Books like The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie

This book was fascinating, inspirational, and incredibly naïve. When Carnegie is telling stories about people and moments that impacted his life, I was enthralled and inspired. He not only shows the value in little moments, but he also embraces the unique value in each person. When Carnegie looks to the future his attitude reflects the reckless optimism of the time. An example of this is how he looks to the Kaiser of Germany to lead the world in establishing peace. He is convinced that world peace will happen and that the emperor of Germany will be the linchpin. But as students of history, we have the hindsight of years and I just wanted to yell at him and say that within 10 years, the first of two bloody wars will show that world peace is nowhere near eminent. While Carnegie is inspirational in his accomplishments, his political and religious views are innocent and dangerous. He is fashionable for the time in his belief that evolution promises improvement of society and that all religions are the same. This, of course, was easy to believe before economic depression, world wars, the rise of radical islam, and oppression in the form of communism all lead to 100 of the most bloody and conflict prone years of human history. Carnegie was a man of his time, a titan of business, an engaging write, and a story teller for the ages, this book shows him at his best and at his most naïve.