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| Book Review | Indiana Magazine of History, 101.3 | The History Cooperative
101.3  
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September, 2005
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Reviews

The Midas of the Wabash
A Biography of John Purdue

By Robert C. Kriebel
(West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2002. Pp. x, 182. Illustrations, appendix, references, index. Clothbound, $14.95.)

John Purdue is best known for his gift that made possible Indiana's land-grant university. But how he actually spent his life as a merchant and American capitalist is told in great detail by Robert C. Kriebel in his 2002 biography, The Midas of the Wabash. Not only does Kriebel detail Purdue's hard work, accomplishments, and public beneficence, but he also reveals his subject's lack of tact, his moodiness, and his notable generosity. 1
      Purdue was a mentor for many young and aspiring businessmen, some of whom were his business partners, others simply young men he bankrolled. He also had a special affinity for children, whom he often treated to candy and ice cream and took on long, chaperoned buggy rides. . . .
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