You better like history about the elite and rich

Shew! I made it through. Good God I thought I would collapse from listening to these guys telling their own stories via the documented notes and diaries Nomi used. She does a thorough job but it took a while to make it through 100 years of obscene banksterism and collusion between the government and banks. If you don't know this stuff then you need to hear this. If you're like me and know the topic well it's a bit trying to hear but still has good parts.
In the end, prepare yourself for a major collapse of the economic system as we know it. Thank you to big to fail.

17 people found this helpful

The Most Important US History book.

What did you love best about All the Presidents' Bankers?

If you want to truly understand US History, from foreign policy to labor laws, the first place to start is the interactions between the power elite: Wall Street and the White House.

Instead, the vast herds of sheeple rely on mainstream media and mainstream books. Corporate media and corporate publishers will only teach you the political theater, where voters are spectators swallowed up by pre-defined "choices" that have zero impact on the fundamental Economic Politics/Power Structures.

So, one has to look outside. Nomi Prins is amazing at documenting the history of Wall Street. Also recommended:

Matt Taibbi - "Griftopia", "The Divide"... these are great introductions to Wall Street scams and inequality. Very easy and fun read for those that find nonfiction challenging!

David Graeber - "The Democracy Project", "Debt: The First 1000 Years"... Graeber elegantly combines history/anthropology with Economic Politics and philosophy.

Chris Hedges - "Death of the Liberal Class"... amazing war correspondent who starts to escape the political theater and examine Economic Politics/Power Structures.

Michael Hudson - probably the best Economist research professor, wrote the classic "Super Imperialism" in 1972.

Michael Perelman - "The Invention of Capitalism"

Ferdinand Lundberg - legendary journalist who wrote "America's Sixty Families" in 1937.

George Orwell - "Homage to Catalonia"... amazing piece of history, showing how all the status quo power structures (Capitalist Allies, Soviet Communism, and Fascism) were all against the workers revolt in the Spanish Civil War. There really isn't a Left or Right fundamentally: the divide is between Vertical Power Structures (Capitalism, Soviet Communism, Fascism) and Horizontal Power Structures (Democratic Socialism, Anarcho-Syndicalism).

Charles R. Geisst - "Wall Street: A History" - comprehensive analysis on the pinnacle of Capitalism: Wall Street.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It must be a symptom of a sick society when amazing critiques like this remain unread while the working class drowns itself in vapid entertainment, unaware or uncaring of fellow working class families in other countries being oppressed, or the destruction of the planet that we all share. We are better than this!

Any additional comments?

Please keep free thinking alive.

15 people found this helpful

Good big-picture view, not spoiled by the biases

This story, as the title suggests, plays out across a big canvas, with many participants. It does not conceal its general suspicions of the motives of big bankers, but the motives of self-interested big players in a political economy can profitably be viewed through such a prism. It is balanced enough not to cause me revulsion, which I feel at any crazily filered and tilted story in either direction politically. As an avid reader in this area, plenty of useful detail is to be had here. I would combine this listening with the excellent (more conservative) audiobook 'Fragile By Design,' to get a more overall balanced view. The narration is listenable if not great.
I appreciate a good plain overview of such areas as design of the the postwar (WW2) global financial world order, the role of private bankers (whose mixing into the New Deal and WW2 US financial structure is well described) and how it fit with the emerging Cold War. This book is very good at sketching the overall structures taking shape in different eras. And true to the title, we see how the various sales pitches made by presidential candidates became the actual arrangements during each of the presidencies. Certainly such personalities as Morgan's Thomas Lamont were huge influences in the governance of this country, though private actors.

9 people found this helpful

Bankers Control Everything

If you could sum up All the Presidents' Bankers in three words, what would they be?

Disturbing, frustrating and eye opening

What other book might you compare All the Presidents' Bankers to and why?

Any other books on fiances such as Money Masters or how banks control our government

Which scene was your favorite?

I like the beginning when the early crashes of the 20's were talked about and the 2000's when they are doing the exact same thing calling in margin loans and creating recessions and depressions

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire book was eye opening and to see how things really get done in this country.

Any additional comments?

Great book full of great info and well researched. Enjoyed the narrator as well.

4 people found this helpful

Highly Informative...

Cuts through the bull to get to the heart of the matter! Highly recommended read!

1 person found this helpful

The most boring piece of important information evr

What disappointed you about All the Presidents' Bankers?

I had listened to several author interviews before buying the book and was excited about the subject matter and could really hear the enthusiasm in the authors answers and voice. The book does not convey any enthusiasm and the reading is done with no emotion and at an unbearably slow pace. The book is also filled with a ton of information, probably too much, and was organized poorly so it's hard to understand it all without listening to a clip multiple times.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Another book about economics or politics... I'm a bit of a wonk

What didn’t you like about Marguerite Gavin’s performance?

Slow and unenthusiastic.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

a lot of information, probably too much

Any additional comments?

Just listen to a bunch of interviews of the author, you can get the same info in half the time with way more excitement.

6 people found this helpful

Important history

This book is so fascinating and has helped me so much to understand the big picture behind the bailouts of 2008 and the ever increasing power of multinational banks in general. What became clear to me is that the bankers couldn’t have amassed their power without the complicity of bought off members of Congress going back generations. Ironically, that realization made this a hopeful book for me because is acts of Congress granted freedoms for banker recklessness, Congress clearly has the power to take those freedoms away. By examining the mistakes that got us to this precarious place where bankers are more powerful than government- and have so effectively weaseled themselves into it - we can examine specific legislative changes to bring back. I highly recommend this book. I will likely listen to it at least twice

Should Be Required Reading for High School Student

The author has obviously done the research to document incredible fraud and pilfering of the citizens of this country by bankers. The only way to stop this is to educate our voters to understand the horrendous policy decisions by our elected leaders. Every high school student should be required to read this book. If the informed media reporters would also take on these bankers, we could start to change the abuse and hold politicians more accountable. Thank you Nomi for the exceptional literary work!

Great topic!

Easily understandable. Interesting topic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually makes me want to study finance.

Eye opening ....Thank you

Eye opening ...this is just one of the many reasons that I became an Independent!