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Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America
Two 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 twenty-first-century audience.”— USA Today
“The narrative is as absorbing as that of any good novel—and as difficult to put down.”— Miami Herald
The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the riveting story of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the bloody steelworkers’ strike that transformed their fabled partnership into a furious rivalry. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Meet You in Hell captures the majesty and danger of steel manufacturing, the rough-and-tumble of the business world, and the fraught relationship between “the world’s richest man” and the ruthless coke magnate to whom he entrusted his companies. The result is an extraordinary work of popular history.
Praise for Meet You in Hell
“To the list of the signal relationships of American history . . . we can add one Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick . . . The tale is deftly set out by Les Standiford.” — Wall Street Journal
“Standiford tells the story with the skills of a novelist . . . a colloquial style that is mindful of William Manchester’s great The Glory and the Dream. ” — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“A muscular, enthralling read that takes you back to a time when two titans of industry clashed in a battle of wills and egos that had seismic ramifications not only for themselves but for anyone living in the United States, then and now.” —Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River
“Masterful . . . Standiford has a way of making the 1890s resonate with a twenty-first-century audience.”— USA Today
“The narrative is as absorbing as that of any good novel—and as difficult to put down.”— Miami Herald
The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the riveting story of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the bloody steelworkers’ strike that transformed their fabled partnership into a furious rivalry. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Meet You in Hell captures the majesty and danger of steel manufacturing, the rough-and-tumble of the business world, and the fraught relationship between “the world’s richest man” and the ruthless coke magnate to whom he entrusted his companies. The result is an extraordinary work of popular history.
Praise for Meet You in Hell
“To the list of the signal relationships of American history . . . we can add one Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick . . . The tale is deftly set out by Les Standiford.” — Wall Street Journal
“Standiford tells the story with the skills of a novelist . . . a colloquial style that is mindful of William Manchester’s great The Glory and the Dream. ” — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“A muscular, enthralling read that takes you back to a time when two titans of industry clashed in a battle of wills and egos that had seismic ramifications not only for themselves but for anyone living in the United States, then and now.” —Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2005
326 people are currently reading
3305 people want to read
About the author
Les Standiford
40 books159 followersLes Standiford is a historian and author and has since 1985 been the Director of the Florida International University Creative Writing Program. Standiford has been awarded the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Fiction, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and belongs to the Associated Writing Programs, Mystery Writers of America, and the Writers Guild.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
October 8, 2013
Did you see the miniseries last year on the robber barons, The Men Who Built America? It was great. And one of the more fascinating stories was the story of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick, the guy who endowed hundreds of libraries, and the guy who created my favorite museum. Turns out they were both grade-A jerks, although in entirely different ways.
Both pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and worked their buns off to create massive companies -- Carnegie in steel and Frick in coke (an essential ingredient in steel). Frick hit a ceiling in his business pretty early on but instead of changing to a different industry altogether, he was hired to run Carnegie Steel, putting his income on par with other magnates like Carnegie. It was a good relationship for both of them because Carnegie got to disappear to Scotland and other estates and leave the dirty business of running the steel mills to Frick, a man who never backed down from a fight no matter how petty. Carnegie on the other hand got his feelings hurt easily and would lie a blue streak just to get people to like him, while stabbing them in the back. Frick would tell you to your face what he thought of you. They were very yin and yang.
Unfortunately, their partnership lead to a couple of colossal catastrophes. The first was the flood in Johnstown, PA which was caused by Frick and Carnegie's club both narrowing and refusing to maintain a massive dam it sat atop. When it failed, more than two thousand people were killed. The second and more famous was the Homestead Strike, when Frick brought in Pinkerton Detectives as guards, but due to a couple of foreseeable problems with getting the Pinkertons into the mill, they were pretty much slaughtered by a mob of striking workers, leaving at least 14 killed, 34 seriously injured, and 305 somewhat injured, and causing the National Guard to be called in by the governor. Two weeks after the incident, Frick was attacked by an anarchist assassin who would have killed him had his gun not jammed. Two weeks after the assassination attempt, Frick's baby son died. As much of a jerk as he was, it did seem that Frick had had a tough time of it and he soldiered on.
Meanwhile, Carnegie washed his hands of everything including Frick. Carnegie had signed off on Frick's plans at Homestead, but afterwards he maneuvered to have Frick removed from his position. The two men never had the same relationship and in fact spent their latter years not speaking to each other. Carnegie, the guilt-ridden man who always wanted everyone to like him, started giving his money away as an effort to buy his way into people forgetting about Homestead. I would say that after more than a century, he's been successful as your average American probably never heard of that dreadful part of U.S. labor history. But Frick, who knew exactly what had happened behind the scenes, never absolved Carnegie's guilt. In their old age when Carnegie made overtures of peace, Frick said he'd talk to Carnegie when they were both dead since they both knew they were both going to hell. In some ways Frick was the much bigger asshole, but I appreciated his honesty about it. Carnegie was a whiner not willing to stand behind his decisions and more than happy to throw other people under the bus whenever possible.
Two very fascinating jerks who helped shaped America today. This was a riveting book that was hard to put down, in the same way it's hard to look away from a car accident.
Both pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and worked their buns off to create massive companies -- Carnegie in steel and Frick in coke (an essential ingredient in steel). Frick hit a ceiling in his business pretty early on but instead of changing to a different industry altogether, he was hired to run Carnegie Steel, putting his income on par with other magnates like Carnegie. It was a good relationship for both of them because Carnegie got to disappear to Scotland and other estates and leave the dirty business of running the steel mills to Frick, a man who never backed down from a fight no matter how petty. Carnegie on the other hand got his feelings hurt easily and would lie a blue streak just to get people to like him, while stabbing them in the back. Frick would tell you to your face what he thought of you. They were very yin and yang.
