Oscar Hammerstein I came to New York in the 1860s, a Prussian runaway with a $1.50 his pocket, and found work at a cigar factory. A decade later he was publishing the nation's leading tobacco trade journal and eventually held dozens of patents for cigar-rolling machinery of his own design. He made a fortune and turned his efforts to theater.

He built eight of them, including four in Longacre Square--later Times Square--which became a flourishing theater district. Not interested in merely owning theaters, he was a passionate impresario, intimately involved in producing and promoting shows, scouting and booking talent, writing music and librettos and overseeing costumes and stagecraft. Throughout the Gay Nineties and early 20th century, the greatest performers in the world, from opera prima donnas to top vaudeville acts, were billed at his houses.

This biography--from an unpublished manuscript by the son of one of Hammerstein's stage managers--recounts the spirited heyday of Hammerstein's daring and masterful productions, his often tempestuous relationships with associates, and the birth of Broadway.