Listen free for 30 days
-
The House of Morgan
- An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Professionals & Academics
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £36.69
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
-
The Unknown Man
- By James Gorman on 07-07-14
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Scottish-born son of a failed weaver and a mother who supported the family by binding shoes, Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. In his rise from a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory to being the richest man in the world, he was single-minded, relentless and a major player in some of the most violent and notorious labor strikes of the time. The prototype of today's billionaire, he was a visionary in the way he earned his money and in the way he gave it away.
-
-
Excellent biography
- By Mister Peridot on 01-12-17
-
The Bond King
- How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All
- By: Mary Childs
- Narrated by: Mary Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school. The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino.
-
The Last Tycoons
- The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co.
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 32 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were the weapons of choice at Wall Street investment bank Lazard Frères & Co. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started getting in the way, and the Great Men of Lazard jeopardized all they had built.
-
The Rothschilds
- A Family Portrait
- By: Frederic Morton
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No family in the past two centuries has been as constantly at the center of Europe's great events, has featured such varied and spectacular personalities, has had anything close to the wealth of the Rothschilds. To this day they remain one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the world. In Frederic Morton's classic tale, the family is brought vividly to life.
-
-
How brilliant they all are!!
- By shane o'hare on 12-01-20
-
The Price of Time
- The Real Story of Interest
- By: Edward Chancellor
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Price of Time, Edward Chancellor traces the history of interest from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, through debates about usury in Restoration Britain and John Law's ill-fated Mississippi scheme, to the global credit booms of the twenty-first century. We generally assume that high interest rates are harmful, but Chancellor argues that, whenever money is too easy, financial markets become unstable. He takes the story to the present day, when interest rates have sunk lower than at any time in the five millennia since they were first recorded.
-
-
Fascinating and clearly explained
- By Spotty on 06-08-22
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
-
The Unknown Man
- By James Gorman on 07-07-14
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Scottish-born son of a failed weaver and a mother who supported the family by binding shoes, Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. In his rise from a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory to being the richest man in the world, he was single-minded, relentless and a major player in some of the most violent and notorious labor strikes of the time. The prototype of today's billionaire, he was a visionary in the way he earned his money and in the way he gave it away.
-
-
Excellent biography
- By Mister Peridot on 01-12-17
-
The Bond King
- How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All
- By: Mary Childs
- Narrated by: Mary Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school. The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino.
-
The Last Tycoons
- The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co.
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 32 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were the weapons of choice at Wall Street investment bank Lazard Frères & Co. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started getting in the way, and the Great Men of Lazard jeopardized all they had built.
-
The Rothschilds
- A Family Portrait
- By: Frederic Morton
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No family in the past two centuries has been as constantly at the center of Europe's great events, has featured such varied and spectacular personalities, has had anything close to the wealth of the Rothschilds. To this day they remain one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the world. In Frederic Morton's classic tale, the family is brought vividly to life.
-
-
How brilliant they all are!!
- By shane o'hare on 12-01-20
-
The Price of Time
- The Real Story of Interest
- By: Edward Chancellor
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Price of Time, Edward Chancellor traces the history of interest from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, through debates about usury in Restoration Britain and John Law's ill-fated Mississippi scheme, to the global credit booms of the twenty-first century. We generally assume that high interest rates are harmful, but Chancellor argues that, whenever money is too easy, financial markets become unstable. He takes the story to the present day, when interest rates have sunk lower than at any time in the five millennia since they were first recorded.
-
-
Fascinating and clearly explained
- By Spotty on 06-08-22
-
Against the Gods
- The Remarkable Story of Risk
- By: Peter L. Bernstein
- Narrated by: Mike Fraser
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. This brand new audio edition of Bernstein's classic work is masterfully narrated by Mike Fraser.
-
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 24 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us - an ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings. In best-selling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. In Benjamin Franklin, Isaacson shows how Franklin defines both his own time and ours. The most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Maddy on 26-03-13
-
Alexander Hamilton
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander Hamilton was an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean who overcame all the odds to become George Washington's aide-de-camp and the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. Few figures in American history are more controversial. In this masterful work, Chernow shows how the political and economic power of America today is the result of Hamilton's willingness to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time.
-
-
An amazing life
- By Kirstine on 09-08-18
-
The Dealmaker
- Lessons from a Life in Private Equity
- By: Guy Hands
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd, Guy Hands - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur. It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy.
-
-
Comes across as a bit of a T****r
- By Steve on 11-11-21
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
-
-
Brilliantly read.
- By Jazz on 27-06-21
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very Good
- By Moriarty on 14-08-17
-
The Power Law
- Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption
- By: Sebastian Mallaby
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is no exaggeration to say that venture capital has been central to the greatest legal creation of wealth anywhere and has enabled much of the world we live in, yet we know surprisingly little about this strange tribe of financiers. In The Power Law, Sebastian Mallaby turns his unprecedented access to the industry's central players into a riveting, character-driven account of venture capital and the world it has made.
