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The History of the Standard Oil Company

Ida M. Tarbell

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Summary

This briefer edition presents Ida Tarbell’s critical history of Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller’s business practices. Tarbell examines the company’s growth, its dealings with railroads and its efforts to consolidate the oil industry. Her investigation draws on testimony, contracts, public inquiries and accounts from people in the trade. David M. Chalmers edited the shorter text republished by Dover.

  • SourceIda M. Tarbell: The History of the Standard Oil Company · Volume I title page and preface, printed pages vii–ix: scope, sources and Rockefeller testimony
  • SourceNational Institute of Informatics: Dover briefer edition catalog record · ISBN 0486428214 and copyright-page note: Dover 2003 republication of David M. Chalmers’s 1966 briefer version, text reduced and appendices omitted
  • SourceDover licensed description: The History of the Standard Oil Company, Briefer Version · Publisher description and bibliographic information: Courier Corporation 2003, ISBN 9780486428215, 227 pages

Why read it Our view

Read it to examine company growth through a critic’s account of its effects on competitors and the public. Tarbell’s investigation can prompt questions about how a business earns advantages and how its conduct appears to people outside it.

Written about

  • John D. RockefellerHistorical subject
    Tarbell investigates Standard Oil’s development and Rockefeller’s business practices. Her preface identifies testimony from Rockefeller and other company officers among the sources for this critical account.
    Source