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Title: The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow ISBN: 0671734008 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: March, 1991 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.76
Rating: 5
Summary: The House of Morgan
Comment: Chernow vividly portrays the influence that the Morgan banks have had on the history of the Western economy since the late 18th century. The epic story of the development of the American industrial experience is inextricably related to the history of the Morgan banks. Though this fascinating story is virtually the same as that told by Kathleen Bunk in Morgan Grenfell 1838-1988 ( LJ 12/89), Chernow adds color and personality with an emphasis on the 20th-century development of the bank. Working with recently discovered Morgan archives, he reveals institutional details long hidden by the protective secrecy of the family. This superb history will be an important book. BOMC, Fortune, and History Book Club featured alternates.
Rating: 4
Summary: The King of American banks.
Comment: Chernow excellently portrays our country's most famous banking dynasty from its formation during the early 1800's to the late twentieth century. Throughout the book, readers are entreated with not only the history of the Morgan family but also the transformation of American banking and finance of the past two centuries.
The Morgan history began with Junius Morgan. He was concerned with establishing America's financial credit with European countries, which were very reluctant to lend money to a country that had been recently formed. Their doubts were reinforced when several American states repudiated payment on loans. In his efforts to preserve America's credit worthiness with Great Britain, Junius Morgan created a financial link between the Anglo-Saxon countries that would influence Morgan politics for the next century.
The most famous member of the family was J.P. Morgan, who presided over the bank during the Age of the Robber Barons. During his tenure, the Morgan bank would play the role of lender of last resort for America. Because laissez-faire capitalism was the prevalent practice during this era, only the Morgan bank under the energetic J.P. Morgan possessed the financial and political clout to organize efforts to stop widespread bank failures and catastophic stock declines. Despite being portrayed in the media by Populists as crooked and elitist, the Morgan bank continued to play this important role for the American economy and remained influential nationally even after the creation of the Federal Reserve System.
Although the Morgans were economically powerful, they possessed many human frailties. Many of the Morgan men were reluctant to participate in the family business. Even J.P. Morgan, despite his fame and power, was for most of his life fearful of his father and felt constantly nervous about the imperfections of his nose. Chernow is lauded for depicting the personal lives of the Morgan family.
Despite desperate attempts by the Morgan bank to remain influential and anonymous, the combination of the American public's demand for accountability, its fear of elitist organizations, and the rise of international finance and trade, divided the Morgan bank and forced its successors into such mundane practices as the public listing of its financial records and the offering of common stocks. The abandonment of such traditional practices as the Gentleman Banker's Code culminated in the merger mania of the 1980s, as Morgan Guaranty, Morgan Grenfell, and Morgan Stanley each sometimes assisted one client in acquiring another of its client.
From cooperation to cutthroat competition between bankers, the House of Morgan is filled with triumphs and tragedies of Morgan and American history. It is recommended for every American adult. I am looking forward to reading Titan.
Rating: 5
Summary: A remarkable achievement
Comment: Ron Chernow is arguably the best business historian writing today. His ambitious attempt to tell the story of the famed banking dynasty of J.P Morgan could not have succeeded more brilliantly. Here is a story not of just a bank. It is even more than simply the story of the financial services industry. It is, in fact, the story of the modern era, where everyone from Teddy Roosevelt and Benito Mussolini to Paul Volker and Ivan Boesky figure prominently.
At the heart of this epic is a great paradox: the rise of modern global finance ushered in the demise of the banker. In J.P. Morgan's day, a small group of bankers held sway over giant corporations and the governments of global powers, serving as intimate advisors and self-regulating their industry with a strict but unwritten gentleman banker's code of conduct. The institutions that banks like Morgan created ultimately grew too powerful to control. Whereas once governments and companies were at the mercy of their bankers, today the reverse is true. Chernow tells the story of this transformation in exquisite detail and with admirable clarity.
As interesting and well written as this book is, some may still find it to be a challenge to finish. For those who like to read a few pages before bed every night, you should expect the "House of Morgan" to be on the nightstand for several months. However, if you have the time and commitment, you'll likely find the experience of reading this book to be a worthwhile and fulfilling one.
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Title: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow ISBN: 0679757031 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family by Ron Chernow ISBN: 0679743596 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: September, 1994 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success by Lisa Endlich ISBN: 0684869683 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets, 1798-1848 by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 0140240845 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker 1849-1998 by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 0140286624 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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