The Gilded Age

by Milton Rugoff

"King of the Lobbyists" Sam Ward was best known for his talent for throwing parties - courtesy of the U.S. Treasury. And Alva Vanderbilt squandered tens of thousands on one evening to crack the closed social circle of the Mrs. Astor. And when Jay Gould, of Black Friday fame, sent his card to one of the Rothschilds, it was returned with the comment, "Europe is not for sale." It was this climate of mid- and late-nineteenth-century excess that fostered the most rapid period of growth in the history of the United States, replacing the unyielding Puritanism of Cotton Mather with the flexible creed of Henry Ward Beecher. National Book Award nominee Milton Rugoff gives his uniquely revealing view of the Gilded Age in this collective biography of Americans from 1850 to 1890.

Writing on the political spoilsmen, money kings, parvenus, forty-niners, lords of the press, sexual transgressors, and women's rights leaders, Rugoff focuses on thirty-six men and women from almost every walk of life. His exponents include U.S. Grant, John Charles Frémont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jim Fisk, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Horatio Alger, free-love advocate Victoria Woodhull, first female surgeon Bethenia Owens-Adair, Brigham Young's rebellious nineteenth wife Anna Eliza Young, Boston Brahmin Charles Eliot Norton, Gold Rush pioneer Sarah Royce, black visionary Sojourner Truth, and to critique American society, Walt Whitman.

In examining the Gilded Age, Milton Rugoff offers fresh glimpses into the lives of the celebrities of the era, as well as some lesser-known Americans, while at the same time revealing the roots of problems that still plague us today.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Biography

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 15, 2018

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Gilded Age, Milton Rugoff tells the story of American society in the second half of the nineteenth century through biographical sketches of roughly three dozen prominent Americans. He says that he selected these individuals because he believes they represent the multiple forces that were transforming America during this period.

The book's title didn't quite prepare me for its content. I have always thought of the Gilded Age as the period from 1865 or 1870 to the end of the century, but Rugoff sets its beginning in 1850 or so. And I expected to be reading mostly about the robber barons, industrialists, and financiers who emerged during that period, but Rugoff broadens the scope of the book to include sketches of other prominent people who made distinctly different contributions to American life. In addition to the money men, railroad men, and others of their ilk, he profiles settlers of the West, leaders of the women's suffrage movement, social critics, and others.

He acknowledges that the significant change in America during this period was "the spread of money-oriented values and the rise of the money lords." But he contends that this trend was reflected throughout society, not just among the "money lords" themselves, and that it facilitated or at least coexisted with other large changes, including changes in the political, spiritual, and cultural realms.

Because of the broad range of Rugoff's biographical subjects, The Gilded Age reveals a rich tapestry of the period. Although I wouldn't consider it an essential book about the Gilded Age, it does introduce readers to a wide variety of Americans who made significant contributions in one way or another. But they are only introductions, in many cases whetting the reader's appetite for more in-depth biographies. It represents an interesting concept, but in the end, I'm not sure it all quite hangs together. Nevertheless, in general, it's a good read, maybe 3.5 stars.

[Tam May · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book takes an interesting approach to history in that it focuses on historical figures within certain categories (such as politicians, the press, and women's rights) and talks about the Gilded Age in that context. So in that sense, it was entertaining and researched well. I did have a few issues, though. First, it seemed like there were too many figures whose heyday was well before the Gilded Age (like the chapter on the West which seemed to refer more to the movers and shakers of a much earlier age than the Gilded Age). Also, the author wasn't very good with including numbers (like dates) so it was hard to keep track of the events in the lives of the historical figures. Since the book is presumably about the Gilded Age, dates would have been important in many cases. Also, I felt that the word choice and tone was sometimes a little judgmental. For example, a discussion of Mary Wollstonecraft seemed to lean toward judging her for having one child out of wedlock and being pregnant with another before marriage (there was some reference to Wollstonecraft's lack of relationships for a while and then "making up for lost time"). That sort of made me lose trust in the author's information in some areas since I couldn't be sure if there might be some bias involved in how the historical information was being interpreted or not. So I would say this is worth reading if you're interested in the 19th century (note again, not everything in the book is referring to the Gilded Age, or, at least, not clearly so) but if you're interested in a particular figure, follow up with your own research.

[Mirachil27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping reading

Rugoff captures the reader with clear, fast-moving prose, taking him on a whirlwind journey through all the major aspects of society in the Gilded Age. One is constantly confronted with the striking similarities between this amazing era and our own time. Anyone interested in history and how we came to where we are in America will enjoy this book. Well worth reading!

[john haran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and interesting Social History

Runoff does an in depth analysis of American historical figures of the last half of the 19th Century. While some are well known, others are not. His text introduces lesser known historical figures to the reader in an inviting manner. This style of writing enables the reader to acquire a deeper understanding of the lesser known figures and the historical events they contributed to. Their participation may have not changed the events of 19th Century America, but their participation helped to shape the 19th Century and Rugoff does an excellent job of conveying this to the reader.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because its subject matter, a history of the last half of the nineteenth century in America, was unfamiliar to me in general, and I was hoping for little more than sprightly writing about many interesting characters and events. Since this book took me almost a month to get through, I must say I was disappointed that it did not hold my interest better. The portraits of important Americans of the time, including politicians, businessmen, society figures, writers, newspaper publishers and editors, and absurdly rich robber barons, did not jump off the page into my imagination. This remains, in my view, a book closer to a dry history than a lively rendering of fifty years of great progress, promise, dissipation, greed, and high and low ideals. Rugoff writes decently enough, but not well enough to grab my interest and hold it.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about people from the Gilded Age, around 1850-1890 roughly. I had only heard of a handful of the people mentioned. It is interesting to see the economic trends that we are still talking about today, with wealthy people having more influence politically. The author would go from one profile into the next and sometimes that would leave me confused as to who he was referring to, this may also be attributed to the fact that I would read before bed and may not have had the focus to follow along since I was sleepy.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all an interesting book. My confusion is about when was the "gilded age"? I thought it was the latter decades of the 19th century. Much of this book was based much earlier than then, even during the US Civil War. A whole section was dedicated to settling the West and the California gold rush. Good stuff, but not what I was expecting.

The coverage of the robber barons and newspaper elites was exceptional, as was the final chapter on Mark Twain.

Read it if you are interested in American history during the 1800s.

[John Medeiros · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book in and of itself isnt bad but it mostly covers journalists and 'progressives'of the early 1800s to the 1860s.
Other than Mark Twain it covered very little of the Gilded Age.
I expected character studies of the main subjects of the Gilded Age, the Rockefellers, Carnegies and others of the period of post civil war to early 1900s.
It needs a different title.
It really wasnt about the Gilded Age.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I expected. It is a series of mini biographies of notables from the Gilded Age. I think I was expecting something more general. Having said that, it was interesting. I did not know all of the people highlighted, but the stories of their life times gave a personal bent to the Age. I enjoyed the read.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. If you want to read about influential people from the 19th century then this is a good book for you, but if you want to read specifically about Gilded Age society and class dynamics, the scope of this book is way too broad. On the plus side, I learned a lot of things I wouldn't have otherwise.

[Stephen Tubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating period of USA history 1850-1890. It does best when relating the story of the industry moguls and the struggle for emancipation and equal rights.