author
Gustavus Myers
1872–1942
A sharp-eyed critic of wealth and power, this American journalist and historian wrote influential studies that challenged comforting stories about how fortunes were made. His work is often linked with the muckraking era, but it stood out for its deeply researched, book-length investigations.
3 Audiobooks
The History of Tammany Hall Second Edition
by Gustavus Myers
History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times
by Gustavus Myers
Great Fortunes from Railroads
by Gustavus Myers
About the author
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Gustavus Myers (1872–1942) was an American journalist and historian known for probing the social costs of wealth accumulation and political corruption. Reliable reference sources describe him as a reform-minded writer whose work was associated with the muckraking era, even though his major studies were more historical and investigative than magazine journalism.
He is especially remembered for books such as History of the Great American Fortunes, which examined how major fortunes were built and protected. His writing had a lasting reputation: the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award was later named in his honor.
Myers wrote with a clear sense that economic power shaped public life in ways many official histories ignored. That mix of research, outrage, and historical detail helped make his work endure for readers interested in inequality, reform, and the hidden machinery of American power.