The Rockefeller Century

John Harr, Peter J. Johnson. The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America\u27s Greatest Family Much of this long, adulatory account of the Rockefeller family\u27s philanthropic activity reads like an after-dinner speech. Harr, a vice-president of ABC-TV, was a member of John D. Rockefeller III\u27s 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\u27s motives for funding specific projects, but they do describe a vast array of activities and institutions subsidized by Rockefeller wealthMargaret Sanger\u27s 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. - From Publishers Weeklyhttps://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/the-rockefellers/1000/thumbnail.jp