-
-
Its just betting, but with $Millions
- By Chris on 18-07-22
-
The Snowball
- Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
- By: Alice Schroeder
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Snowball is the most fascinating financial success story of our time. Warren Buffett, the legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but finally has given Alice Schroeder unprecedented access to him and all those closest to his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies and wisdom. The result is this personally revealing and complete biography of 'The Oracle of Omaha', indispensable reading for those who wish to know the man behind the outstanding achievements.
-
-
Sounds like Siri is narrating it
- By MR G DU-FEU on 19-05-19
-
The World for Sale
- Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
- By: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.
-
-
Excellent piece of business journalism
- By KdL on 17-11-21
-
Keeping at It
- The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government
- By: Paul A. Volcker, Christine Harper
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979-1987), Paul Volcker slayed the inflation dragon that was consuming the American economy and restored the world's faith in central bankers. That extraordinary feat was just one pivotal episode in a decades-long career serving six presidents. Told with wit, humor, and down-to-earth erudition, the narrative of Volcker's career illuminates the changes that have taken place in American life, government, and the economy since World War II.
-
-
my deepest salute!
- By Matt on 25-10-20
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in over 30 years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopaedia. So that's what this book is. An advice encyclopaedia. A mentor in a box. Build is full of personal stories, practical advice and fascinating insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.
-
-
Whatever you want to build - read this book!
- By blair kirkpatrick on 30-07-22
-
Money Men
- A Hot Startup, a Billion Dollar Fraud, a Fight for the Truth
- By: Dan McCrum
- Narrated by: Dan McCrum
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When investigative journalist Dan McCrum first came across Wirecard, the hot new tech company that looked poised to challenge Silicon Valley, it all looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up all over the world, and they were reporting runaway growth. In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market. As McCrum began to dig deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more compelling than he could have imagined.
-
-
Incredible story, but not told well
- By andrew on 04-08-22
Summary
Winner of the National Book Award and now considered a classic, The House of Morgan is the most ambitious history ever written about an American banking dynasty. Acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal as "brilliantly researched and written", the book tells the rich, panoramic story of four generations of Morgans and the powerful, secretive firms they spawned. It is the definitive account of the rise of the modern financial world. A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece, a compelling account of a remarkable institution and the men who ran it, and an essential book for understanding the money and power behind the major historical events of the last 150 years.
More from the same
What listeners say about The House of Morgan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AVg
- 24-07-15
understanding is the first step
If you could sum up The House of Morgan in three words, what would they be?
Biographical, in-depth & involving
What other book might you compare The House of Morgan to, and why?
Can't think of another. This wasn't run of the mill. It has history, personalities, thought and regulatory evolution, case studies and Morgan amidst world events shaping being shaped in turn.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. Gholam
- 10-04-14
This is a VERY long read
Would you try another book written by Ron Chernow or narrated by Robertson Dean?
If the subject matter was interesting to me
Who was your favorite character and why?
n/a
What three words best describe Robertson Dean’s performance?
Appropriate, clear, correct
If this book were a film would you go see it?
No
Any additional comments?
This is a VERY long read. Fortunately the subject matter was fascinating, but it was a lot to get through. I normally prefer unabridged books, but I felt every mile of the marathon read when I finished it.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- gareth hughes
- 17-06-21
Excellent history of finance
Detailed and laboured in parts but a thorough history of finance through the lens of the JP Morgan institutions. Povides context and perspective for modern day banking business activities. Also provides a good view of how finance was an influencing factor in key historical moments over the last 150 years.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Emily
- 07-04-21
Very detailed
2021 52 Book Challenge 46) Winner of the National Book Award - Any Year
This is a book that I've wanted to read for a number of years, and I should have purchased it in a physical format because Chernow writes in such depth and detail that I found it very difficult to remember and retain information without being able to flip back and double check.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- xyz
- 12-02-19
It tells the story.
Well written. nothing special though. 30 hours is a bit long but then again it's a long story. it shines some light on the house of Morgan but there isn't really any knowledge gained from reading it, just information.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 10-09-17
monotonous read
all round good narrative but very very monotonous voice. the narrator did the best he could...
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Darwin8u
- 22-10-18
The construction of the House of Morgan
"Never before in the history of the world has there been such a powerful central control over finance, industrial production, credit, and wages as it is at this time vested in the Morgan group."
- Former Republican Chairman, quoted in Fortune, August 1933.
