Taking on the Trust: How Ida Tarbell Brought Down John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil

Taking on the Trust is an interleaved biography of John D Rockefeller and Ida M Tarbell. It is also, to a lesser extent a history of Standard Oil and the magazine business as it existed in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.I had read various books about Rockefeller including the Chernow biography, and I had read Tarbell's masterpiece of investigative reporting The History of the Standard Oil Trust. This book ties them together in a very readable and accessible manner. It's biography of Tarbell is an important part of the book as she is shown to have been a truly remarkable woman for any time.The twin biographies would have made a compelling movie.

Steve Weinberg, one of America's most accomplished Journalism professors, has taken a "busman's holiday," in writing this fascinating and beautifully researched book. Weinberg, an inspiration to several generations of University of Missouri students, has written about one of his own heroes who no doubt helped influence his rather prestigious academic pathway. He has most satisfyingly delved into the epic battle of a single, brilliant young woman who successfully defined the power of the free press in 1904, pioneering investigative journalist Ida Tarbell who "muckraked" up the expensive and deep sediment underneath Standard Oil, standing alone against the awesome wealth and power of John D. Rockefeller.Prof. Weinberg is as complete and intimate with his subject as any historian. Infused into this book is his profound sense of appreciation of the fierce, burning integrity and inspirational relentlessness of Ida Tarbell. He makes an excellent case for her monumental, fearless work "The History of the Standard Oil Company," as being the greatest work of investigative journalism ever written. The rich and world-saving traditions of the press in the twentieth century in many ways find their roots in Tarbell and her publisher Samuel McClure, who proved that the battle armor of a democratic society is its free press; without it, the people live in the dark.This book will give the reader a completely refreshed pride in discovering that history can be riveting. In addition, it holds tremendous insight into the late-nineteenth century roots of the women's movement for equal rights, as well as the revolution for the rights of America's workers at the hands of monopolistic, big business. Ida Tarbell will become one of your new heroes.

Steve Weinberg, who knows the territory better than most, makes you feel like you were in the delivery room of the birth of investigative reporting. He gets inside the times and heads of his protagonists, Tarbell and Rockefeller, to deftly set up the dynamic between them: tension, suspicion, a weird combination of loathing and admiration. What I loved about the book was how modern it feels--Tarbell as the prototypical investigative journalist, a writer first and foremost with a lion's heart, who alternately basks in her talents and worries often that she has stepped over the line that demarcates dispassionate journalism from advocacy. Even Weinberg intimates that Tarbell may have now and then crossed that line. Meanwhile, there is Rockefeller, a man not without feeling or sensitivites, who nonetheless cannot escape the notion that his wealth must be some divine sign that he is deserving of it. It isn't hard to flashforward to the contemporary, often rancorous debate over journalistic objectivty versus advocacy, or to see Rockefeller and his attitudes at play in the current economic meltdown. For it has been the new "smartest guys in the room"--echoing Rockefellers greed but propelled by hubris instead of religion--who amount to the Robber Barons of this decade.

Having read Chernow's definitive biography of Rockefeller, I was eager to find out more about "Miss Tarbell", the woman who brought down Standard Oil. Weinberg does an excellent job of bringing Tarbell to life, and, in particular, in describing her critical role in establishing the press as a check on the power of business. The dynamic she helped create has proven to be one of the enduring realities facing American business in the 20th and 21st centuries. We are all indebted to Tarbell for ensuring that the actions of our most powerful businesses would be subject to scrutiny by the press and the government.

This is a lovely book with a lively prose style that keeps the reader moving right along as the story progresses. It is a history lesson as well, and any reader who seeks in-depth, accurate pictures of America's past, will relish pitting the genius and determination of a young woman journalist against one of this nation's most notorious Robber Barons. One of the best of this crop of new books.

Reads like a book written from a screenplay--adds little detail to a story that has been better told elsewhere. The author forces comparisons and suggestions where they are unwarranted, and it has a definite slant.

Having no knowledge of Ida Tarbell but interested in Rockefeller, I found this book a great read.The author covers the subject in enough detail to make you knowledgable but doesn't get into minutia and bore you.Ms. Tarbell is definitely a good role model for women and journalists of both sexes. Most current day journalists could revisit her standards.The book provides plenty of pictures and tells a great story of a forgotten event of the period.

Exceptionally well written book by a renowned current day investigative reporter about one of our first and foremost investigative reporters, Ida Tarbell. You'll learn about REAL American history starting with the early days of the oil business, thru the Civil War and into the industrial boom of the early 20th Century. Its an extremely perceptive American historical masterpiece and a real life feminist saga not to be missed by men and women alike.

Weinberg's book is very readable and accessible but leaves one wondering about why Tarbell had so much impact. In particular there is very limited information about how her work influenced the momentous 1911 Supreme Court decision to break up Standard Oil. Also how did she influence Teddy Roosevelt?

Steve Weinberg's well constructed and researched book tells of two determined, dogged individuals coming into direct conflict with each other.On the one hand, John D Rockefeller, arch-capitalist 'extraordinaire', dynamic, hyper-successful but not, perhaps the most 'cuddly' of human beings and not used to being challenged, particularly by a female journalistic crusader. On the other hand, Ida Tarbell,journalist, the daughter of a man whose livelihood was threatened by Rockefeller's Standard Oil 'steam-roller' and convinced that the Rockefeller monopoly was a serious threat to the health of the national economy. Her infiltration of the Standard Oil administration, and Rockefeller's seemingly indifference in the face of increasing criticism, after the publication 'The History of the Standard Oil Company' and the landmark antitrust decision by the US Supreme Court in 1911, marked the beginning of the end for this and other monopolies.Rockefeller was tamed, never again to exert such unbridled, unregulated commercial power, and Ida Tarbell became a quality marker in the art of positive investigative journalism.A book deserving a read.

Tremendous.