Word: du
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Mosley spends less than half the book on the nineteenth century, establishing family traditions of unhappy near-incestuous marriages, cousinly battles over control of the company and a heritage of business genius. In the early years, these characteristics are most clearly embodied in General Henry du Pont, who attempted to banish his brother William from company ranks because of his scandalous romances. General Henry started the company's monopolistic control of the gunpowder industry by promoting the establishment of the Gunpowder Trade Association. Originally a cooperative effort amongst gunpowder manufacturers, the association rapidly became the cover for du Pont...
After General Henry, the most successful director of the company was P.S. du Pont; and it is on P.S. and his cousin Alfred I. du Pont that Mosley focuses the rest of the book. His fascination with these two men is obvious; he reveals their motives and characters as if he knew them. If Mosley were any less meticulous with his and notes you might think he had fabricated scenes in order to create lively portraits...
...company in the family's interest. Mosley details how this proud man was genuinely aggrieved and confounded when a government committee led by Alger Hiss investigated du Pont's World War I activities and accused them of gross profiteering. He simply could not fathom the criticism. In his mind had it not been for du Pont's efforts, the allies would not have had enough gunpowder...
...book is a catalogue of these arrogant viewpoints and dealings. The du Ponts' lifestyles and attitudes are startling anachronisms, for when the family crossed the Atlantic they brought with them the values of Louis XIV. From the start of their business in the United States the du Ponts viewed themselves as privileged individuals, and Blood Relations is the absorbing account of the two hundred years they flaunted their self-declared superiority...
...quite a few leaders of the class of the '70s are about to make their valedictory. "We are all getting close to retirement age," says Shapiro, 63, who in 15 months has to leave the chairmanship of Du Pont, the chemicals colossus. "It will be a challenge for companies to produce the same kind of group in the 1980s...