The History of the Standard Oil Company the power of the press. As such, "The History of Standard Oil Company" harbors great significance as a standard-bearer of modern investigative journalism. In his 2008 book "Taking on the trust : the epic battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller", Steve Weinberg described "The History of the Standard Oil Company" as "arguably the greatest work of investigative journalism ever written". The History of the Standard Oil Company The History of the Standard Oil Company is a 1904 book by journalist Ida Tarbell. It is an exposé about the Standard Oil Company, run at the time by oil tycoon
Standard Oil company to hold shares in other companies in any state. So, in 1899, the Standard Oil Trust, based at 26 Broadway in New York, was legally reborn as a holding company, the "Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey" (SOCNJ), which held stock in 41 other companies, which controlled other companies, which in turn controlled yet other companies. According to Daniel Yergin in his Pulitzer Prize-winning "" (1990), this conglomerate was seen by the public as all-pervasive, controlled by a select group of directors, and completely unaccountable. In 1904, Standard controlled 91 percent of production and 85 percent of final sales.