The Rockefellers

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The Rockefeller Conscience

John Harr and Peter Johnson

John E. Harr, Peter J. Johnson.The Rockefeller Conscience: An American family in public and in private

In The Rockefeller Century (1988), Harr and Johnson paid lengthy if an uncritical tribute to the philanthropies of three successive John D. Rockefellers. Picking up where they left off, the authors now use the career of JDR III as the centerpiece of another prolonged testimonial that advances the family chronicle from the early 1950s, when JDR, Jr., retired, to the 1978 death of his namesake. As before, Harr and Johnson (both former Rockefeller aides) have had exclusive access to private archival sources, plus the cooperation of surviving family members. Once again, however, their labors result in a deadly earnest recital in which JDR III plays second fiddle to his own good intentions, idiosyncratic benefactions, and quotidian routines. Nor do the authors probe their protagonist's apparently complex ties to either his higher-profile brothers (David, Laurence, Nelson, Winthrop) or other kin. Nonetheless, even a shortlist of the worthy causes to which JDR III committed himself and his inherited wealth is impressive. Among other activities, he was a motive force in Asia Society, Colonial Williamsburg, Lincoln Center, and Population Council. While Harr and Johnson provide behind-the-scenes glimpses of how large foundations operate on a workaday basis, of the ways in which trusts can be structured to ensure that future generations remain moneyed, and of what happens when unanticipated economic or fiscal developments leave the genuinely affluent short of cash, they provide more detail than insight. Beyond postulating a sense of stewardship, moreover, the authors largely fail to clarify what factors impelled JDR III (albeit not his siblings) to devote himself to a form of public service. A reckoning not without interest, then, but one that celebrates and commemorates without illuminating its subject.--- Kirkus Review
The Rockefeller Century

John Harr and Peter J. Johnson

John Harr, Peter J. Johnson. The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family

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. - From Publishers Weekly
Random Reminiscences of Men and Events

John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller. Random reminiscences of men and events

In his own words, advice and reflections from the wealthiest man in history.

"Probably in the life of every one there comes a time when he is inclined to go over again the events, great and small, which have made up the incidents of his work and pleasure, and I am tempted to become a garrulous old man, and tell some stories of men and things which have happened in an active life. In some measure I have been associated with the most interesting people our country has produced, especially in business – men who have helped largely to build up the commerce of the United States, and who have made known its products all over the world. These incidents which come to my mind to speak of seemed vitally important to me when they happened, and they still stand out distinctly in my memory.” -John D. Rockefeller
Art at Work: The Chase Manhattan Collection

Walter J. Severinghaus

Walter J. Severinghaus, etc. Art at work : the Chase Manhattan collection

The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection began in 1959 when David Rockefeller, then president of The Chase Manhattan Bank, established the firm's art program and took the lead in the field of corporate art collecting. By integrating artwork with the architecture of new buildings and incorporating an enlightened approach to acquisitions, this forerunner of corporate collections became a model for other companies worldwide. Today it is one of the oldest and largest corporate art collections in the world, focusing on modern and contemporary painting, sculpture, works on paper and photography, which continue to be the portfolio's strength. This core collection is enhanced by a diverse and eclectic range of objects from every country in which JPMorgan Chase does business, offering a unique perspective on the firm's culture. The JPMorgan Chase Art Program oversees more than 30,000 objects in 450 corporate offices around the globe. In addition, the program administers an active museum loan program, originates traveling exhibitions, provides educational programming for internal and external audiences, and supports the firm's global philanthropic and sponsorship activities. JPMorgan Chase & Co. believes that arts and culture are the lifeblood of vibrant communities. We support a range of programs and events that foster creativity, provide access to the arts to underserved audiences, promote self expression and celebrate diversity. -- Text from JPMorgan Chase & Co. website
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art

Lee Boltin

Lee Boltin. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: masterpieces of modern art

