Andrew Carnegie: Steel King and Friend to Libraries

by Zachary Kent

A biography of the Scottish immigrant who made a fortune in the steel industry and used much of it for philanthropic causes

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Kunal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice short read on the great Andrew Carnegie that gives a good highlight of his life. The book discusses his poor upbringing in Scotland and him working hard through his various jobs when his family moved to America and how successful he was at the Railroad company before venturing off on his own after making a number of various investments. He was quite the businessman as although he became incredibly wealthy, he continued to make his workers work more and more increasing their hours from 8 hours to 12 hours and he believed in building very profitable business's so he was trying to control his margins. Andrew Carnegie was also incredibly charitable with his money as he donated 90% of his wealth that he made throughout his lifetime and it was truly inspiring to learn about all of the various endeavors he felt the notion to spend money on from libraries in order to educate people to scientific research to funding for universities and lastly to the musical arts such as Carnegie Hall. While the Hall is incredibly grateful for his contributions, it is fascinating to learn how he actually wasn't as passionate about music as he was about other areas as he was always very suspicious of musicians. His overall story is a great one though coming from such a poor background to working hard for every dime he made to lead to riches in his life and how he was able to eventually return to Scotland with his mother to show everyone how they finally made it in life. I would like to read a more in depth biography of Andrew Carnegie as he certainly is an individual that has had a major impact in our society.

[Faith Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good and easy read! Highly recommend as supplemental reading for those in Cycle 3 of Classical Conversations.