Or the marvelous success of America's self-made men with interesting stories of the lives of the great merchants, capitalists, inventors, lawyers, editors, artists, divines and authors of America. Wealth is not always a synonym of success. Many men whom the world delights to honor, grasped the full glory of glittering success, although they never acquired anything of wealth. The truly successful are those who have achieved the greatest good in their respective callings, whether that success has brought them riches or not.