"Nelson Rockefeller, as almost everyone knows, was an important collector of contemporary art, whose collection of modern masters was spread out among his various city and country homes.This volume is a picture-book compilation of that collection. It has an introduction by Mr. Rockefeller (written when this book was in its planning stage), an essay by Alfred H. Barr Jr., a preface by Dorothy Canning Miller, and a text by William S. Lieberman. All are brief and to the point - and leave the vast bulk of the book to pictures. These are in color and are excellent, and pretty much cover the entire range of 20th-century modernism from Arp to Warhol, and from the late years of the 19th century to the mid-1970 s.This book is recommended as a supplement to other more definitive studies of modern art." -- Theodore F. Wolff, the Monitor's art critic
John D. The Founding Father of the Rockefellers

David F. Hawke

David E. Hawke. John D. The founding father of the Rockefellers

In this small book, the author traces the rise of John D. Rockefeller from his birth in 1839 through the dissolution of his beloved creation, the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), by the United States Supreme Court in 1911. The book is well written and easy to read, and it offers many interesting insights into the character, work habits, and personality of Rockefeller, traits revealed in his performance as a student in Central High School and Folsom's Commercial College of Cleveland, in his devotion to the Baptist church, and in his relationships with members of his immediate family and his associates in the Standard Oil Company. The book is based largely on the Rockefeller papers in the Rockefeller Archive Center. The material is substantially the same as that used by Allan Nevins in writing his two biographies of Rockefeller. Even so, the author has drawn heavily on many other secondary accounts. The book is well documented, but an unusual method of footnoting is used. In the text, the footnotes are not numbered, but in the notes, the footnotes are numbered consecutively by pages. --PAUL H. GIDDENS
Rockefeller Medicine Men : Medicine and Capitalism in America

E. Richard Brown

E. Richard Brown. Rockefeller medicine men: medicine and capitalism in America

This book tells the hidden story of the financial, political, and institutional manipulations whereby a diverse and eclectic range of healing modalities available to the North American public was summarily pared down to a singular style of medicine that would become the predominant medicine of the Western world and a major force in global medical culture during the 20th century. This was brought about largely by the collaboration of the American Medical Association, the philanthropies of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, and the development of a revolutionary curriculum by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Brown documents the story of how a powerful professional elite gained virtual hegemony in the Western theatre of healing by effectively taking control of the ethos and practice of Western medicine. E. Richard Brown describes how, in 1905, the American Medical Association’s new Council on Medical Education funded by Carnegie and Rockefeller commenced serious activity. They employed the services of Abraham Flexner who proceeded to visit and “assess” every single medical school in the US and Canada. Within a short time of this development, medical schools all around the US began to collapse or consolidate. By 1910, 30 schools had merged, and 21 had closed their doors. Of the 166 medical schools operating in 1904, 133 had survived by 1910, and 104 by 1915. Fifteen years later, only 76 schools of medicine existed in the US. And they all followed the same curriculum. Brown shows how both social and political processes were consciously manipulated by a medical elite acting in concert with immense corporate wealth to create a system of medicine that better served economic and hegemonic intentions than social or humanitarian needs. -- Goodreads review
The Unicorn Tapestries

Margaret B. Freeman

The unicorn tapestries / Margaret B. Freeman, Curator Emeritus, The Cloisters

This publication examines the history and meaning of the seven Unicorn Tapestries that have been on exhibition in the Cloisters since 1938. Freeman also covers every aspect of the tapestries from their production, source models, imagery, symbolism, context, and even offers a scientific discussion of the materials used from minute testing of each of the tapestries.
Rockefeller Power

Myer Kutz

Kutz, M. Rockefeller Power: America's Chosen Family, 1974
John D. Rockefeller: the Cleveland Years

Grace Izant

Grace Izant. John D. Rockefeller: the Cleveland years

Series: Western Reserve Historical Society publication; no. 126.
Twentieth-Century Art From the Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller Collection.