Unfortunately, their partnership lead to a couple of colossal catastrophes. The first was the flood in Johnstown, PA which was caused by Frick and Carnegie's club both narrowing and refusing to maintain a massive dam it sat atop. When it failed, more than two thousand people were killed. The second and more famous was the Homestead Strike, when Frick brought in Pinkerton Detectives as guards, but due to a couple of foreseeable problems with getting the Pinkertons into the mill, they were pretty much slaughtered by a mob of striking workers, leaving at least 14 killed, 34 seriously injured, and 305 somewhat injured, and causing the National Guard to be called in by the governor. Two weeks after the incident, Frick was attacked by an anarchist assassin who would have killed him had his gun not jammed. Two weeks after the assassination attempt, Frick's baby son died. As much of a jerk as he was, it did seem that Frick had had a tough time of it and he soldiered on.
Meanwhile, Carnegie washed his hands of everything including Frick. Carnegie had signed off on Frick's plans at Homestead, but afterwards he maneuvered to have Frick removed from his position. The two men never had the same relationship and in fact spent their latter years not speaking to each other. Carnegie, the guilt-ridden man who always wanted everyone to like him, started giving his money away as an effort to buy his way into people forgetting about Homestead. I would say that after more than a century, he's been successful as your average American probably never heard of that dreadful part of U.S. labor history. But Frick, who knew exactly what had happened behind the scenes, never absolved Carnegie's guilt. In their old age when Carnegie made overtures of peace, Frick said he'd talk to Carnegie when they were both dead since they both knew they were both going to hell. In some ways Frick was the much bigger asshole, but I appreciated his honesty about it. Carnegie was a whiner not willing to stand behind his decisions and more than happy to throw other people under the bus whenever possible.
Two very fascinating jerks who helped shaped America today. This was a riveting book that was hard to put down, in the same way it's hard to look away from a car accident.
April 3, 2025
if i was a wee bit more into history, this book would be the 💩
November 13, 2017
I don't know much about contemporary art, but one piece I know I like is Richard Serra's Carnegie. I could care less about the architectural form involved. I just know that those four humongous ugly twisted steel slabs that drip pools of rust and smell like urine are a perfect monument to Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh.
I'm from Pittsburgh, you see, and Carnegie and Frick aren't just big philanthropic names there. Sure, they're all over museums and colleges and libraries like everywhere else. But they are also the villains of the Homestead Steel Strike and the symbols of Social Darwinism and the exploitation of labor for generations.
You can choose which is most important when you think about them. Standiford's book economically tells the story of how they worked together to create Carnegie Steel and how they gradually grew to hate each other. Standiford himself is torn, coming from a town in Ohio equally exploited and benefited by Carnegie. He sees a balance--and assumes, as most people do, that Carnegie was at least partly trying to expiate his guilt by building libraries and endowing foundations. Frick is harder to forgive, but less two-faced, and who can hate The Frick?
I believe Pittsburgh owes them its existence. And that doesn't mean I forgive either of them--even as a former student at Carnegie Mellon, a fan of the Frick Fine Arts building, an employee of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and a tourist enjoying the Frick Mansion and Frick Park. Unbridled capitalism leaves a rusty stain.
Westinghouse is easier to love.
I'm from Pittsburgh, you see, and Carnegie and Frick aren't just big philanthropic names there. Sure, they're all over museums and colleges and libraries like everywhere else. But they are also the villains of the Homestead Steel Strike and the symbols of Social Darwinism and the exploitation of labor for generations.
You can choose which is most important when you think about them. Standiford's book economically tells the story of how they worked together to create Carnegie Steel and how they gradually grew to hate each other. Standiford himself is torn, coming from a town in Ohio equally exploited and benefited by Carnegie. He sees a balance--and assumes, as most people do, that Carnegie was at least partly trying to expiate his guilt by building libraries and endowing foundations. Frick is harder to forgive, but less two-faced, and who can hate The Frick?
I believe Pittsburgh owes them its existence. And that doesn't mean I forgive either of them--even as a former student at Carnegie Mellon, a fan of the Frick Fine Arts building, an employee of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and a tourist enjoying the Frick Mansion and Frick Park. Unbridled capitalism leaves a rusty stain.
Westinghouse is easier to love.
April 2, 2020
An interesting story of one of the most successful industrial partnerships ever formed between Andrew Carnegie, (the world’s first Iron and Steel tycoon), and Henry Clay Frick, (the world’s first Coke tycoon. Coke is vital in the production of steel, btw.) By forming an alliance these two cornered the world’s steel market as the Industrial Age came into full bloom.
Their stunning wealth generation aside, this story tends to focus on the human aspect between the two partners, as what began as a trusted friendship/partnership ended up in a bitter fallout to their respective graves, primarily due to the repercussions of Frick’s hardline stance taken during the Homestead strike, where scores of striking union steel workers (as well as scabs) were needlessly killed in Frick’s effort to maintain production as a non union shop.
There are better biographies of both men out there, but none really dive into the complexity of the relationship between these two men and the impact it had on the world like this book does.
Their stunning wealth generation aside, this story tends to focus on the human aspect between the two partners, as what began as a trusted friendship/partnership ended up in a bitter fallout to their respective graves, primarily due to the repercussions of Frick’s hardline stance taken during the Homestead strike, where scores of striking union steel workers (as well as scabs) were needlessly killed in Frick’s effort to maintain production as a non union shop.
There are better biographies of both men out there, but none really dive into the complexity of the relationship between these two men and the impact it had on the world like this book does.
August 14, 2017
Sometimes when you think you know a topic, you avoid reading a book about it, and that's why it took me so long to read this excellent summary of the bitter rivalry between Andrew Carnegie, the king of steel, and Henry Clay Frick, the king of coke (not the drink but the highly condensed coal fuel that powered the steel mills).
