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.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.