The first full biography of this industrialist and philanthropist in thirty years, CARNEGIE delves into the mind of a generous yet ruthless man who wore many masks throughout his life. Krass separates the fact from the Carnegie legend by relying heavily on diaries, letters, and other writings by both primary and peripheral characters in Carnegie’s life as well as on the copious Carnegie-relate archives. From Carnegie’s meager beginnings to his multimillion-dollar fortune, Krass takes a probing, insightful look into what inspired and moved this contradictory business giant.

One of the major figures in American history, Andrew Carnegie was a ruthless businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry and ultimately gave most of it away. He used his power and wealth to ascend the world’s political stage, influencing the presidencies of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. In retirement, Carnegie became an avid promoter of world peace, only to be crushed emotionally by World War I.

In this compelling biography, Peter Krass reconstructs the complicated life of this titan who came to power in America’s Guided Age. He transports the reader to Carnegie’s Pittsburgh, where hundreds of smoking furnaces belched smoke into the sky and the air was filled with acrid fumes…and mill workers worked seven-day weeks while Carnegie spent months traveling across Europe.

CARNEGIE explores the contradictions in the life of the man who rose from lowly bobbin boy to build the largest and most profitable steel company in the world. Krass examines how Carnegie became one of the greatest philanthropists ever known—and earned a notorious reputation that history has yet to fully reconcile with his remarkable accomplishments.