In the late 1800s, these Pittsburgh titans were two of the richest men in the world, and they gave Pittsburgh the nickname it can't shake to this day, even though little steel is still made here.
Carnegie and Frick, even though they ended as enemies, were also bound together in creating this money-minting industry, and were actually in close agreement until the Homestead steel strike of 1892, which resulted in several deaths after Frick arranged to hire armed Pinkerton guards to break the strike at the huge mill. It led to a standoff on the banks of the Monongahela River, where armed strikers pinned down the Pinkertons until they eventually surrendered. Frick abdicated responsibility by saying the standoff was in the hands of civil authorities, and Carnegie sat out the whole debacle in Scotland, publicly supporting Frick but also telling many that if he'd been there, the violence never would have occurred.
A few days after the incident, anarchist Alexander Berkman traveled to Pittsburgh from New York and shot Frick in his office, almost killing him. Frick had been harshly criticized after the strike, but Berkman's assassination attempt turned public opinion more in Frick's favor. It would take more than 40 years before the steel industry was unionized again.
Frick was aware of Carnegie's two-faced pronouncements on the strike, and it created bad blood that only worsened over the years. Both men at different points tried to force the other out of the company on unfavorable terms, until eventually they made peace. The formation of U.S. Steel at the turn of the century made multibillionaires out of both men, in today's dollars, and set up their immense philanthropy, Carnegie in libraries, world peace activism, the establishment of what is now Carnegie Mellon University, and other ventures, Frick in art and education.
Standiford does a good job of capturing this slice of the Gilded Age, the outsized personalities of these two titans, and the larger questions of what responsibilities the wealthiest have toward the workers who helped them create their fortunes.
In the late 1800s, these Pittsburgh titans were two of the richest men in the world, and they gave Pittsburgh the nickname it can't shake to this day, even though little steel is still made here.
Carnegie and Frick, even though they ended as enemies, were also bound together in creating this money-minting industry, and were actually in close agreement until the Homestead steel strike of 1892, which resulted in several deaths after Frick arranged to hire armed Pinkerton guards to break the strike at the huge mill. It led to a standoff on the banks of the Monongahela River, where armed strikers pinned down the Pinkertons until they eventually surrendered. Frick abdicated responsibility by saying the standoff was in the hands of civil authorities, and Carnegie sat out the whole debacle in Scotland, publicly supporting Frick but also telling many that if he'd been there, the violence never would have occurred.
A few days after the incident, anarchist Alexander Berkman traveled to Pittsburgh from New York and shot Frick in his office, almost killing him. Frick had been harshly criticized after the strike, but Berkman's assassination attempt turned public opinion more in Frick's favor. It would take more than 40 years before the steel industry was unionized again.
Frick was aware of Carnegie's two-faced pronouncements on the strike, and it created bad blood that only worsened over the years. Both men at different points tried to force the other out of the company on unfavorable terms, until eventually they made peace. The formation of U.S. Steel at the turn of the century made multibillionaires out of both men, in today's dollars, and set up their immense philanthropy, Carnegie in libraries, world peace activism, the establishment of what is now Carnegie Mellon University, and other ventures, Frick in art and education.
Standiford does a good job of capturing this slice of the Gilded Age, the outsized personalities of these two titans, and the larger questions of what responsibilities the wealthiest have toward the workers who helped them create their fortunes.
July 11, 2016
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Partnership that Transformed America by Less Standiford
319 pages
★★★★
As usual, the subtitles gives you a pretty good idea what this history book is about. It’s about Carnegie (Carnegie Steel Company) and Henry Frick (H. C. Frick & Company) and their partnership that would become the predecessor of U.S. Steel and boy would they become two rich people of the time (and even by today’s standards). If you’re looking for a detailed biography on each individual, you won’t get it here. As the author states, there’s plenty of books on these people and he mostly focuses on Carnegie and Frick’s “friendship” and work together. A good chunk of the book focuses on the deadly Homestead Strike of 1892 and the two men’s roles in it. Short story – Carnegie wanted to please even if it meant hiding the truth and throwing people under the bus and Frick was just a ruthless business man (you may have also heard of his name from the infamous Johnstown Flood) – a partnership made in heaven? Maybe not.
I enjoyed this one. I saw a special on the men that made America and the show glossed over the stories of these men and being the history geek I am – I instantly needed to know more! This is a well written account of Carnegie and Frick’s tumultuous relationship. If you come or live in Pennsylvania, this is all probably fairly well-known local history but I honestly didn’t know much about Carnegie and even less about Frick. Well researched. Easy to read. There are times where the author speculates what someone may have been thinking or saying and I’m not a fan of that but he’s probably not far on his speculations at least.
319 pages
★★★★
As usual, the subtitles gives you a pretty good idea what this history book is about. It’s about Carnegie (Carnegie Steel Company) and Henry Frick (H. C. Frick & Company) and their partnership that would become the predecessor of U.S. Steel and boy would they become two rich people of the time (and even by today’s standards). If you’re looking for a detailed biography on each individual, you won’t get it here. As the author states, there’s plenty of books on these people and he mostly focuses on Carnegie and Frick’s “friendship” and work together. A good chunk of the book focuses on the deadly Homestead Strike of 1892 and the two men’s roles in it. Short story – Carnegie wanted to please even if it meant hiding the truth and throwing people under the bus and Frick was just a ruthless business man (you may have also heard of his name from the infamous Johnstown Flood) – a partnership made in heaven? Maybe not.
