The Territory: Corruption, Reform, and the end of the American Gilded Age

From ruthless robber barons to small-town heroes, this gripping history reveals the true story behind the collapse of the Gilded Age.

On a warm October night in 1905, a respected banker stepped out of his office and into the darkness. Hours later, he would take his own life, leaving behind a handwritten confession and its most devastating line: “Andrews has worked my ruin.” By morning, his bank had collapsed, taking the life savings of thousands of working people with it. Millions vanished. ...