Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie is the principal character in this book that chronicles his journey from a poor Scotch immigrant teenager to the richest man in the world. He is born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835, the eldest of two sons born to Will and Margaret. Andrew Carnegie's life and achievements provide proof positive the American dream is real and viable. Carnegies leave their hometown in shame after Great Britain's Industrial Revolution devastates its local economy and a power loom puts Will Carnegie out of business as a hand weaver. Andrew sets sail on July 15, 1848, with his parents and brother Tom for the New World where Margaret's sisters immigrated in 1840.

Andrew works as a bobbin boy in textile mills, which he dislikes, until he gets an office job and studies bookkeeping in night school at fourteen. He gets a job delivering messages for a telegraph company, which is the quickest...