The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth

by Andrew Carnegie

Book Overview

The enlightening memoir of the industrialist as famous for his philanthropy as for his fortune. His good friend Mark Twain dubbed him "St. Andrew." British Prime Minister William Gladstone called him an "example" for the wealthy. Such terms seldom apply to multimillionaires. But Andrew Carnegie was no run-of-the-mill steel magnate. At age 13 and full of dreams, he sailed from his native Dunfermline, Scotland, to America. The story of his success begins...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451530381
• ISBN13: 9780451530387
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.3" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Masterpiece

This book is an American classic. The rise of Andrew Carnegie is an amazing story that everybody can learn from. That's really all I can say about this masterpeice, it's so good I can't desbribe it, you will just have to read it to understand what i'm talking about.

Very Inspiring...

I've recently read a very inspiring book titled, "The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and his essay The Gospel of Wealth. Reading this was like stepping back into time as it was all written by Andrew himself in his private diaries around 100 - 150 years ago. Compelling work of history, family, business and ethics all combined into one 336 page book. I find it pretty humbling to find out that he was once the second riches man in the country, only to give away his entire fortune to charities at the end of his life and after his passing on. This man made fortunes then proceeded to give away most of his $350,000,000 in wealth. He opened thousands of libraries, music halls and parks for the public to enjoy. These were great feats in his time as there were not many libraries around 150 years ago. Nowadays of course you can find one in most every town and city in developed countries. His philosophies on creating the best products, providing outstanding customer service and doing business with partners is really insiteful to read. Pretty amazing to think he started out at $1.20 a week as a teen to go on to amass one of the largest fortunes in America in his time.

From Bobbin-Boy to Billionaire

Andrew Carnegie was a man of deadly focus, superhuman energy, and fierce intelligence. Lay down the book and you can hear his steady voice, setting forth in spare, lucid prose the studied steps and happy fortuities by which he reached his pinnacle, driven by dogged industry, breathless ambition, native wit, daring and innovation. We watch over his shoulder, as he builds his empire, one brick at a time, his magical ascent seemingly guided by the hand of providence. As we succumb to the charisma of the man himself, we get a growing feeling of invincibility, of an age when genius might always be turned into gold. Difficulties, obstacles, conundrums--problems that would fell the ordinary mortal--all seemed to vanish at his touch. The story is inspiring, humbling, and totally consuming. I could not put it down.

Manufacturing Quality

"The surest foundation of a manufacturing concern is quality. After that, and a long way after, comes cost" (Andrew Carnegie. \\ Should be required reading for anyone going into business. Unfortunately, too many American manufacturers, in general, have forgotten Andy's advice. Had the CEOs in Detroit followed his principle, they would have never been surpassed by Toyota and I would be driving an American car instead of a Lexus hybrid. Larry Pisoni President of Gourmet Italia

Great Lessons for the budding Entrepreneur

Andrew Carnegie played the game of life to perfection, which is how he ended up the richest man in the world. He had so much amazing wisdom. He made very wise choices starting from the earliest age up to the end of his life. Many people gain some wisdom as they grow older, but what's even more amazing about Andrew Carnegie is that he was wise even as a child and a teenager. Perhaps his parents and other elders taught him very well. It seems like Carnegie always made the best and wisest business decisions. The few times something went wrong, it wasn't his fault and it didn't set him back much. Lately I've been learning a lot about business, marketing, and success. I've gotten a lot of great advice about success. And when I read Carnegie's book, I got to see all these success principles in action. Carnegie's life is full of great examples of what you should do to be successful as a person and as a businessman. I've seen some claims that he was just another ruthless robber barron, but I think that is a very unfair depiction. I think he did a great job of leading the steel industry and making sure that it took advantage of the most advanced technology available at the time and did things on the most efficient and secure basis. He had a great ability to get along with people and I believe he did treat people very fairly. And by the time he died, he had given away 90% of his fortune to benefit the world through education, culture, etc. I think that is a large piece of evidence showing that he was a well-intentioned, good-hearted person.