Calumet "K" (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

In rough-and-tumble Chicago, honest, idealistic Charlie Bannon finds he needs all his intelligence, drive, and negotiating skills to build a modern grain elevator and a suspension bridge. In his way are greedy stockbrokers and mediocre, shortsighted opponents. Ayn Rand (author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead) called this 1901 book one of her favorite novels.