I enjoyed this one. I saw a special on the men that made America and the show glossed over the stories of these men and being the history geek I am – I instantly needed to know more! This is a well written account of Carnegie and Frick’s tumultuous relationship. If you come or live in Pennsylvania, this is all probably fairly well-known local history but I honestly didn’t know much about Carnegie and even less about Frick. Well researched. Easy to read. There are times where the author speculates what someone may have been thinking or saying and I’m not a fan of that but he’s probably not far on his speculations at least.
July 26, 2015
Finally finished this after several tries.
I found it slow going through the first part that dealt a lot with technology and economics, but once I got through that, it moved like an action adventure.
The retelling of the Homestead strike kept me on the edge of my seat even though I knew the outcome. I only wish he had spent a little more time on the Johnstown Flood, but that's just me.
I'm really glad I stayed with this. As someone who lives in Pittsburgh, it renewed my interest in the Steel history, and gave me a special appreciation for the people who sacrificed so much, and put their lives in the hands of a few men who viewed them as pawns in the game of big industry.
I found it slow going through the first part that dealt a lot with technology and economics, but once I got through that, it moved like an action adventure.
The retelling of the Homestead strike kept me on the edge of my seat even though I knew the outcome. I only wish he had spent a little more time on the Johnstown Flood, but that's just me.
I'm really glad I stayed with this. As someone who lives in Pittsburgh, it renewed my interest in the Steel history, and gave me a special appreciation for the people who sacrificed so much, and put their lives in the hands of a few men who viewed them as pawns in the game of big industry.
July 23, 2025
two pittsburgh baddies having a diva off over the future of american labor
May 19, 2022
Best title ever. Carnegie and Frick were the billionaire bro’s of the late 1800s.
November 12, 2023
The more things change the more they stay the same!
If you like historical facts, you’ll love this book about the two men who started the steel industry in the United States. This book was sentence after sentence of historical facts. I much prefer a storytelling model, so I did not like the how the book was written and that results in my two star rating. The opportunity for crisis and drama is thick… the author did not take advantage of this opportunity.
That’s not to say it didn’t contain interesting facts. And, there were many correlations to the way business is done today! It’s hard to believe this book was written about the Carnegie steel corporation of over 100 years ago.
The steel workers strike of 1892 was heartbreaking! After going through the Hormel meatpacking strike in Austin, Minnesota, I have a little understanding to what happened in Pittsburgh. When I say little, I mean little. Our drama in Austin, driven by the same reasons, contained a lot of anger and scary situations. Thankfully, it didn’t contain the horror! The horror that took place with the strike in Homestead is unreal. I can understand how the residents of Pittsburgh have PTSD.
I believe Carnegie and Frick did indeed meet again. Whether it was in Heaven or Hell remains unknown today!
This book contains corporate greed, corporate relationships gone bad, political influence, powerful people using the media to push narratives, etc. While this book contains accounts from situations that happened almost 150 years ago, it could be written about some companies of today.
Have we learned nothing?
If you like historical facts, you’ll love this book about the two men who started the steel industry in the United States. This book was sentence after sentence of historical facts. I much prefer a storytelling model, so I did not like the how the book was written and that results in my two star rating. The opportunity for crisis and drama is thick… the author did not take advantage of this opportunity.
That’s not to say it didn’t contain interesting facts. And, there were many correlations to the way business is done today! It’s hard to believe this book was written about the Carnegie steel corporation of over 100 years ago.
The steel workers strike of 1892 was heartbreaking! After going through the Hormel meatpacking strike in Austin, Minnesota, I have a little understanding to what happened in Pittsburgh. When I say little, I mean little. Our drama in Austin, driven by the same reasons, contained a lot of anger and scary situations. Thankfully, it didn’t contain the horror! The horror that took place with the strike in Homestead is unreal. I can understand how the residents of Pittsburgh have PTSD.
I believe Carnegie and Frick did indeed meet again. Whether it was in Heaven or Hell remains unknown today!
This book contains corporate greed, corporate relationships gone bad, political influence, powerful people using the media to push narratives, etc. While this book contains accounts from situations that happened almost 150 years ago, it could be written about some companies of today.
Have we learned nothing?
June 13, 2014
This book was entirely readable and fascinating. I always thought Frick was a ruthless ass and was proved right. Not saying that I'm a total Carnegie lover, but Frick just had no room for any sort of caring for the workers( who risked their lives every day for a pittance) who made Carnegie and Frick their millions. I always knew Carnegie was from Scotland, but never knew Frick was from Mount Pleasant,PA( about 20 minutes from where I live), and that Frick had an important coke business in Connellsville,PA (about 20-ish minutes away from Mount Pleasant,I think).
Pretty much what I got out of this book was basically that Carnegie wanted to be liked by pretty much everyone, so much so that he was willing to throw his friendship/partnership with Frick under the proverbial bus when it came to the Homestead debacle. And Frick seemed like a guy that would fly into a temper tantrum if he didn't get his own way,much like a spoiled child.After the dissolving of the Carnegie/Frick friendship/partnership,Frick then spends the rest of his life trying to one-up Carnegie, from the size of office buildings to the size comparison between Carnegie and Frick's New York City mansions. What a sad,bitter,petty man.
Pretty much what I got out of this book was basically that Carnegie wanted to be liked by pretty much everyone, so much so that he was willing to throw his friendship/partnership with Frick under the proverbial bus when it came to the Homestead debacle. And Frick seemed like a guy that would fly into a temper tantrum if he didn't get his own way,much like a spoiled child.After the dissolving of the Carnegie/Frick friendship/partnership,Frick then spends the rest of his life trying to one-up Carnegie, from the size of office buildings to the size comparison between Carnegie and Frick's New York City mansions. What a sad,bitter,petty man.
