John Jacob Astor

Hubbard, Elbert, 1856-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 37K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.John Jacob Astor by Elbert HubbardAuthor: Hubbard, Elbert, 1856-1915,Language: English, Class: CT: History: Biography, Release Date: Jan 1, 1996

Editor's review

This is a biographical piece on John Jacob Astor by Elbert Hubbard, short in length and belonging to his type of character portrait. Hubbard is known for an essayistic, aphoristic style; in writing about people he does not emphasize chronological listing of a life but the distillation of character, manner of action, and business judgment. Astor, as a representative figure in the early American fur trade and the accumulation of real estate, has an experience that itself touches on business history, immigration history, and urban expansion. The value of this book lies not in complete historical material but in a portrait with a distinctly authorial attitude, through which readers can observe how Americans in the early twentieth century narrated "business success." It suits light introductory reading in business history and biography, and readers interested in Hubbard's essayistic style. Note that the original is a public-domain English text and the portrait carries the author's subjective coloring; it should not be treated as the sole historical source.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American business history and figures of wealth accumulation
Readers who enjoy essayistic, aphoristic character portraits
Learners who want a light original English introduction to American historical figures

Not a good fit for

Researchers needing rigorous academic biography, complete chronologies, and detailed annotations
Readers expecting systematic business analysis or modern management lessons

Reading tips

First learn about the fur trade and New York real estate background of Astor's time; the main text is then easier to follow.
Separate the book's judgments from Hubbard's own stance, and note what is historical fact and what is commentary.
The text is short; read it through once, then revisit annotations to sort out the author's core views on business character.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a complete biography of Astor?

No. It is closer to a short portrait piece, focusing on distilling character and manner of action rather than a year-by-year, event-by-event full life record. For detailed chronology and source criticism, consult an academic biography alongside it.

What are the features of Hubbard's writing style?

Hubbard often writes about people in an essayistic, aphoristic way, with clear views and concise sentences and obvious personal praise and blame. It is best to treat his judgments as one perspective rather than neutral conclusions; this also lets you appreciate his stylistic features.

Is the original English difficult to read?

The text is short and the sentences are generally not complex, but it carries early twentieth-century usage and the author's personal commentary. Readers with intermediate English reading ability can finish it with a dictionary; the point is to grasp the author's line of commentary rather than read sentence by sentence.

Comments

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About the author

Hubbard, Elbert, 1856-1915 Author

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) was an American writer. Specific details of his life and nationality are limited in publicly available sources, and the library holds 21 of his works. He is best known for the Little Journeys series, which visits the homes of great figures and offers biographical sketches and essays. Representative works in the library include volumes 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 of that series, as well as Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8. These works focus on biography, thought, and historical anecdote, written in a clear, accessible style that combines biographical narrative with the appeal of an essay, suitable for general readers interested in Western cultural figures. Hubbard's writing is known for its brevity and epigrammatic expression, a quality also evident in his travel essays. This introduction is based only on library facts and verifiable public knowledge.