E.H. Harriman. A Biography. (2 vols)

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922 Second Printing. Hardcover, 8vo, in publisher's navy cloth binding with gold lettering to spine, 12 plates in volume 1, 10 plates in volume 2, 421pp + foldout map; 421pp. Stated Second Impression. CONDITION: Near Fine. Light bumps to corners and small dent to spine on vol. 1. Former owner's signature to ffeps. Clean and bright, with firm hinges. Some pages unopened. ** An illustrated biography of Edward Henry Harriman (1848-1909), the American railroad tycoon associated with the Illinois Central and Union Pacific Railroads, among others. His sharp business practices were criticized by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, and he was considered "robber baron" of the Gilded Age, with interests in finance as well as industry. The book paints, however, a somewhat sympathetic view, discussing his philanthropic causes such as founding the Boys' Club of New York in 1876. A steamboat scientific journey underwritten by him along the Alaskan coast to Siberia in 1899 is discussed, as is a business trip to Japan to acquire more railroads, when Harriman became so interested in ju-jitsu wrestling that he brought a troupe home to America to give exhibition performances. A contemporary review said: "There is much divergence of opinion as to the basic morals involved in Mr. Harriman's manipulation of railroad securities, but most writers agree that his handling of railroad properties was most effective and constructive. Mr. Kennan not only shows this but discusses, as well, the business quarrels, the removal of prominent railroad officials and the break with President Roosevelt. Commending the constructive side of Mr. Harriman's work, there was a phrase frequently heard in the West, --"He took the Union Pacific a streak of rust and he made it a railroad." From a 1922 issue of the Washington Historical Quarterly, The Geographical Review, pp. 302-303.) Upon his death in 1909, he controlled five railways, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and Wells Fargo Express Company. One of his two sons, W. Averell Harriman, would have a distinguished political career, serving as Ambassador to the Soviet Union during the World War II and Cold War period, and as Governor of New York in the mid 1950's. OCLC 1287038. . Second Impression. Hard Cover. Near Fine.