Museum of Modern Art

Twentieth-century art from the Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller Collection
Catalog of the exhibition held May 26 - September 1, 1969 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York Text by William S. Lieberman See MoMA catalog
The Real Rockefeller

Frank Gervaci

Frank Gervaci. The real Rockefeller; the story of the rise, decline and resurgence of the presidential aspirations of Nelson Rockefeller
Creative Management in Banking

David Rockefeller

David Rockefeller. Creative management in banking

Series: Lecture series (McKinsey Foundation for Management Research (New York, N.Y.))
Adventure in Giving

Raymond B. Fosdick

Raymond B. Fosdick. Adventure in giving; the story of the General Education Board, a foundation established by John D. Rockefeller

Written in a vivid style, carefully documented, supplemented by usefull appendixes and an indes, this book is recommended to anyone interested in philanthropy, in education, in a significant phase of recent American history. - H.L.Yochum
The Future of Federalism

Nelson A. Rockefeller

Nelson A. Rockefeller. The future of federalism

Series: Godkin lectures on the essentials of free government and the duties of the citizen
Nelson Rockefeller, A Biography

Joe Alex Morris

Joe Alex Morris. Nelson Rockefeller, a biography

This is a biography which claims to provide the first inside and intimate glimpse of Nelson Rockefeller's family background, schooling, business ventures and political career. Written in a cloying, adulatory tone the author goes to considerable lengths to demonstrate that Nelson Rockefeller has been unspoiled by money, that he is deeply religious, tolerant, ambitious and aggressive though democratic, that he is, in short, a regular fellow, -- as he manifested at Dartmouth, for example, by being ""as sloppy as anyone on campus"". Morris discusses the Rockefeller children's conscientious upbringing, their abstemious way of life; Nelson's marriage to Mary Todhunter Clark -- at which time young Nelson was regarded by Philadelphia's Main Liners as marrying into the Clark family; his early business experiments; his interest in South America and his appointment as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs under FDR; his subsequent career in Washington and in San Francisco during the formation of the U N; the foundation of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and Nelson's campaign for Governor of New York State. In an Appendix the author provides The Rockefeller Viewpoint on the management of government which is brief and sufficiently vague to alienate no one. Morris's book is not the place to look for an objective appraisal of the tentative candidate. Steward Alsop's analysis of Nixon and Rockefeller accomplished much more within more defined limits. -- Kirkus review
A Rockefeller Family Portrait, from John D. to Nelson

William Manchester

William Manchester. A Rockefeller family portrait, from John D. to Nelson

Three members of the Rockefeller family steal the show in this breezy volume: John D., founder of the Rockefeller fortune who, by penny-pinching, luck, financial brilliance, ruthlessness and Standard Oil, made himself in his prime, in 1913, worth nine hundred million dollars; his son John D. II, at 84 still known as "Junior," inheritor with his brothers of vast riches, part founder and chief administrator of the vast Rockefeller philanthropies, a shy, humorous man who has won the admiration of labor; his son Nelson, politician, philanthropist, sportsman, Governor of the State of New York and potential presidential candidate. Of other Rockefellers there are many in the book, all overshadowed by John D.: Big Bill, his father, a raffish cancer-doctor, his pious mother and his equally pious wife, his sons, daughter, grandsons and their wives and families. A remarkable clan, unimpressed by their wealth, they collect art, endow institutions, dislike blatant show, farm and hunt in many countries and through the Rockefeller Foundation send help to the ends of the earth; through Nelson they are dissolving the family sedateness and forgetting the family dislike of publicity. Sometimes repetitious but always readable, this study of one of America's great families is peculiarly timely in view of Nelson's political importance; the book should have a nation-wide appeal and find readers political and non-political, intelligent readers interested in good biography and the social applications of wealth.--Kirkus review
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a Portrait

Raymond B. Fosdick

Raymond B. Fosdick. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a portrait