May 27, 2013
Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick built up an industrial empire in the late 19th century based on producing the steel that was needed to build railroads across the country. Both Carnegie and Frick started out as poor boys, but that didn't give them much sympathy for labor. They exploited the mostly immigrant workers who produced the steel and were ruthless in fighting against unions. Toward the end of his life, Carnegie gave away almost all of his vast fortune building libraries, and endowing foundations including the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. And Frick of course built up an art collection that has become a gem and a treasure--the Frick Collection in NYC. But why did they have to treat their workers so badly? Why did they have no conscience about working men in their steel mills. It's difficult to understand how they could have developed the way they did considering their own backgrounds. Standiford tells the story well and gave me a lot to think about.
June 10, 2020
Entertaining book about this pair's bitter relationship. After they broke up, it was fun to read about two rich guys petty attempts to outdo each other. The author can spin a yarn, and you wonder how much is true or a bit embellished. It's unclear how you can try to set up the context of the era, including what was going on politically, technologically, and philosophically, and not mention the name Marx even once, especially considering these two were responsible for one of the most violent episodes between capitol and labor. He also seemed to skip over important movements within the US that would have added context to the story, for instance the fight for the 8-hour day, which he credits the Carnegie organization with bringing to the steel industry, despite this being one of the biggest fights of the era. Maybe at least quoting Marx who wrote in Das Kapital: "By extending the working day, therefore, capitalist production...not only produces a deterioration of human labour power by robbing it of its normal moral and physical conditions of development and activity, but also produces the premature exhaustion and death of this labour power itself." - exactly the reason that the steel baron supposedly gave this to his workers.
Either way, it was a fun quick read, probably more so if you live in Pittsburgh.
Either way, it was a fun quick read, probably more so if you live in Pittsburgh.
December 23, 2025
While this should be a must read topic for any Pittsburghers or those interested in Robber Barons, the structure and writing of this book falls short at times.
The start of the book provides required, and interesting, insights into the steel making process and industry, and is definitely worth a read.
The following ~150-200 pages focus solely on the Homestead strike of 1892. While the strike is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and violent in American history, it feels as though this book is more about the specific events of the strike, not about the feud between Carnegie and Frick.
In the last 50 or so pages, the author quickly brushes over the demise of their relationship, a section that deserves a more fulsome and prominent explanation.
The book does provide valuable insights into the history and modern day influence the two moguls had on the city and country as a whole, making it a worthwhile read for those in the Western Pennsylvania area.
In general, it often felt like a reciting of uber specific facts or events rather than a well formulated, storytelling approach to the relationship
The start of the book provides required, and interesting, insights into the steel making process and industry, and is definitely worth a read.
The following ~150-200 pages focus solely on the Homestead strike of 1892. While the strike is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and violent in American history, it feels as though this book is more about the specific events of the strike, not about the feud between Carnegie and Frick.
In the last 50 or so pages, the author quickly brushes over the demise of their relationship, a section that deserves a more fulsome and prominent explanation.
The book does provide valuable insights into the history and modern day influence the two moguls had on the city and country as a whole, making it a worthwhile read for those in the Western Pennsylvania area.
In general, it often felt like a reciting of uber specific facts or events rather than a well formulated, storytelling approach to the relationship
July 22, 2023
As a resident of western Pennsylvania the story of Carnegie and Frick has a particular home town attraction. These two men were instrumental in making Pittsburgh and the Tri-state area the industrial power house it became and was until the decline of steel in began in the 80s. Homewood is less than 40 miles from my home. One of the Carnegie mills was in my hometown of Beaver Falls. My father's generation grew up working in the steel industry. As steel went we all went. These two driven men did more to move our country into the 20th century as a world wide leader than any others. Ultimately, after years of working harmoniously together, they came to an impasse and barrier they couldn't overcome. Les Standiford has done a magnificent job of telling the story in an engaging way. Very hard to put down. Great read.
October 20, 2025
About a year ago I went to a hobnob convention for work and met a guy handing out promotional chotskies for their company with a great business idea and an admirable patented technology. Not sure why he decided to mention it but he recommended this book for me to read.
Toted as fallout of the tenuous relationship between two titans, I read this more as a rich *en plein air* of pre-War American industry. Standiford centers the scene on the obvious inflection point of Homestead 1892 with various necessary industry events before and after involving Carnegie and Frick. Far from dense, the industry talk is accompanied with a slight jeering bias mostly highlighting the absurd behavior of these two titans while the dregs helplessly organize for chance at life. The reader is left with a familiar, grander image of post-War American industry: the mountain of toil since and the foggy cliff of progress remaining.
Toted as fallout of the tenuous relationship between two titans, I read this more as a rich *en plein air* of pre-War American industry. Standiford centers the scene on the obvious inflection point of Homestead 1892 with various necessary industry events before and after involving Carnegie and Frick. Far from dense, the industry talk is accompanied with a slight jeering bias mostly highlighting the absurd behavior of these two titans while the dregs helplessly organize for chance at life. The reader is left with a familiar, grander image of post-War American industry: the mountain of toil since and the foggy cliff of progress remaining.
February 5, 2022
As the book develops a solid history of the relationship between Carnegie and Frick, it also tells of how Carnegie and Frick built their companies and their fortune as well as the economic conditions during the Gilded Age (aka robber barons), particularly in Pittsburgh. In particular, I thought the author did a good job of presenting just enough financial data to understand the business issues facing Carnegie and Frick without overwhelming the reader.
February 6, 2021
Fascinating to a born and raised Pittsburgher. This book was recommended by a former steel worker guide during a tour of the Carrie Blast Furnace. Some of the technical
and financial details could be laborious, but the content and the history of influence that Frick and Carnegie leveraged, I found fascinating.
and financial details could be laborious, but the content and the history of influence that Frick and Carnegie leveraged, I found fascinating.
