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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth
Here is the enlightening memoir of the industrialist as famous for his philanthropy as for his fortune.
Mass Market Paperback
,
336 pages
Published
November 7th 2006
by Signet
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I love how his optimism in life really comes through in his writings. He never says anything bad about anyone and always has a positive outlook on things. I think he would have been an enjoyable person to be around. Before reading this book, I assumed he was a stuck-up rich guy (being incredibly wealthy in his lifetime) however, it amazed me how gracious he was and how much he really gave back to the world.
This book was written in his spare time over several vacations and follows his life from ...more
This book was written in his spare time over several vacations and follows his life from ...more
Whilst reflecting on his life, Andrew Carnegie (in his autobiography) inspires his readers with an abundance of life-lessons. He describes how his family moved to the United States. He plainly describes how he took on responsibility early on in life. He isn't boastful of the steel corporations he helps build. And in the end he shows gratitude and ends up giving away almost his whole fortune. In his autobiography Andrew Carnegie never gets too personal, but we can still learn a lot from his life.
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Carnegie was a steel tycoon. No one can argue about that. He did have an extraordinary life emerging from a poor family and fighting his way through. My impression is that Carnegie portrays perfection in his autobiography. The mistakes he made does not exceed fingers of one hand. In reality, no one's perfect. I wished to see his struggles, major problems he had encountered and how he fought them and succeeded. The impression you get from reading this autobiography was that his life was a strike
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I could only make it 1/3 of the way through this book before giving up. I really like reading about business and biographies, but this is an example of how an autobiography should not be written.
People are quite bad at analysing themselves and their own life and that came off in the part of the book I read. Carnegie doesn't do a good job of identifying key points in his life and writing in an entertaining manner. In parts of the book he goes off on tangents that really don't have anything to do ...more
People are quite bad at analysing themselves and their own life and that came off in the part of the book I read. Carnegie doesn't do a good job of identifying key points in his life and writing in an entertaining manner. In parts of the book he goes off on tangents that really don't have anything to do ...more
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Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth is really galling. He assumes that great men accumulate great wealth and that it is thereafter incumbent on them to give it away to benefit the public, or at least the segment of the public that can "help themselves." In appointing himself a public benefactor, Carnegie explicitly insists he can better shepherd enormous wealth than can common people if the money were distributed to them in small sums as wages. But his goal in doing so (helping advance the race) is incr
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I was rather unimpressed with Mr. Carnegie's need to name drop for the last third of the book. It had a slow start, but the first portion of the book, through his rise to success as a steel magnate, was pretty good. If he had refrained from adding the last third of the book, it would have been much better. Overall, he was a little hard to take. This was a class assignment, and we unanimously decided it was not one of the better selections, nor was Carnegie very likeable (in spite of his protesta
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Foremost recognize that it is a narrative written over a long period of time, which allowed for plenty of revision. The Autobiography reads well with many entertaining stories, but it also seems to push several agendas. I would almost say it is didactic. There are several great aphorisms in throughout the work (it seems that Carnegie meant to be quoted). It is an idealist description of the method of a successful working man, and treads lightly over the large problems adjoint to this process (it
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It was good. Not sure if this was the edition I really read since I didn't find the essay on Wealth in it.
Not sure it is fair to really criticize or review this one, since it was never Carnegie's intent for anyone but his friends and family to read his autobiography. So I won't. Other than to say it is good, and he may have surrounded himself with those that were smarter than he, but Carnegie was no slouch. He was as educated as any man (and much better than most) and in the elite when it came t ...more
Not sure it is fair to really criticize or review this one, since it was never Carnegie's intent for anyone but his friends and family to read his autobiography. So I won't. Other than to say it is good, and he may have surrounded himself with those that were smarter than he, but Carnegie was no slouch. He was as educated as any man (and much better than most) and in the elite when it came t ...more
Inspiring man, inspiring book. His life is a shining example of the pursuit of excellence and the desire to uplift his fellow man by providing them with the tools to help themselves. Every one of us can learn something from this book
Great read. The author was an excellent writer.
Andrew Carnegie's inflation-adjusted fortune was worth around US$298 billion. Carnegie's most famous quote is "Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket". In my 13 habits series of books, "Focus stay on track, concentrate;put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket." Carnegie inspired my thinking for my "13 Habits that made me Billions". According to Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, Andrew Carnegie, was the second most prolific wealth creator and recent rec
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a most amazing rendition of the "self Made man', the American Dream come true. As the introduction indicates, he was in no wise perfect but he discovered his talents and improved upon them to the benefit of his fellow man, subject to his philosophy of wealth accumulation and distribution.
His life will probably be viewed as out of fashion with today's ideals, but no one should be able to discount his innate ability to succeed where most of us have had limited success.
I tip my hat to him.
His life will probably be viewed as out of fashion with today's ideals, but no one should be able to discount his innate ability to succeed where most of us have had limited success.
I tip my hat to him.
The first autobiography I've read in my life. I appreciated the introduction, which explained very well the difference between biographies and autobiographies.
The book itself is a beautiful recount of his life. The rise from his first job to the steel magnate is astounding. The change from industrialist to philanthropist is beautiful. I enjoyed the reading.
The book itself is a beautiful recount of his life. The rise from his first job to the steel magnate is astounding. The change from industrialist to philanthropist is beautiful. I enjoyed the reading.
An amazing story of the success of a Scottish immigrant in US. But the problem is flow...This guy is not as good at writing as making money...
He may come off as a money-hungry bastard in history, but he had a fascinating life & capacity for building massive companies from nothing. He was quite a person.
Lots of interesting perspectives on historical figures from a first-hand experience.
Lots of interesting perspectives on historical figures from a first-hand experience.
This is a man I greatly admire and respect being poor from Scotland and making it big in the U.S. with a humble heart. Unfortunately the book was a bit dry and hard to get through. I would like to read one of his biographies instead.
This book was interesting because Carnegie had an interesting life. However, it ws hard to get through because it was not the most well-written book. One of his biographies may be easier to read.
I enjoyed this book. Having more insight into his early life, his loyalty to those closest to him and his family and his general views on business was refreshing. I say a must read.
Very interesting to hear about his life from his point of view. By the end though it got monotonous, but overall good.
Sep 23, 2010
Craig J.
added it
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics) by Andrew Carnegie (2006)
Very well written. I enjoyed the story-telling and his early years in particular.
On recommendation from Gerald Chamales
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Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He built a leadership role as a philanthropist for America and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away to charities, foundations, and universities about $350 million (in 2011, $225 billion) – almost 90 percent of his fortune. H
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More about Andrew Carnegie...
“Humanity is an organism, inherently rejecting all that is deleterious, that is, wrong, and absorbing after trial what is beneficial, that is, right. If so disposed, the Architect of the Universe, we must assume, might have made the world and man perfect, free from evil and from pain, as angels in heaven are thought to be; but although this was not done, man has been given the power of advancement rather than of retrogression. The Old and New Testaments remain, like other sacred writings of other lands, of value as records of the past and for such good lessons as they inculcate. Like the ancient writers of the Bible our thoughts should rest upon this life and our duties here. "To perform the duties of this world well, troubling not about another, is the prime wisdom," says Confucius, great sage and teacher. The next world and its duties we shall consider when we are placed in it.”
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