The First Tycoon

Commodore Vanderbilt presided over the birth of the American steamboat and railway industries, as well as the development of the modern corporation. His long and active life deserves all of the 571 pages Stiles gives him--and the nearly 29 hours Mark Deakins takes to read them. But be forewarned. This is an excellent biography, and the story it tells--of the building of modern America--is never less than compelling. But a steady degree of attention is necessary to follow the many business rivals and associates, competing steam and rail lines, and complicated deals and maneuvers that crowd these pages. Deakins does a first-rate job, and this is a fine production. But larger-than-life stories like these are sometimes clearer and more coherent, and more satisfying as a listening experience, in abridgment. D.A.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine