"The Men Who Built America" - History Channel (2012)

After the Civil War ended, the United States continued to grow industrially, and with the culmination of the construction of the Union-Pacific Railroad, the nation was headed full tilt into the Gilded Age and the era of the Robber Barons. This 8 hour mini-series chronicles that growth of power, and the largely self-made men who harnessed it, furthering the growth of the nation while at the same time plundering it mercilessly.

This docudrama from 2012 focuses on the 5 main entrepreneurs who became known as the “Robber Barons.” These men; Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan and Henry Ford; each wrought changes to the way America worked and prospered, leaving in their wake not only the technological advances which came to define the era, but also a history of abuse which would give rise to the Unions and usher in a new age of rights and expectations for the workingmen and women who run America’s machines and produce her goods.

Directed by Patrick Reams and Ruán Magan, the series is narrated by Campbell Scott, and cleverly divided into 4 overlapping episodes, creating a seamless story of the times; and events; which propelled America into a century of greatness, which we are even now attempting to hold onto.

In Part 1; "A New War Begins"; Cornelius Vanderbilt begins his career as a steamboat captain, and amasses a fortune, which he then invests in the railroad boom. He quickly builds an empire, pitting him against fellow railroaders Jim Fisk and Jay Gould. At the same time, John D. Rockefeller founds Standard Oil , expanding his wealth by means of oil pipelines, which will eventually become just as much of an octopus as the famous political cartoon of Jay Gould straddling the railroads.

In Part 2, "Bloody Battles", Andrew Carnegie founds an empire based upon steel, only to suffer from the ruthless antics of his partner, Henry Frick, the man largely responsible for the Johnstown Flood and later the labor unrest in 1892 at the Homestead Steel Works.

Entering Part 3, "Changing the Game", we find J.P. Morgan bankrolling Thomas Edison to success with the incandescent lamp, even as they compete with the efforts of George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla. At the same time, William Jennings Bryan; who would later run for President 3 times and lose; begins a campaign to reign in the monopolies so carefully put together by these titans of industry, as they pile abuse upon abuse in their quest to amass even more wealth.

By the time Part 4 starts; “When One Ends, Another Begins"; Rockefeller and Morgan, along with Andrew Carnegie, team up to elect William McKinley to the Presidency. With their vast wealth they virtually paid for the whole campaign, extracting a promise from him that, if elected, he would serve the interests of the monopolies by vetoing any anti-trust legislation which crosses his desk. But when the president is assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt ascends to the office of President with a whole different set of goals. He immediately begins to dismantle the monopolies which these 5 men have worked so hard to build.

In spite of this, J.P. Morgan manages to buy Carnegie Steel, making Carnegie the richest man in the world. At the same time, newcomer Henry Ford begins to build cars in an “assembly line” fashion which will revolutionize manufacturing forever.

This is a wonderful look at America when she was in her most innovative phase, with people coming from all over the world, and each one carrying a dream they hoped to make come true.

"The Great American Railroad War" by Dennis Drabelle (2012)

This book is kind of about a railroad. It’s also kind of a biography about two of the greatest journalists/authors America has ever produced. It’s also about the Civil War, the Gilded Age, William Randolph Hearst and the robber barons who took loans from the government, with no intention of ever re-paying them. And of course, the book is also about the political patronage and corruption which allowed this system of building a transcontinental railroad to exist in the first place; with a few buffalo and Indians thrown in. Which is to say; this book has it all.

Author Dennis Drabelle has kicked out all the stops in this rip snorting account of how America got linked by two railroad companies; and how they tried to bilk the public out of the money to do it. Drawing upon the writings of both Ambrose Bierce, a fascinating individual, who also wrote “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”; which eclipses just about everything written by Edgar Allan Poe himself; he recounts Bierce’s exploits both before and after the war, painting an indelible picture of the man, and how he became involved in the fight against the railroad barons in the first place.

Of equal importance is Frank Norris, another famous American novelist and journalist, he would go on to write his masterpiece “Colossus”, which was based upon the iconic political cartoon which showed the railroads as an octopus, with tentacles ensnaring the nation. That novel would parallel the work of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”

The book is as much the story of these two celebrated journalists as it is of the railroad itself. The railroad, and the barons who built them, serve as a stage on which the author plays the actions of these two literary icons in a true dramatic fashion, with the only difference being that these events are all true. Each; in his own way; attacked the railroad for all of the right reasons, while never disputing the necessity of a transcontinental line.

The author has delivered a superb history of both the journalists and the railroads which were the center of their attentions. Norris, of course, would go on to write his most famous of novels, titled “The Octopus” after the famous cartoon by Nash, which depicted the railroads as an octopus with tentacles reaching everywhere. And Bierce has gone down in history as one of America’s finest journalists, known for such diverse works as “The Devil’s Dictionary” and a slew of short stories.

A fine book is a wonderful thing; sometimes it can open your eyes to the history which was relegated to the scrap heap; and you can never tell what treasures might lay beneath the surface.

"Boyhood Photos of J.H. Lartigue- The Family Album of a Gilded Age"

This is a most unusual and rare book. I found it in circulation at The Mooresville Library yesterday. I have been looking at it ever since I picked it up. Sue and I sat in the car turning the pages and laughing with the Lartigue family and their antics.

It is bound and arranged exactly as a family album would be, the photos are seperate from the pages and pasted in. The captions are descriptions of the who, what, when, where and why of each photo.

Jaques Lartigue first began to take these photos in 1901 with a camera given to him by his Dad. He was seven years old. By April 1904, only 4 months after the Wright Brothers had launched their first plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C., Jacques was in Berck and photographing the first sucessful French aero flight. He was barely 10 years old.

The times in which these photos were taken, in France, were times of invention for the whole world. Marconi and the Wright Brothers, the automobile, balloning, these were all the rage and the Lartigue family was trying it all. And photographing themselves as they crashed go-carts, motorbikes, gliders and even contrived various watercraft.

The "Belle Epouque" was a gifted time in the history of France and the Lartigue family managed to chronicle that golden period in this wonderful collection. These photos of the family engaged in tennis, swimming, bicycling, and just having fun together are priceless peeks into the past. The weekend promenades were the rage and gentleman were expected to tip their hats to aquantinces no matter how many times they passed during the days walk.

Some of the photos are historical in nature. They include early car races, sports, fashion and even swimming. But the best photos are the ones of the family engaged in so many different and bizarre activities.

The book was published in Switzerland in 1966 and is a collectible today. I looked it up on Amazon and it goes for up to $475 in used condition. There are not too many copies of this unique and beautifully crafted book available. Clearly this needs to be placed in Special Collections.

This is what I love best about our Public Libraries - that you can walk in empty handed and walk out with a treasure like this is a truly wonderful thing. That we can so easily look back on the more innocent times experienced by the family Lartigue is an absolute treasure. My special thanks to Mooresville Public Library for the loan of this most unusual book.