John D. Rockefeller: Anointed with Oil

Oxford Portraits

by Grant Segall

Oxford Portraits are informative and insightful biographies of people whose lives shaped their times and continue to influence ours. Based on the most recent scholarship, they draw heavily on primary sources, including writings by and about their subjects. Each book is illustrated with a wealth of photographs, documents, memorabilia, framing the personality and achievements of its subject against the backdrop of history.

Genres: Biography

128 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2000

Reviews

[Matt Speer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little boring / dry reading material… but good and worthwhile to read about people who have become a “success” as some would define it. Wasn’t too long… less than 150 pages… always a plus in my book as I’m a slow reader with limited time for reading (as are many of us). Not the best book ever by far, but about a person worth learning about if you can spare the time.

[Dez Van Der Voort · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing: 4/5
Knowledge Gained: 5/5
Enjoyment: 5/5

This is a quick near hundred pages summary of the life of John D. Rockefeller. For those that need a less detailed but detailed enough of what's going on, this is it. Great summary, didn't miss much facts, cut to the quick, all there is to know about JDrockefeller and standard oil.

Basically, JD rockefeller found a job, then started his own trade company, then found out about the new "balck gold" oil, and started to invest in refining oil, kerosene, used for lighting lamps, was regarded as waste and thrown away back in the day, but rockefeller found good use for it. Like Andrew Carnegie, he found ways in a new industry at the time, to first get horizontal integration, then after eliminating all competition either through buyouts or biz tactics, vertical integration. At one time, allegedly, standard oil nearly refined more than 95% of the world's oil.

Great read for all, highly recommended. But of course, if you want more detail, this isn't the book for you. This is a great "primer" book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read about John D Rockeller, since I grew up in WV with John D Rockefeller IV as the governor and then a US senator. There is a sign in Walton for the Standard Oil Company, and a small road off the main road called Millionaire's Lane. I have yet to figure out the history of that space, but I still want to learn about it.
This is an informative young adult's book at the oil tycoon that Rockefeller was. I want to read Ron Chernow's biography about him to get a deeper understanding of his life and his charitable work. He really believed that God made him rich in order to help others, and throughout his life, he gave away a lot of money to charities. He was a faithful church attender, and supposedly a Sunday School teacher. I would love to learn more about that side of him and his wife.

[Njabulo Jiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read
Well researched