Close Modal
Wish List 0 Wish List 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

The Big Rich

The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes

Author Bryan Burrough
Look inside
Paperback
$19.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
5.5"W x 8.4"H x 1.1"D   | 16 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Mar 30, 2010 | 496 Pages | 9780143116820
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
“Full of schadenfreude and speculation—and solid, timely history too.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is a portrait of capitalism as white-knuckle risk taking, yielding fruitful discoveries for the fathers, but only sterile speculation for the sons—a story that resonates with today's economic upheaval.” —Publishers Weekly

“What's not to enjoy about a book full of monstrous egos, unimaginable sums of money, and the punishment of greed and shortsightedness?” —The Economist

Phenomenal reviews and sales greeted the hardcover publication of The Big Rich, New York Times bestselling author Bryan Burrough's spellbinding chronicle of Texas oil. Weaving together the multigenerational sagas of the industry's four wealthiest families, Burrough brings to life the men known in their day as the Big Four: Roy Cullen, H. L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, and Sid Richardson, all swaggering Texas oil tycoons who owned sprawling ranches and mingled with presidents and Hollywood stars. Seamlessly charting their collective rise and fall, The Big Rich is a hugely entertaining account that only a writer with Burrough's abilities-and Texas upbringing-could have written.
“Burrough, with his gifts for both synthesis and lyricism, brings more to the table . . . His set pieces describing the events at Spindletop, the gusher that started it all, and the rise and fall of the wildcatter Glenn McCarthy (the model for Ferber’s Jett Rink) are impeccably rendered, as are the tales of many other fabled characters. Burrough has also done estimable new reporting, showing links between Texas money and national politics that stretch back far earlier than the days of Lyndon B. Johnson . . .” —Mimi Swartz, The New York Times

“Full of schadenfreude and speculation—and solid, timely history too.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Capitalism at its most colorful oozes across the pages of this engrossing study of independent oil men. . . . This is a portrait of capitalism as white-knuckle risk taking, yielding fruitful discoveries for the fathers, but only sterile speculation for the sons—a story that resonates with today's economic upheaval.” —Publishers Weekly

“What's not to enjoy about a book full of monstrous egos, unimaginable sums of money, and the punishment of greed and shortsightedness?” —The Economist
© Amy Pfluger
Bryan Burrough is the author or co-author of seven books, four of them New York Times bestsellers, including the Wall Street classic Barbarians at the Gate and, most recently, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth. A longtime correspondent at Vanity Fair and now editor at large at Texas Monthly, he lives in Austin. View titles by Bryan Burrough

About

“Full of schadenfreude and speculation—and solid, timely history too.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is a portrait of capitalism as white-knuckle risk taking, yielding fruitful discoveries for the fathers, but only sterile speculation for the sons—a story that resonates with today's economic upheaval.” —Publishers Weekly

“What's not to enjoy about a book full of monstrous egos, unimaginable sums of money, and the punishment of greed and shortsightedness?” —The Economist

Phenomenal reviews and sales greeted the hardcover publication of The Big Rich, New York Times bestselling author Bryan Burrough's spellbinding chronicle of Texas oil. Weaving together the multigenerational sagas of the industry's four wealthiest families, Burrough brings to life the men known in their day as the Big Four: Roy Cullen, H. L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, and Sid Richardson, all swaggering Texas oil tycoons who owned sprawling ranches and mingled with presidents and Hollywood stars. Seamlessly charting their collective rise and fall, The Big Rich is a hugely entertaining account that only a writer with Burrough's abilities-and Texas upbringing-could have written.

Praise

“Burrough, with his gifts for both synthesis and lyricism, brings more to the table . . . His set pieces describing the events at Spindletop, the gusher that started it all, and the rise and fall of the wildcatter Glenn McCarthy (the model for Ferber’s Jett Rink) are impeccably rendered, as are the tales of many other fabled characters. Burrough has also done estimable new reporting, showing links between Texas money and national politics that stretch back far earlier than the days of Lyndon B. Johnson . . .” —Mimi Swartz, The New York Times

“Full of schadenfreude and speculation—and solid, timely history too.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Capitalism at its most colorful oozes across the pages of this engrossing study of independent oil men. . . . This is a portrait of capitalism as white-knuckle risk taking, yielding fruitful discoveries for the fathers, but only sterile speculation for the sons—a story that resonates with today's economic upheaval.” —Publishers Weekly

“What's not to enjoy about a book full of monstrous egos, unimaginable sums of money, and the punishment of greed and shortsightedness?” —The Economist

Author

© Amy Pfluger
Bryan Burrough is the author or co-author of seven books, four of them New York Times bestsellers, including the Wall Street classic Barbarians at the Gate and, most recently, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth. A longtime correspondent at Vanity Fair and now editor at large at Texas Monthly, he lives in Austin. View titles by Bryan Burrough

Other Books by this Author

Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use

© 2024 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)