September 11, 2024
Well written story about Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Business partners, then adversaries, that created the largest, most profitable business of their days, but on the backs of many working under much less than ideal conditions. They both left a legacy still visible today. A good intro to Pittsburgh steel history!
March 4, 2018
I found this fascinating.
November 4, 2024
Meh. Good history but felt like a long boring read
December 30, 2024
The relationship between Carnegie and Frick was an interesting way to learn more about Pittsburgh. So many of the other names throughout the book I recognized from buildings and places throughout the city. After finishing the book, it was wild to learn that many of the letters between Frick and Carnegie referenced throughout are in the archives of Hillman?? After spending so much time “studying” in that library in college I wish I had known that. Overall I found the story very interesting, largely due to my interest in the topic and my connection to the region. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Standiford’s writing style. I found myself rereading some sentences that structurally made no sense. I got the feeling he was attempting to add suspense at times as if it was a script. I think this could’ve been done in a better manner, but also would contend that it isn’t even necessary for a topic as interesting as this one.
March 15, 2017
This is a very well written account of the relationship between two Titans of capitalism Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. After briefly detailing each man's rise from very humble beginnings the book presents their 1890s steel industry partnership in vivid detail. The author seamlessly weaves government records, news accounts and correspondences into a captivating narrative. The result is the fascinating story of the events giving rise to, shaping and ultimately ending the relationship between Carnegie and Frick. The biggest of those events -- and the one that would come to define both men -- was the Battle of Homestead in 1892. What lead up to it, how it unfolded and its aftermath are the driving themes of the book. And the result is an amazing story that is entertainingly told.
February 9, 2021
Exceeded my expectations! I expected to read about the interpersonal relationship between these two Pittsburgh icons, and wasn't disappointed. What I didn't expect, was to read so many details of their business interests themselves. Though I guess you could hardly discuss one without the other. I almost picked up a book on the Battle of Homestead first and I'm glad I didn't because I found a surprisingly complete account right here. I found it to be a great introduction to the history of Carnegie, Frick, Pittsburgh steel, and the tumultuous labor relations of all. I highly recommend that anybody with even a slight interest in any of these should choose this as their jumping off point.
March 13, 2020
Being that I am from Pittsburgh, and have read full length biographies on both Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, I was very interested in seeing how Les Staniford was going to live up to the incredibly provocative title of this book. it was a noble effort.
I thought it was well-placed. I think he did a good job developing the relationship between the two characters. However, there was something lacking to tie everything together with a little more depth than he presented. Nonetheless, I thought it was an enjoyable read and something that is a good taste of understanding both Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick.
Ironically enough just today I met with a friend who is an attorney in the Frick building in Pittsburgh. They are moving their offices from the 10th floor to the 19th floor where Clay Frick had his office.
Both have left such a cultural imprint in Pittsburgh, let alone the rest of the world. It is difficult to discuss the growth of the city of Pittsburgh without mentioning Carnegie, Frick, Mellon, Westinghouse, or Rooney.
Love my home city!
I thought it was well-placed. I think he did a good job developing the relationship between the two characters. However, there was something lacking to tie everything together with a little more depth than he presented. Nonetheless, I thought it was an enjoyable read and something that is a good taste of understanding both Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick.
Ironically enough just today I met with a friend who is an attorney in the Frick building in Pittsburgh. They are moving their offices from the 10th floor to the 19th floor where Clay Frick had his office.
Both have left such a cultural imprint in Pittsburgh, let alone the rest of the world. It is difficult to discuss the growth of the city of Pittsburgh without mentioning Carnegie, Frick, Mellon, Westinghouse, or Rooney.
Love my home city!
April 3, 2022
3.5 stars
June 3, 2021
Conflicted.
That is how I feel after reading this book. I am a Pittsburgh girl, a Union member’s daughter, and an avid reader with an intense love of a public library.
I am the daughter of a proud Union man. My dad was a laborer in Local 833 in New Brighton, PA, from the late 70’s, when my grandfather, Karl Klear, also a Union man, snuck my dad onto a job, forcing the hall to give him a Union card. My Dad stayed in the Union until his retirement.
The jobs that my Dad secured through the Union were not always easy...he was up at the crack of dawn everyday. He did not have sick days or paid vacation. He worked as a janitor, participated in building the nuclear reactor (Beaver Valley #2) at the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant, endured periods of unemployment, and worked asbestos abatement. He often worked outside in the cold and the heat. On any given day, he could be given a broom, a jackhammer, or a shovel as the tools of the trade. Often when he began a new job, he would lose 20 lbs almost immediately due to the heat or intensity of the work.
My dad would proudly announce that he was “Union, Yes!” Although he possessed only a high school diploma, and graduated high school at a time when the local steel mills were closing, we always knew that we had a better standard of living than many other families in our county, and it was made known to us that this was because of the Union. My Dad’s hourly wages were often double of those of his best friend, for similar work, because he was employed through the Union. Our family had health insurance because of the Union. We enjoyed an annual day trip with our family to a local amusement park every summer complete with lunch and free drinks because of the Union. Every December, we had a movie day with Santa Claus, where we would be gifted a stocking full of candy, a gigantic apple and orange and a 1 lb bag of M&M’s, hosted by the Union. My Dad was appreciative of his life insurance policy, and his pension, provided by the Union. My dad was proud to own his home, and our family usually had at least two cars (one was always a beater car that my dad drove to work). We were far from wealthy, and I am sure that some times were tough but my mom, brother and I always had enough.
