A story of a man from humble beginnings, born in Dunfermline, Scotland, who rose to become one of the richest men in the world. Who then retired and tried to give it all away and along the way rubbed shoulders with some of the luminaries of the age. Sometimes comes off as too good to be true but on the face of it a great man. ( )

This was an unexpected find and useful read; despite the age of the book there are hidden gems and universal principles to success to be found within. Admittedly, being an autobiography, it tends to paint a rosy of picture of Mr. Carnegie's life, but still work a read about a pivotal Industrialist and businessman in the 19th century. ( )

Signet Classics brings together Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel of Wealth, which is no more than a 13-page essay, first published in 1889, and The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, which was first published posthumously in 1920, a year after his death. However, it is because of the first that Andrew Carnegie is a household name in the United States, and even many people around the world are familiar with his name.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie is almost a non-fiction equivalent to Theodore Dreiser's The Financier. From very humble beginnings in his native Scotland, the autobiography describes how Carnegie created a business empire, which he successfully sold off in 1901 or $480 million (in 2014 $13.6 billion). Even in his position as an industrial magnate, Carnegie befriended authors and philosophers, such as Mark Twain and Herbert Spencer, while writing and publishing essays and books himself. The autobiography describes how clever business acumen led to ever increasing business success and even apparent misfortune such as the American Civil War could be turned to profit. The red thread throughout the book is the theme and core on which his wealth was built, how as a young boy he would observe the smith forge the steel in his Scottish village, to working in steel works, a progression from railroads to building bridges and the production of steel in the Pittsburgh Steel Works.

Andrew Carnegie is close to the American Dream of rising from rags to riches, as self-made man, close to the legacy of Benjamin Franklin. However, as is pointed out by Gordon Hutner in the introduction, despite his idealism, Carnegie is not entirely frank about his role in the Homestead Strike which threatened his business interests. However, in his later years he devoted his life to charity, showering money to the purpose of creating libraries and universities, thus returning his wealth to society whence it came from. In this sense the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a worthy follower in this tradition.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie was written in and abruptly broken off, to remain unfinished in 1914. It was published after his death in 1920. ( )

I love how his optimism in life really comes through in his writings. He never says anything bad about anyone and always has a positive outlook on things. I think he would have been an enjoyable person to be around. Before reading this book, I assumed he was a stuck-up rich guy (being incredibly wealthy in his lifetime) however, it amazed me how gracious he was and how much he really gave back to the world. This book was written in his spare time over several vacations and follows his life from starting in a poor Scottish town to the end of his life. I always keep this book around when it is rainy or dreary out, and I feel a bit down because Carnegie's cheery temperament always gets rid of my blues. ( )