Commodore: the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

Moravians -- Stapleton -- Profitable war -- Marriage -- Economic man -- Mr. Ogden and Mr. Gibbons -- Mouse and Bellona -- Proud fugitive -- Gibbons vs. Ogden -- Union line man -- Blackmail on the Hudson -- The sound ... and beyond -- Of an old Dutch root -- Matters familial and social -- Southern route -- A finer head than Webster's -- I'll ruin you -- Atlantic crossing -- The specious name of enterprise -- Harlem corners -- Hudson River & New York Central -- The Vanderbilt bronze -- Frank -- Against the world -- Epilogue: Tombs.;Armed with a trove of previously unreleased archives, Edward J. Renehan Jr. offers a compelling portrait of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who built large shipping and rail enterprises into cornerstones of the American economy, and amassed one of the greatest fortunes the world has ever known. This is the definitive biography of a man whose influence on American business was unsurpassed in his day--or any other.