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The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. By T. J. Stiles. (New York: Knopf, 2009. xiv, 719 pp. Cloth, $37.50, isbn 978-0-375-41542-5. Paper, $19.95, isbn 978-1-4000-3174-0.)
When Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) is mentioned today, the educated public, including members of the history community, surely have immediate negative thoughts. The popular view is that he was a bona fide robber baron, another Jay Gould or John D. Rockefeller. Contemporaries, too, often hated or reared Vanderbilt or at least considered him an unmannered brute. While Vanderbilt could be a rascal, combative and cunning, he was much more a builder than a wrecker. And he possessed other admirable traits, including being honorable, shrewd, and hardworking. T. J. Stiles has created a massive life-and-times biography that traces the long and varied Horatio Alger-like career...