As seen in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, NPR's Planet Money, Rolling Stone, and Investor's Business Daily! My new book, the first solo biography of Thomas Watson Jr., The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived: Tom Watson Jr. and the Epic Story of How IBM Created the Digital Age, written together with Watson's grandson, is out now.
The reviews are stellar:
BookAuthority names it the Best IBM Company History of All Time and among the Best Tech Company History Books ever!
“A compelling new biography… [The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived] spins the Watsons into near-Shakespearean figures, as if ‘Succession’ were set in the era of ‘Mad Men’.”―The New York Times, Editor's Choice Book
"...a briskly told biography of Thomas J. Watson Jr., IBM’s mid-20th-century CEO, makes clear that the history of the company offers much more than an object lesson about complacent Goliaths. As the book’s co-authors, Watson’s grandson Ralph Watson McElvenny and Marc Wortman, emphasize, IBM was remarkably prescient in making the leap from mechanical to electronic technologies, helping usher in the digital age."―The Atlantic
“The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived, a biography of Thomas Watson Jr. (1914-1993) by Ralph Watson McElvenny and Marc Wortman, is the story of that reluctant son’s successful transformation of IBM into the world’s foremost manufacturer of computers."―Wall Street Journal weekend lead review
“In a swift-moving narrative, the authors make clear that Watson was a man of parts, one of the prime shapers of the modern technological world. A readable and revealing work of business and tech history.”―Kirkus Reviews
“A nuanced portrait of Watson who went on to unexpectedly make business history.… The authors skillfully weave this profile of a recalcitrant heir together with a chronicle of computing in the 20th century. It’s an informative and entertaining study.”―Publishers Weekly
Click here to read the excerpt in Rolling Stone Magazine!
My biography of Admiral Hyman Rickover, Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power, was named the 2023 outstanding military history book of the year by the U.S. Military History Group, a 2022 National Review Online Book of the Year, and the 2022 John Lyman Book Award Honorable Mention from the North American Society for Oceanic History. Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Commander, NATO, and author of 2034, calls it: “A superb and even-handed treatment of a complex, brilliant, and driven admiral who inspired both awe and loathing across the Navy he fundamentally reshaped.”
"Wortman captures this very difficult but essential figure in our military history"―National Review
Wall Street Journal Notable Book for February: "This latest book...is, like Rickover himself, efficient, blunt and clear. Through its pages, Rickover’s cerebral strengths berth comfortably next to glaring deficiencies in the “plays well with others” category. In “Admiral Hyman Rickover,” Mr. Wortman opens a window into the life of an intellectual titan disdainful of nearly everything except scientific honesty, his adopted nation and the power of the atom."―The Wall Street Journal
"Marc Wortman's Fascinating 'Admiral Hyman Rickover,'...a remarkable book about a remarkable person."―Forbes
"Wortman’s account of this feat [development of the nuclear sub], his accessible but detailed description of the science, no matter how one may feel about nuclear power now, is spine-tingling and inspiring. It is simply one of those stories that makes one feel proud to be a human being and proud to be an American."―Gerald Early, The Common Reader
I will be speaking at in-person and virtual events. Check out the Events ahead.
My previous books include 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War; The Millionaires' Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power; and The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta. 1941: Fighting the Shadow War was excerpted by Vanity Fair. The Millionaires' Unit inspired the multi-award-winning feature-length documentary streaming on Prime, Apple+, and other services. You can find my articles in many publications, including Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, and Time. I have also contributed frequently to The Daily Beast on American military and political history and other subjects. The Athletic called my "The Case of the Purloined Books" in Vanity Fair among the best journalism of 2021.
I've spoken to audiences around the country and appeared on CNN, BookTV, NPR, History Channel and many other broadcast outlets. I have taught and lectured at Princeton and Quinnipiac Universities and a college program in a maximum security prison.
For individual orders, support your local bookstores. Go to American Booksellers Association or Indie Bound to find bookstores in your area. Many local bookstores provide an option to buy from them online.
