Henry Clay Frick, reviled in his own time, infamous in ours, was blamed for the Johnstown Flood (which killed 2,200 people) as well as the violent Homestead Strike of 1892, and survived an assassination attempt, yet at the same time was an ardent philanthropist, giving more than $100 million during his lifetime and in his will, while insisting on anonymity.

This biography explores the contradictions in this great industrialist's nature and avoids the extremes of both hagiography and denunciation.