Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

What was the role of religion in Rockefeller’s life?

How and why did Rockefeller’s public image change over the years?

How did his dysfunctional relationship with his father, William Avery Rockefeller, help shape the course of Rockefeller’s life?

What role does John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (“Junior”) play in Titan? How does Junior’s relationship with Rockefeller compare to Rockefeller’s relationship with his own father?

What role did the Rockefeller women—mother Eliza, wife Cettie, daughters Bessie, Alta, and Edith—play in Rockefeller’s life? How were their life experiences broadly similar? How were they different?

Of all the secondary figures in Titan, i.e., those who are not blood relatives of Rockefeller, the two whom Chernow seems to admire most are Frederick T. Gates and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (Junior’s wife). Why?

The only public figure who succeeded in rattling Rockefeller’s legendary steel nerves was the journalist Ida Minerva Tarbell. How does Chernow assess Tarbell’s arguments and her/their impact on Rockefeller’s life?

How would you describe Chernow’s overall assessment of Rockefeller as both businessman and philanthropist? Compare his treatment with the work of Tarbell—how does each handle the conflict between advocacy (or partiality) and objective assessment?