitaliz I enjoyed reading this book， the stories are fascinating ones and the writing is very good。 I am an economic historian and my PhD dissertation is on railways and government in the 19th century: I like reading this type of stuff。But there are some major issues I have with this pop-history:1。 The author， Michael Hiltzik， doesn’t understand finance especially finance of the late 19th C。 well enough and makes errors repeatedly。 Especially statements about watering stock and subsequent over-capitalization of firms are wrong and repeated again and again by the author。 （The best parts on old finance are when Hiltzik is summarizing William Worthington Fowler’s 1870 sensationalized biography。 That book is wonderful and explains the finance moves better than Hiltzik does in summarizing。 If you like the stock exchange and broker portions of Hiltzik， read Fowler （1870） which is available free on google books as a pdf。）2。 Hiltzik repeatedly makes statements about the humble origins of various famous American capitalists， and then notes facts about their families that put them in the upper class of the time。 （Having family members in state legislature or as bank directors is not humble origins。） in other words， it feels like Hiltzik is trying to frame the history as essentially a lot of “rags to riches” accounts， but is contradicting himself when filling in the details。3。 Book culminates in a wholly unsupported statement that “American capitalism and the railroads were born together， reached adolescence together， and attained maturity together。” （P。 368） zero attempt is made at assessing or addressing alternative theories such as those held by prominent current historians Baptist and Beckert that slavery rather than the railroads contains the roots of American capitalism。That being said， one of the most interesting chapters in the book was “The Trustbuster。” This chapter pairs beautifully with recent economic history papers on the McKinley assassination and policy discretion for anti-trust enforcement。 See https://www。nber。org/papers/w25237 。。。more
Jake Hurst
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Pretty good。 Focused on the individuals。 Learned a lot about the industry。 Wish there were other perspectives shared。
Miguel
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A very thorough history of the development of the US railroad system in the 1800’s。 It focuses on the outsized personalities and their internecine business battles that comprised two distinct generations。 It’s a very solid historical work giving a good sense of the time and the characters。 The overall arc is that the founding mavericks of the industry in the earlier part of the century gave way at the end to more mature bankers and syndicates who could better manage and ruthlessly consolidate th A very thorough history of the development of the US railroad system in the 1800’s。 It focuses on the outsized personalities and their internecine business battles that comprised two distinct generations。 It’s a very solid historical work giving a good sense of the time and the characters。 The overall arc is that the founding mavericks of the industry in the earlier part of the century gave way at the end to more mature bankers and syndicates who could better manage and ruthlessly consolidate the industry。 It also touches quite a bit on the major economic， social， and political milestones， especially in the latter half as the railroads were a dominant player in the social fabric at the time。 A few years ago there was a middling series called “Hell on Wheels” which had the feel of this time， but this book would form the basis of a much better series， albeit with a resemblance more to “Boardwalk Empire” than Wheels with the personalities involved。 。。。more
Christopher
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A history of the heyday of the railroad industry in the United States。 This work largely examines the captains of the industry and their maneuvers to consolidate the railroads， beginning with Cornelius Vanderbilt。 Good stuff on Drew， Gould， Fisk， Harriman and JP Morgan。 Also good stuff on the Knights of Labor and the Pullman Strike。
BDW
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