The History of the Standard Oil Company - Paperback

by Ida Tarbell (Author), Elizabeth Catte (Introduction by)

The classic of muckraking journalism that exposed the inner workings of a Gilded Age business empire--with a new introduction by Elizabeth Catte.

Cleveland oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1870. Over the next four decades, he turned the business into a behemoth, systematically driving his competitors out of business or buying them outright. His vast fortune made him one of the nation's most powerful men.

But his private empire was nearly undone by the tireless journalism of a single, determined woman, Ida Tarbell. Originally published in 1904, The History of the Standard Oil Company exposed Rockefeller's monopolistic tactics, eventually resulting in the company's dismantling in 1911. More than simply a monumental piece of reporting; it is a deft, engrossing portrait of business in America--both its virtues and excesses.

Author Biography

Ida Tarbell was an award-winning journalist during the Progressive Era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the period, exposing social and cultural ills and advocating for change. Born in an oil-rich town in Western Pennsylvania in 1857, she traveled the world in pursuit of new stories and interesting subjects. She died on her farm in Connecticut in 1944.

Elizabeth Catte is a writer and historian from East Tennessee. She holds a PhD in public history from Middle Tennessee State University and is the co-owner of Passel, a historical consulting and development company. She is the author of What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia. She lives in Staunton, Virginia.