James J Hill and E H Harriman Compare and Contrast Term Paper

James J Hill and E H Harriman Compare and Contrast - Term Paper Example While J. P. Morgan stood for the banking industry, the oil industry could not be spoken about without mentioning John D. Rockefeller, iron and steel industries were synonymous with Andrew Carnegie’s name, and lastly, as we all know, Harriman was the man who stood for the railroads (Klein 1). In The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman, the author of the biography, Maury Klein, offers us the first in-depth story about Harriman. The biography covers his influential times in the industry. It spans more than seventy-five years (Klein). E. H. Harriman’s life has been understudied, for the most part, but he was truly influential in the growth of American economy. While Harriman was successful in bringing ‘dead’ companies back to life, James J. Hill was just as successful in the rail transportation business. Their lives changed America. As the story goes, we are put in the loop on how Harriman used to be a banker in Wall Street up to his 50th birthday (Klein, 65). Af ter that, he got into the railroad business in the year 1897. That is the time he took control of the then Union Pacific Rail Road. The company was emerging from a period of bankruptcy. Harriman is credited with the success of modernizing each and every aspect of the company’s operations. Harriman provides us with new insights into the controversies and the myths that surround the career of one of American’s greatest businessmen. Moreover, the book goes on to reassert the position held by this great mind as a true business titan of the turn-of-the-century. James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest is a biography of a legendary capitalist, James Hill, to whom great changes were credited in the Northwest. The author of the book, Michael P. Malone, is a gifted historian. He is also a respected writer. This is well, evident, in the manner in which he has carefully penned the remarkable life and times of one James J. Hill. In focus, Michael Malone’s biography on James J. Hill is selective. Additionally, it is interpretive in the method it has used. Nonetheless, all these angles at this biography are just like all the other books on the same topic series. However, Michael Malone avoids the pitfalls of other biographies that came before this one. The other biographies often present hagiographic pictures or business histories that are very slim in content. This is not the case with this biography penned by Michael Malone. James Hill is put fully into the context of the times he lived and did business and put his mark on American business history. Worthy of note is the fact that the author, Michael Malone has put emphasis on the effect James Hill’s actions had on America; more specifically, the regions in which he lived and did business.