I am also the beneficiary of the community benefits that were provided by the generosity and philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie. There was a Carnegie library within reasonable walking distance of my childhood home. My parents did not have the budget to purchase enough books to keep up with my voracious childhood reading appetite, but they took me to the library, where I burned up the card catalog and worked my way through all the Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume books, all of the Boxcar children series. We would visit the library book trade in the winter, bringing home huge bags of paperbacks which we would pass around between my mother and I. My Dad researched our family tree in the genealogy section that was housed on the second floor of the library. As a teen in the 80’s, I moved on to the “grown up” section of the library. Many of the books were somewhat dated, so I got an education in the funkiness of the 70’s through the poetry of Rod McKuen and Nikki Giovanni. I borrowed records and books, often walking home two miles with a ridiculously heavy bag! I loved the musty smell and the big wide steps of the old building, and the creaky wooden floors. I also was convinced that a dinosaur skeleton was behind a locked door in the basement labeled “museum,” but I think this was childhood fantasy.
As a parent, my kids were frequent visitors to the Carnegie Science center, and we also made trips to the Carnegie Museum of Natural history. My husband and I have been to the Carnegie museum of Art also.
Nearly every cultural amenity in our area is touched by Carnegie’s money...either directly, or because it is associated with a contemporary who worked with Carnegie: Frick, Mellon, Phipps...these names are on everything in our city. We have visited the Frick gallery in Pittsburgh, and Frick Park, and Phipps conservatory.
So my mental association with Carnegie was industry, success, philanthropy. I knew of Frick through stories from my husband’s grandfather, Robert Hebner. He told me stories about his father, who was disabled after work in the coal mines. This left Pap Hebner, as a young boy, in a position of caring for his “invalid” father. Pap Hebner impressed upon me that Frick was a bad man in the eyes of the average coal miner.
So I came to this story expecting Frick to be the bad guy, and Carnegie to be the successful Santa Claus.
I was fascinated to read about all of those well known Pittsburgh names in detail, who were really just names on buildings to me up until this point. I had heard of the Johnstown flood, but never realized the horror of the event until reading this book. I was impressed by the rags-to-riches story of Carnegie, his scrappiness, inventiveness, drive and innovation.
But then the labor relations...the author describes the working conditions, events, and dirty dealings leading up to and including the Homestead strikes in such vivid detail. In my mind, these mill workers have the faces of my Dad’s Union buddies, my friend’s dads who were dejected and saddened when the mills shut down in the 1980’s and their livelihood was taken from them. The Slovak scabs that were brought in are the ancestors of my customers at the GCU. So it seems personal that these two men, already in control of so much wealth, blocked so many hard working men from obtaining a better standard of living by unionizing.
I wanted to blame it all on Frick, the way that Carnegie tried to, and let old Andy keep his halo. But really, it is pretty transparent that Carnegie removed himself from the situation and hid in his mansion overseas while leaving Frick to take all of the responsibility and all of the blame. Carnegie never really acknowledges his part in this debacle, other than to say it haunts him.
In the end I am left with what I already know: only one person in the world was ever 100 percent good, and that is Jesus Christ. The rest of us are a mixed bag of our sins and our good deeds, and Carnegie is no exception. He allowed Frick to harm the workforce on which they built their fortunes, both in the immediate acts of the Homestead strikes, and in the ways that he robbed the workers in the name of cost cutting.
This book was well written, very interesting and very detailed. I recommend it for many reasons.
That is how I feel after reading this book. I am a Pittsburgh girl, a Union member’s daughter, and an avid reader with an intense love of a public library.
I am the daughter of a proud Union man. My dad was a laborer in Local 833 in New Brighton, PA, from the late 70’s, when my grandfather, Karl Klear, also a Union man, snuck my dad onto a job, forcing the hall to give him a Union card. My Dad stayed in the Union until his retirement.
The jobs that my Dad secured through the Union were not always easy...he was up at the crack of dawn everyday. He did not have sick days or paid vacation. He worked as a janitor, participated in building the nuclear reactor (Beaver Valley #2) at the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant, endured periods of unemployment, and worked asbestos abatement. He often worked outside in the cold and the heat. On any given day, he could be given a broom, a jackhammer, or a shovel as the tools of the trade. Often when he began a new job, he would lose 20 lbs almost immediately due to the heat or intensity of the work.
My dad would proudly announce that he was “Union, Yes!” Although he possessed only a high school diploma, and graduated high school at a time when the local steel mills were closing, we always knew that we had a better standard of living than many other families in our county, and it was made known to us that this was because of the Union. My Dad’s hourly wages were often double of those of his best friend, for similar work, because he was employed through the Union. Our family had health insurance because of the Union. We enjoyed an annual day trip with our family to a local amusement park every summer complete with lunch and free drinks because of the Union. Every December, we had a movie day with Santa Claus, where we would be gifted a stocking full of candy, a gigantic apple and orange and a 1 lb bag of M&M’s, hosted by the Union. My Dad was appreciative of his life insurance policy, and his pension, provided by the Union. My dad was proud to own his home, and our family usually had at least two cars (one was always a beater car that my dad drove to work). We were far from wealthy, and I am sure that some times were tough but my mom, brother and I always had enough.
I am also the beneficiary of the community benefits that were provided by the generosity and philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie. There was a Carnegie library within reasonable walking distance of my childhood home. My parents did not have the budget to purchase enough books to keep up with my voracious childhood reading appetite, but they took me to the library, where I burned up the card catalog and worked my way through all the Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume books, all of the Boxcar children series. We would visit the library book trade in the winter, bringing home huge bags of paperbacks which we would pass around between my mother and I. My Dad researched our family tree in the genealogy section that was housed on the second floor of the library. As a teen in the 80’s, I moved on to the “grown up” section of the library. Many of the books were somewhat dated, so I got an education in the funkiness of the 70’s through the poetry of Rod McKuen and Nikki Giovanni. I borrowed records and books, often walking home two miles with a ridiculously heavy bag! I loved the musty smell and the big wide steps of the old building, and the creaky wooden floors. I also was convinced that a dinosaur skeleton was behind a locked door in the basement labeled “museum,” but I think this was childhood fantasy.
