An updated edition of the 1965 biography
Cyrus S. Eaton was born on December 27, 1883, in the quiet Nova Scotian
village of Pugwash. He often visited Cleveland, Ohio, spending summer
vacations from college with his uncle and was employed in 1905 by his
first teacher, John D. Rockefeller Sr., as a clerk and troubleshooter
for the East Ohio Gas company, one of the Midwest's major utilities in
which Rockefeller had an interest. Eaton became a U.S. citizen in 1913
and passed away at age ninety-five on May 9, 1979.
An unpredictable financier and industrialist, Cyrus Eaton invested
widely, earned millions, lost it all during the Depression, and then
regained his fortune after World War II. He earned a reputation as a
"steel-tough man of finance" and was the target of abuse from those who
claimed his manipulations had caused them financial damage. Marcus
Gleisser's updated biography of Eaton brings into focus many events in
the life of this controversial figure: his strong support of labor; his
friendships with John L. Lewis, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, and
other leaders of the former USSR; and his interest and participation in
the American political arena, especially his campaign for peace that
culminated in the Nobel Prize-winning Pugwash Conference.
The World of Cyrus Eaton addresses the man and the part he played in
some of the controversial events and issues of the twentieth century. It
includes a new Foreword, Preface, and final chapter.
