The Prize

from the age of twelve, Bissell had worked his way through Dartmouth College by teaching and writing articles. (Location 268)

The teamsters’ stranglehold on transportation led to an ingenious effort to develop an alternative—transportation by pipeline. (Location 592)

America’s share of the world export trade in illuminating oil fell from 78 percent in 1888 to 71 percent in 1891, while the Russian share rose from 22 percent to 29 percent. (Location 1262)

Samuel had, however, one serious fault as a businessman. Unlike his rival, Rockefeller, he lacked talent for organization and administration. Where Rockefeller had an instinct for order, Samuel had an addiction to improvisation. For him, organization was an afterthought; he ran everything out of his hat, which made his continuing success all the more astonishing. He was operating, among other things, a large (Location 1433)

The Royal Dutch company was launched in 1890, and the first flotation of its stock was oversubscribed four and a half times. Zijlker was triumphant. Ahead, he could see vindication of the labors of ten years. “What won’t bend must break,” he wrote in a letter. “Throughout the entire exploration, my motto was: whoever is not with me is against me, and I shall treat him accordingly. I know well enough that this motto earns me enemies, but I know also that had I not acted as I did, I should never have accomplished the business.” Those words might well have stood as the epitaph (Location 1507)