Born in 1857 and raised in oil country, Ida M. Tarbell was one of the first investigative journalists and probably the most influential in her time. Working for McClure'smagazine, Tarbell wrote a series of articles on the Standard Oil trust, a complicated business empire run by John D. Rockefeller. Her articles revealed to the public the underhanded, even illegal dealings that had built Rockefeller's empire and allowed it to prosper. Later termed "muckrakers" in a speech by Theodore Roosevelta term Tarbell dislikedTarbell and her colleagues launched the practice of investigative journalism. Achieving remarkable professional success for a woman of her generation, Tarbell alienated feminists of her day by declining to support the women's suffrage movement, a stance that tarnished her reputation in later decades. This biography is an engrossing portrait of a complex woman, a trail blazer in a man's world. Illustrated with archival photos and prints; includes source notes, bibliography, and index.