“Mr. Fosdick has written a biography in its formal meaning — fully documented, chronologically precise — and not simply a personal tribute to a friend of more than forty years’ standing. The book, in consequence, is both biography and history, satisfying all the rigorous canons of personal and social analysis. It is to be read as part of the history of our time and as the record of a man of as much consequence to us as have been those other leaders and creators among his contemporaries who have affected public conduct. What we have here, then, is the narrative of a rich man who overcame the almost impossible handicaps of great wealth, limited religious upbringing, and a narrow and protective family circle. He might have become defensive and suspicious, or a recluse cultivating private and expensive hobbies, or a popular leader and therefore a demagogue (such patterns of the behavior of men of inherited fortunes are familiar throughout history), but instead he was able to grow and to assume great, national obligations. What might have been a puzzle slowly disappears under Mr. Fosdick’s skillful scholarship and his deep regard for his friend. The young Rockefeller (he is called throughout the book ‘JDR Jr.’), as early as 1910, when he was 36, severed his direct connections with business: did he do so because of a real or unconscious rejection of his father? Quite the contrary; father and son early forged strong bonds of mutual affection and respect, but while there never was hostility on the part of the son, neither was there subservience. JDR Jr. continued to support the philanthropies founded by the older man, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the General Education Board, and the Rockefeller Foundation, and to expand them; did he do this because he, like other men in public life — like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Louis D. Brandeis — was inevitably swept up in the ‘reform movement’ of the day? That was only a part, and possibly a minor one, of his development. For as his tastes became surer and his vocation clearer, he ranged wider and wider until his interests were as large as those of his country and his world. As one goes over the catalogue of his benefactions and interests — none ever representing a perfunctory concern, most requiring long years of careful planning with a devotion to exact detail that only the truly outstanding seem to possess — one grasps the sweep and boldness of JDR Jr.’s mind. Williamsburg; the Cloisters; Rockefeller Center; the Museum of Modern Art; the restoration of the Athenian Agora; Rheims, Versailles, Fontainebleau; Negro education; the four International Houses; Jackson Hole and the Jersey Palisades; the Library of the League of Nations at Geneva, and the site of the U.N. at New York; the interdenominational movement; the long battle to achieve industrial understanding in two decades marked by bitter strife between management and labor: this is only a partial list. Mr. Fosdick seeks the key to the Rockefellers in some observations made by Frederick T. Gates, that restless and fascinating man who had such a great influence on the lives of both father and son. In 1905, Gates wrote to the father: ‘Two courses are open to you. One is that you and your children while living should make final disposition of this great fortune in the form of permanent corporate philanthropies for the good of mankind... or at the close of a few lives now in being it must simply pass into the unknown, like some other great fortunes, with unmeasured and perhaps sinister possibilities.’ In 1929, Gates was satisfied, for he put down in a private document these remarks concerning JDR Jr.: ‘I have known no man who entered life more absolutely dominated by his sense of duty, more diligent in the quest of the right path, more eager to follow it at any sacrifice.’” — Louis M. Hacker, The New York Times
Those Rockefeller Brothers

Joe Alex Morris

Joe Alex Morris. Those Rockefeller brothers: an informal biography of five extraordinary young men

A quintuplet biography as the lives and careers of the five sons of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr., are presented, in the best public relations manner. John, III, Nelson, Winthrop, Laurance and David- and how they were brought up, how the Rockefeller name and fortune shaped all their days and how they have arrived at a program for the best use of an accumulated wealth. They are shown to be essentially ""good"" men and very much alive to their responsibility as world citizens. From the grandfather who made money, to a father who gave it away in important philanthropies, to their own widening interests in South America, Japan, etc.--this follows a third generation which is not betraying its trust and which is working at its good intentions of fitting a personal fortune into a modern industrial pattern. Health, housing, agriculture, aviation, national and international problems- all have time, effort, money and intelligence devoted to them while mistakes are added to experience for future concerns and all five brothers, with public service behind them, combine in their interests for projects of betterment. Personal touches throughout keep this from being sheer inventory and for a public which may want a behind the scenes picture of great wealth and its administrators and administration, this will fill in its own wealth of detail. -- Kikus review
Study in Power

Allan Nevins

Nevins, A. Study in Power: John D. Rockefeller, Industrialist and Philanthropist, 1953

Book review