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Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
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Sales rank 560,467
Customers rating (based on 20 reviews)
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The name Hershey evokes many things: chocolate bars, the company town in Pennsylvania, one of America's most recognizable brands. But who was the man behind the name? In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day. Hershey, the son of a minister's daughter and an irresponsible father who deserted the family, began his career inauspiciously when the two candy shops he opened both went bankrupt. Undeterred, he started the Lancaster Caramel Company, which brought him success at last. Eventually he sold his caramel operation and went on to perfect the production process of chocolate to create a stable, consistent bar with a long shelf life...and an American icon was born. Hershey was more than a successful businessman -- he was a progressive thinker who believed in capitalism as a means to higher goals. He built the world's largest chocolate factory and a utopian village for his workers on a large tract of land in rural Pennsylvania, and used his own fortune to keep his workers employed during the Great Depression. In addition, he secretly willed his fortune to a boys' school and orphanage, both of which now control a vast endowment. Extensively researched and vividly written, Hershey is the fascinating story of this uniquely American visionary.
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| Publisher | Simon & Schuster | | Release date | 01/2006 | | Availability | | | Edition | Hardcover |
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 Fair and interesting, but not quite specific enough at times
A fair, balanced, sympathetic look at a remarkable man. I found this book, overall, to be very lively and interesting.
The only shortcoming in this book, I think, is the lack of detail in some portions of Hershey's life. At times, years are glossed over with a statement or two about Hershey's general attitude or behavior during that period. At other times, the book feels like it is a little more about the Hershey company's history than Hershey himself.
Yet those times are few. And since Hershey was a very private man, overall, and his public face was highly sanitized in some ways, I can understand that parts of his life or history must be very hard to figure out. Nevertheless, there were several times that I really yearned for more detail, or evidence to back up the author's broad statements. At times it felt like it jumped from anecdote to anecdote, with not enough in between.
Despite that, the majority of this book is fairly detailed, but not in a boring, pedantic way. Definitely worth reading if interested at all in the company, entrepreneurship, or the history of this time period.
Sidenote: Kindle formatting is great, no problems.
 Great addition to the literature on Hershey
The life and legacy of Milton Hershey is one of the more intriguing stories in American business and history. The debates of ruthless business man or utopian planer are debated frequently and this book does an excellent job of putting it in perspective. It is light and well written allowing easy access to the story of Milton Hershey and his legacies including his town, his company and his favorite, the Milton Hershey School for Boys. I have to agree with the other reviewers in echoing that this is an unbiased and critical account of Hershey's life. The author finds fault when there is fault and puts his success into perspective showing how Hershey set the tone for the progressive businessman. For those who are looking for a purely corporate history this book is not for you (try Emperors of Chocolate). This book is about the Hershey family and the candy company they built along with the town. As a frequent visitor to Hershey I found the history of the town to be fascinating. Overall well worth the time to read.
very interesting biography
This is a very interesting book about Milton Hershey's life. I read this book around the time the residents of Hershey were upset about the prospect of the candy company being sold to one of the other big candy makers. It helped me, as a resident of the local area, to have more appreciation for "all things Hershey". It's exciting to think of a man building this company from the ground up and to imagine what life was like when it was happening. The book also helped me to appreciate the fact that Milton Hershey's REAL passion was helping the children in the Milton Hershey School, and if he were alive today (I believe that) he would have seriously considered selling the candy company as well. Sorry, I know that wouldn't sound good to the residents of Hershey, but there was a time in his life when he nearly did sell the company.
Another point of interest for me is the fact that a lot of the candy making has been moved to Mexico. That was a big disappointment for me. However, when I think about Milton Hershey and his business dealings in Cuba, even he may have considered this option if he were here today. The world has changed a great deal from when he was just getting started.
The Great American Chocolate Book
The only thing I really knew before reading this book is that Hershey chocolate has been around a long time and there is a town themed after it somewhere in Pennsylvania near Amish country. Boy was I undereducated in this realm.
Milton S. Hershey or M.S. as he was later known was the epitomy and poster-boy for American capitalism at it's grandest hour. Starting off as an apprentice to a Confectioner he was able to start learning the tricks of the trade. He found his life's calling and tried his hand at a few candy businesses primarily focusing on caramel chews. At this time in America, chocolate was not like the chocolate we have today (which is due almost entirely to M.S.) it was a rough texture that wasn't that tasty. The only people in the world that understood how and mastered the making of milk chocolate at the time was the Swiss and they guarded their secret with a passion. Eventually, after a few failed attempts at businesses in both Philadelphia and New York, he returned to his home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was then that he started experimenting with trying to master milk chocolate. In fact after he had begun construction on his new factory in what would be known as the Town of Hershey, he still had not gotten it right, he was experimenting with a chemist up until the time the factory was completed when he got it right.
The book is wonderfully written, It makes you really take a step back and think about not only the history of Hershey, but America itself. A time when companies and products were an explosion onto the American scene more than any other time in our Country's history. The book also takes a very intricate look at Hershey and his drive to support the Orphans that were taken in by Hershey's Industrial School, that, on paper own the Hershey company which has been a major issue over the years.
I was so enthralled by this book that I am going to be picking up another book on the same industry called "The Emperor's of Chocolate" about the wars between Hershey and the Mars Candy Company. If you are looking for a great read and knowledge of corporate American history this is a wonderful book to read.
Hershey:, the legend and the man
Michael D'Antonio has given us a serious biography of a complicated, but highly admirable, man. A "chocolate king" who founded a town and created and endowed schools and home for orphans is not a figure to be treated lightly, and D'Antonio does not fail. While there is no question that D'Antonio likes his subject, Hershey is not given a free pass. His enormous philanthropy is described right alongside irrational temper tantrums and firings. Spying on worker's drinking habits is described alongside his own gambling habits. The rise of the Hersey empire, and the town he founded, is described in great detail. The book opens with the drama of a challenge to the Trust of his school for orphans and the reality of business in this day and age. "What would Milton do?" is the question. What the book tells us is that it is by no means certain what Milton would do. He had contemplated selling his empire at more than one point, ensuring the resources for the continued care of the orphans in his charge. We see the rise and life of the Hershey empire, and Milton's relationships with others. The possibility of the true nature of his wife's illness is mentioned and described. Some have been offended by this, I'd suggest they get over it. It has no bearing on what type of person she was, or how much he loved her. We see the evolution of the business, the international interests, the town and school. It is a satisfying read. The only additional material I would have liked is some more description of Hershey's interactions with some of the other business and political leaders of the day. We are told of a feud with Wrigley, and the suspicion that Wrigley had cheated in gambling, but little else. We know of TR's trust busting, and that Hershey was considered to be quite apart from the Robber Barons of the day. Did TR and Hershey ever interact beyond the one or two mentioned invitations? If so, how? This historical information may not exist in the archives, but was the only gap I felt while reading.
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