As a parent, my kids were frequent visitors to the Carnegie Science center, and we also made trips to the Carnegie Museum of Natural history. My husband and I have been to the Carnegie museum of Art also.
Nearly every cultural amenity in our area is touched by Carnegie’s money...either directly, or because it is associated with a contemporary who worked with Carnegie: Frick, Mellon, Phipps...these names are on everything in our city. We have visited the Frick gallery in Pittsburgh, and Frick Park, and Phipps conservatory.
So my mental association with Carnegie was industry, success, philanthropy. I knew of Frick through stories from my husband’s grandfather, Robert Hebner. He told me stories about his father, who was disabled after work in the coal mines. This left Pap Hebner, as a young boy, in a position of caring for his “invalid” father. Pap Hebner impressed upon me that Frick was a bad man in the eyes of the average coal miner.
So I came to this story expecting Frick to be the bad guy, and Carnegie to be the successful Santa Claus.
I was fascinated to read about all of those well known Pittsburgh names in detail, who were really just names on buildings to me up until this point. I had heard of the Johnstown flood, but never realized the horror of the event until reading this book. I was impressed by the rags-to-riches story of Carnegie, his scrappiness, inventiveness, drive and innovation.
But then the labor relations...the author describes the working conditions, events, and dirty dealings leading up to and including the Homestead strikes in such vivid detail. In my mind, these mill workers have the faces of my Dad’s Union buddies, my friend’s dads who were dejected and saddened when the mills shut down in the 1980’s and their livelihood was taken from them. The Slovak scabs that were brought in are the ancestors of my customers at the GCU. So it seems personal that these two men, already in control of so much wealth, blocked so many hard working men from obtaining a better standard of living by unionizing.
I wanted to blame it all on Frick, the way that Carnegie tried to, and let old Andy keep his halo. But really, it is pretty transparent that Carnegie removed himself from the situation and hid in his mansion overseas while leaving Frick to take all of the responsibility and all of the blame. Carnegie never really acknowledges his part in this debacle, other than to say it haunts him.
In the end I am left with what I already know: only one person in the world was ever 100 percent good, and that is Jesus Christ. The rest of us are a mixed bag of our sins and our good deeds, and Carnegie is no exception. He allowed Frick to harm the workforce on which they built their fortunes, both in the immediate acts of the Homestead strikes, and in the ways that he robbed the workers in the name of cost cutting.
This book was well written, very interesting and very detailed. I recommend it for many reasons.
November 19, 2011
Les Standiford is a favorite author of mine, so had to read the book.
Being from the south, I have limited knowledge of the northern industrial states so the first thing I had to do was print out a map of the Pittsburgh area. It would have been nice to include for those of us not so familiar with the area.
Perhaps Standiford wrote it for textbook purposes, and in that case, maybe a map wouldn't be necessary. In fact, when I was reading it, it kind of reminded me of a textbook.
The book was good though, and for a person like myself who can't fathom what eight tons is like, his analogies were so understandable.
Wish there were 1/2 stars because it was better than I just 'liked it' but not 'really liked it.' Learned a lot of history though, and that's what I like about reading And some of it sounded like it could have come from the NY Times this morning, sounding a little familiar.
Being from the south, I have limited knowledge of the northern industrial states so the first thing I had to do was print out a map of the Pittsburgh area. It would have been nice to include for those of us not so familiar with the area.
Perhaps Standiford wrote it for textbook purposes, and in that case, maybe a map wouldn't be necessary. In fact, when I was reading it, it kind of reminded me of a textbook.
The book was good though, and for a person like myself who can't fathom what eight tons is like, his analogies were so understandable.
Wish there were 1/2 stars because it was better than I just 'liked it' but not 'really liked it.' Learned a lot of history though, and that's what I like about reading And some of it sounded like it could have come from the NY Times this morning, sounding a little familiar.
December 17, 2012
This book had been on my Amazon WishList for a while, but I was really pushed to read it by watching "The Men Who Built America" on The History Channel. Either I wasn't paying close attention or the script writers for History only got the Cliffs Notes version, because this book told quite a different story of the eventual falling out between Carnegie and Frick. There's quite a bit of insight into character and motivations, as well as highlights of the early years of the labor movement (quite timely). Interesting that, considering their treatment of employees, both men spent substantial sums for the public good; Carnegie through his libraries (my hometown had one) and institutes, and Frick with his museum and gifts to universities and hospitals. Kind of reminds me of the Charles Schulz quote - "I love mankind; it's people I can't stand."
January 23, 2014
Anyone interested in the history of America's Gilded Age will enjoy this excellent book, as will my friends that grew up in western Pennsylvania. The research is detailed and thorough, the personalities of H.C. Frick and Andrew Carnegie well defined. Although history has held Frick mostly responsible for the strike at Homestead in reality he was doing what Carnegie wanted. Carnegie was superior at public relations and was able to lay the blame on Frick.
Many of the facts I discovered here, and in another biography of Frick, served as the basis for plot elements in Leisenring No. 1.
The title refers to the last message Frick sent to Carnegie, who while on his death bed wanted to make peace with his old friend. Frick would have none of it. "I'll meet you in hell, because surely that is where we are both going".
Many of the facts I discovered here, and in another biography of Frick, served as the basis for plot elements in Leisenring No. 1.
The title refers to the last message Frick sent to Carnegie, who while on his death bed wanted to make peace with his old friend. Frick would have none of it. "I'll meet you in hell, because surely that is where we are both going".
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