The Merchant of Power Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis

by Wasik, John F.

• ISBN13: 9780230609525
• ISBN10: 023060952X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-23
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

A timely rags-to-riches story, The Merchant of Power recounts how Sam Insull--right hand to Thomas Edison--went on to become one of the richest men in the world, pivotal in the birth of General Electric and instrumental in the creation of the modern metropolis with his invention of the power grid, which still fuels major cities today. John Wasik, awarded the National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, had unprecedented access to Sam Insull's archives, which include private correspondence with Thomas Edison. The extraordinary fall of a man extraordinary for his time is revealed in this cautionary tale about the excesses of corporate power.

Author Biography

John F. Wasik is one of America's most prominent business and finance journalists and the author of nine books on investing. His column for Bloomberg News, the world's third largest news service, is read in more than 400 newspapers worldwide in five continents.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Tireless as the Tides

The Pearl in the Oyster

Crisis & Consolidation

The Wide-Open City

Love & War

A New Kind of Power

All that Jazz

Managing the Spectacle

Attack from All Sides

Abdication & Exile

Facing the Music

In the Fullness of Time

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