The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family

Access to confidential Rockefeller pages and interviews with family members provide details and anecdotes for a full-scale account of the lives, activities, and fortunes of John D., John D., Jr., and John D. Rockefeller III

Much of this long, adulatory account of the Rockefeller family's philanthropic activity reads like an after-dinner speech. Harr, a vice-president of ABC-TV, was a member of John D. Rockefeller III's staff for over a decade, and historian Johnson is identified here as "a Rockefeller family associate." Their narrative focuses on three Rockefellers: John D. "Senior" (1839-1937), who created Standard Oil; his only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960), who overcame a domineering father and renounced business pursuits to devote himself to philanthropy; and his eldest son, JDR III (1906-78), who has been overshadowed by his more famous brothers. The authors do not delve deeply into the trio's motives for funding specific projects, but they do describe a vast array of activities and institutions subsidized by Rockefeller wealthMargaret Sanger's birth-control research, the training of Chinese doctors, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, population control and the development of the Manhattan theater complex Lincoln Center, to name a few.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.