Awards

• Winner of 2003 Railroad History Award, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.

Overview

Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country's largest railroad system-a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country's first coast-to-coast rail system-a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative ""city within a city"" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland. Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoestring financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-20th-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the ""Vans"" survived through imaginative stubbornness-until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men. ALSO OF INTEREST Cleveland A Concise History, 1796-1996 Second Edition Series - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History Project Carol Poh Miller and Robert Wheeler 0-253-21147-6 PB GBP11.50

Full Product Details

Author:   Herbert H. Harwood, Jr.
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
Imprint:   Indiana University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.848kg
ISBN:  

9780253341631

ISBN 10:   0253341639
Pages:   360
Publication Date:   07 February 2003
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction Oasis in a Gritty City The Ideal Suburb Mr. Smith Sells a Farm Mr. Smith Sells a Railroad Shaping Solid Forms A Difficult Birth at the Public Square The Beginnings of an Empire To the South, East, and North Taking Stock: 1924 A Horseback Ride in the Park Building, Rebuilding, and Juggling Consolidation Anarchy (I): The General and the Bear Consolidation Anarchy (II): The Street Fighter The Summit (I): An Appalachian Peak in the Rockies The Summit (II): Filling Out the Railroad Map The Summit (III): Consummation in Cleveland-and a Jolt Completions and Complications Taking Stock: 1930 Sudden Darkness The Rails Head Downgrade A New World The Cruelest Year The Last Train Epilogue (I): New Empires from Old Epilogue (II): The Ghosts Notes Sources and Acknowledgments Index

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Author Information

Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., has concurrently been a railroad historian, writer, photographer, and working railroader. A history graduate of Princeton University, he received his MBA from Columbia University and then spent 30 years in various management positions at the Chesapeake & Ohio and Baltimore & Ohio and their successor, CSX Transportation. He has written 11 books on railroad and electric railway history.

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