A grand life

The first tycoon: the epic life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
Copyright 2009 By T, J Stiles
Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, New York
ISBN 978-0-375-41542-5
Hardcover
719 PP w/ illustrations
US $37.50
CD $45.00

If I had to choose one book from the list I've read this year, one that is an absolute must read, it's The First Tycoon. Author T.J. Stiles gives us a look a into the life of one 19th centuries most intriguing and controversial figures, and he does it with well documented research and an eye for the truth, to bring out every aspect of one of the 19th centuries most influential and controversial figures. Not since

He gives us Vanderbilt as he was, a man who worked his way from lowly beginnings in Staten Island, New York in 1794 to his rise as the wealthiest man in America at the time of his death in 1877. He was also a man known to never be crossed when it came to business, as his enemies quite soon found out in the high stakes world of Wall Street, which here too is presented to us from it's earliest days until it became part of the American fabric. We're shown the rise and fall of companies both large and small, of bear and bull, cornering the market to take control and taking money out of your enemies pockets while keeping yours intact.

The amount of detail in the book overall shows that Mr. Stiles did his research and did it quite well. One look at his primary and secondary source notes shows that he left no stone unturned, and was also able to deftly separate fact from fiction, and gives us a view of the world surrounding Vanderbilt and his contemporaries. His description of New York at the start of the 19th century is fascinating and vision producing with his words, conjuring up a world that we today can hardly imagine existed but did. We see New York and Vanderbilt grow together, from a time of manual labor to a time when steamboats and railroads dominated the land and sea, from New York growing from a dirty, fetid backwater second city to the Queen city of America with a world class railway system and gave the city one of it's most enduring landmarks, Grand Central terminal. We also see how Vanderbilt kept his hand on the pulse of the country, when, how, and where he saw needs to improve travel and then made them happen, from his earliest days running ferries from Staten Island, to his work transporting 49'ers to Gold Rush California, to linking New York to the world. We also see his highly competitive edge when it came to his dealings with his mortal enemies "Robber Barons" James Fisk and Jay Gould during the Erie Railroad war, and how he managed to rise above every dirty trick his enemies could pull.

Also intriguing is the look into the immediate family of Vanderbilt that shows that while he could be rather rough around the edges, he was still a caring, thoughtful man who remained devoted to his first and second wives, although his two sons were causes for consternation, especially Cornelius J, his second son who's immense gambling addiction the Commodore found rather embarrassing, as well as how little hope he held out for first born William, who actually exceeded his father's low expectations to become his father's right hand man.

Overall, it's a very skillfully crafted and well worded book that doesn't bog down, doesn't try to over simplify when it comes to explanations such as stock and bond trading, buyouts, leverages and mergers. It take this highly complex structure and presents it to the reader in way that helps you understand how it all works and gives a great new look at man whose name still resonates today 132 years after his death.

Goosebumps and shivers

Haunted Homeland
Copyright 2006 by Michael Norman
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates LLC New York
ISBN 13-978-0-765-30172-7
448 PP
$17.95 Hardcover

Over the past twelve years of doing paranormal research, I've read a large volume of books, and as a result have a rather extensive collection covering cities and towns, states and countries from Europe to the US. Some are truly standouts with well done research, plausible suggestions for the cause, first hand accounts from the people involved and in some cases actual field experimentation and results and well written and readable. Others I'm sad to say miss their mark and turn out to be nothing more than campfire ghost tales designed more to entertain, than to enlighten and educate and where unsubstantiated legend is presented as bald faced fact without the research to back it up.

Together with the late Beth Scott, with whom he worked on the first five volumes of the Haunted America series, Michael Norman is among the category of standouts. Haunted Homeland is a well crafted collection of tales and legends from across the U.S and Canada that show off not only his writing talent, but also what well done research can do to make a good story. But what also I liked is that Mr. Norman is up front with the reader when it comes discerning between fact and fiction. If a story is more urban or local legend that can't be substantiated, he makes it clear. He also doesn't just cover one aspect, but in some chapters gives the reader several versions of the same tale and allows them to figure out for themselves if the story may have some truth to it.

Case in point is Chapter 12 entitled "A Weeping Woman", which covers the legend of La Llorona, a prominent ghost from the New Mexico region. Most accounts of her state that she is the ghost of a woman who drowned her children after a failed love affair such as the modern day case of Susan Smith in 1994. In the Weeping Woman, we, the reader are given not only the basis for this classic ghost tale, but several versions of it, and the facts of the case behind it as well, which makes for interesting reading. Just the opening alone about Susan Smith, was enough to creep me out.

What also makes this a good ghost read are first hand accounts. In Chapter 11, we're introduced to the ethereal resident of a house from Gulfport, Mississippi in the story called "Find my Bones". Not only does it begin with a good start, which then segues into the history of the dwelling we're also introduced the people that lived and resided in the house and their experiences in the late 1950's and early 1960's. In the case the activity went beyond the normal muffled voices and eerie footsteps and included a few cases of near arson.

Overall, this is one of the better paranormal books I've come across and it's just as good as the first five in the series. So if a good, chilling tale is something you are in the mood for, then this book provides it. It's especially good after dark with the reading light on low.