Book description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
In this groundbreaking biography, T.J. Stiles tells the dramatic story of Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt, the combative man and American icon who, through his genius and force of will, did more than perhaps any other individual to create modern capitalism. Meticulously researched and…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The First Tycoon as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Savvy entrepreneurs and executives have always been able to spot what’s just over the horizon. T.J. Stiles’ book charts the epic and sometimes unimaginable life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who helped to shape our modern world through a combination of sheer will and vision.
He built his fortune on steamships but divested of those assets when he saw that the railways he had built were opening up America’s bountiful frontier. He traded legacy technology for something better. In business, as in politics and life, history does not repeat, but it often rhymes.
From Alex's list on technological innovation and what drives it.
Stiles is one of our most talented biographers, and his books manage to be both erudite and highly entertaining. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes (among many other awards), and one of them was for The First Tycoon, a riveting biography of a New Yorker who dramatically influenced his city and nation in ways that continue to affect our lives today. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was a brilliant and ruthless man from a modest Staten Island farming family who saw the future and made a fortune in steamboats and railroads over many decades of the nineteenth century. His business practices…
From Victoria's list on New York City History to 1900.
If you love The First Tycoon...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like The First Tycoon?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 91 books like The First Tycoon.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,395
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The First Tycoon, you might also like...
Need to Know
The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.
Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…
Tsunami
On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…
