Henry Flagler : the astonishing life and times of the visionary robber baron who founded Florida /

With an entrepreneurial spirit noteworthy of his immigrant Palatine forebears, Flagler, together with John D. Rockefeller, founded Standard Oil and used his fortune to create the modern state of Florida. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chandler (Criminal Brotherhood, etc.) provides colorful accounts of the early immigrants and the ferment of invention and industry of the mid- and late-1880s to which the Standard Oil empire contributed. After an initial visit to Jacksonville in 1877 because of his first wife's health, Flagler disengaged from the company and at 64 started a second career in Florida as developer of farmland and resort areas, building luxury hotels and railroads which spurred the growth of Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach and other cities. Flagler, an elusive personality, remains an enigmatic figure, however, despite his astonishing life as a visionary robber baron recreated here. Photos not seen by PW. (June 26) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this biography of Flagler (1830-1913), co-founder of Standard Oil with John D. Rockefeller and pioneer in the development of Florida, Chandler provides well-written, more detailed information than has previously been available on Flagler's early years from ages 15 to 40 and on the fate of his Palm Beach house, Whitehall. But while Chandler has done original research in primary sources, he has a disturbing tendency to quote materialat times without citationfrom Sidney Walter Martin's seminal work, Florida's Flagler (1949). Overall, this biography closely resembles Martin's in approach and content. It reads more like a second revised edition than a new book and does little more to illuminate Flagler's motivations or character. Not recommended. Susan Hamburger , Florida State Univ. Lib., Tallahassee (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.