You may also purchase his titles online at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Books-a-Million.com/BAM, Hudson Booksellers.com and Powells.com.
The reviews are stellar:
BookAuthority names it the Best IBM Company History of All Time and among the Best Tech Company History Books ever!
“A compelling new biography… [The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived] spins the Watsons into near-Shakespearean figures, as if ‘Succession’ were set in the era of ‘Mad Men’.”―The New York Times, Editor's Choice Book
"...a briskly told biography of Thomas J. Watson Jr., IBM’s mid-20th-century CEO, makes clear that the history of the company offers much more than an object lesson about complacent Goliaths. As the book’s co-authors, Watson’s grandson Ralph Watson McElvenny and Marc Wortman, emphasize, IBM was remarkably prescient in making the leap from mechanical to electronic technologies, helping usher in the digital age."―The Atlantic
“The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived, a biography of Thomas Watson Jr. (1914-1993) by Ralph Watson McElvenny and Marc Wortman, is the story of that reluctant son’s successful transformation of IBM into the world’s foremost manufacturer of computers."―Wall Street Journal weekend lead review
“In a swift-moving narrative, the authors make clear that Watson was a man of parts, one of the prime shapers of the modern technological world. A readable and revealing work of business and tech history.”―Kirkus Reviews
“A nuanced portrait of Watson who went on to unexpectedly make business history.… The authors skillfully weave this profile of a recalcitrant heir together with a chronicle of computing in the 20th century. It’s an informative and entertaining study.”―Publishers Weekly
Click here to read the excerpt in Rolling Stone Magazine!
My biography of Admiral Hyman Rickover, Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power, was named the 2023 outstanding military history book of the year by the U.S. Military History Group, a 2022 National Review Online Book of the Year, and the 2022 John Lyman Book Award Honorable Mention from the North American Society for Oceanic History. Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Commander, NATO, and author of 2034, calls it: “A superb and even-handed treatment of a complex, brilliant, and driven admiral who inspired both awe and loathing across the Navy he fundamentally reshaped.”
"Wortman captures this very difficult but essential figure in our military history"―National Review
Wall Street Journal Notable Book for February: "This latest book...is, like Rickover himself, efficient, blunt and clear. Through its pages, Rickover’s cerebral strengths berth comfortably next to glaring deficiencies in the “plays well with others” category. In “Admiral Hyman Rickover,” Mr. Wortman opens a window into the life of an intellectual titan disdainful of nearly everything except scientific honesty, his adopted nation and the power of the atom."―The Wall Street Journal
"Marc Wortman's Fascinating 'Admiral Hyman Rickover,'...a remarkable book about a remarkable person."―Forbes
"Wortman’s account of this feat [development of the nuclear sub], his accessible but detailed description of the science, no matter how one may feel about nuclear power now, is spine-tingling and inspiring. It is simply one of those stories that makes one feel proud to be a human being and proud to be an American."―Gerald Early, The Common Reader
I will be speaking at in-person and virtual events. Check out the Events ahead.
My previous books include 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War; The Millionaires' Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power; and The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta. 1941: Fighting the Shadow War was excerpted by Vanity Fair. The Millionaires' Unit inspired the multi-award-winning feature-length documentary streaming on Prime, Apple+, and other services. You can find my articles in many publications, including Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, and Time. I have also contributed frequently to The Daily Beast on American military and political history and other subjects. The Athletic called my "The Case of the Purloined Books" in Vanity Fair among the best journalism of 2021.
I've spoken to audiences around the country and appeared on CNN, BookTV, NPR, History Channel and many other broadcast outlets. I have taught and lectured at Princeton and Quinnipiac Universities and a college program in a maximum security prison.
For individual orders, support your local bookstores. Go to American Booksellers Association or Indie Bound to find bookstores in your area. Many local bookstores provide an option to buy from them online.
You may also purchase his titles online at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Books-a-Million.com/BAM, Hudson Booksellers.com and Powells.com.