Ron Chernow's first financial biography/history is large It is 720 pages, plus notes/etc., and spans 1938 - 1989. It started off strong. Part I: The Baronial Age (1838-1913) is focused on the MEN, namely George Peabody, Junius Spencer Morgan, and J. Pierpont Morgan. The banks were simply extensions of the men. This section was 5-stars. It was fascinating. Part II: The Diplomatic Age (1913 - 1948) is focused on the bank(s). It begins with J.P. Morgan's death follows the House of Morgan through the war years (with "Jack" Morgan shepherding). Towards the end, with Glass-Steagal, the House of Morgan breaks into three major entities: Morgan Grenfell (already separate, English), Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking), and J.P. Morgan & Co. For me this was 4-stars. Part III: The Casino Age (1948-1989) explored the explosion of banking activity post war, the focus on M&A, and the loss of stature of the House of Morgan, both as it lost power and prestige. The book ends before J.P. Morgan was bought by Chase in 1990 (the book was published in 1990). This part was interesting, but like a shotgun, the further from Pierpont you get, the more diffuse the narrative. Eventually, there just seemed too much (too many actors, too many scandals, too many narrative threads). This part probably desereves 3-stars.
All in all, I liked the book. It showed Chernow's early talent for financial storytelling and gift for capturing historical characters. For me, the most valuable part of this book (besides the information on Pierpont) was the information on the other major partners that played a big roll during the wars, and Morgan's relationships with various 19th and 20th century figures (financial, cultural, political). I was fascinated by the deep relationship the House of Morgan had with fascist Italy, ultranationalist Japan, Germany, and the Vatican. I was entranced by Tom Lamont, Monty Norman, Russell Leffingwell, etc. The book was worth the effort just to learn about these other Morgan men.
Chernow writes primarily about banking families and American biographies:
Chernow's Banking Dynasties:
1. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. - ★★★★
2. The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance - ★★★★
3. The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family - ★★★★
Chernow's American Political Biographies:
1. Alexander Hamilton - ★★★★★
2. Washington: A Life - ★★★★★
3. Grant - ★★★★★
Upon reviewing my reviews, I'm convinced Chernow does slightly better at writing histories of individuals rather than families; politics rather than finance. However, I should note, I've enjoyed ALL of his books and he's a master at his craft.
34 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- S. Yates
- 01-06-17
Chernow's first book as good as his later ones
Any additional comments?
4.5 stars. This is Chernow's first published book and it is remarkable. An epic tracing four generations of the Morgan family (the progenitors of Morgan Stanley, Morgan Guarantee, and other international Morgan iterations), the biography is so much more than just that. Chernow's extensive research and eye for detail not only brings to life the Morgan men, but also places them in their world by explaining the financial and political climate of the times. The story of the Morgans and the institutions they created acts as a window into the financial history of the United States and how this country became a banking capital, wresting that title from London. And greater even than this financial history is the larger history of how financial markets played into general US and world history, including both World Wars. This book, published in 1990, takes the financial and world history up through the time of hostile takeovers, junk bonds, and the transformation of banking to the ruthless (and sometimes seemingly amoral) banking of today. A wonderful book that serves not only as a portrait of a family, but as an introduction to finance and its place as a driver of world events.
29 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Matt
- 05-08-14
A brilliant book for history or finance buffs
A genuine masterpiece. Beautifully written and read.
You might think a book about banking would be dry and boring - not this one! I found it gripping..
The Morgan dynasty's monopoly of large scale finance on both sides of the Atlantic spanned several generations. They were bankers to all the major world powers and key industrialists in the first half of the century.
The author does a magnificent job of bringing the characters and all the high dramas to life. It's also a superb chronicle of modern history. Listening to their exploits gave me insights and perspective on history and economics that would be hard to find elsewhere.
If you don't know anything about finance you may struggle with some of the details about financial instruments, but you'll still get a good sense of the big picture.
Regardless of your politics or what you think about bankers, if you're at all interested in history or finance this is definitely one to get.
Ten out of ten!
30 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- moo
- 27-11-17
good start but second half dragged
struggled to finish. this may be my fault due to my lack of interest in the realm of finance and banking, but once it moved beyond the death of Jack, it devolved into a blur of marginal personalities and financial jargon that Chernow could not bring to life the way he was able to in the first half.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Errica
- 02-04-16
Excellent and Informative Book!!!!!
I am a studying to get a bachelors in Finance. This book has given so much information about Finance and International Business. This book and Ron Chernow's other book "Titan" clears up a lot of misinformation and also gave confirmation of pieces of information I have came across regarding finance. A must read!!!!!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Emilio Largo
- 25-06-14
Superb narration
Robertson Dean takes what could have been a dry financial history and turns it into a fascinating tale. I did not catch a single mispronunciation, even on foreign words like "cognoscenti" and "pince-nez." He is one of the best in the business. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, particularly because it confirms the hair-raising truth about central banking described by G. Edward Griffin in "The Creature from Jekyll Island."
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Raleigh
- 31-07-17
behind the thick curtain of old, old WASP money
? did you spend much of your life in and around NYC finance
? do you know why people speak the name "Morgan" with reverence
? would you like a look into this remote, impenetrable world and family
Ron Chernow has written a detailed, kind and insightful guide to the Morgans
their influence on Wall Street, over the last 150 years, simply can't be overstated
their finger prints are on every USA financial upheaval since before the Civil War
as you'd expect, after three generations, the Morgan influence is now waining
today's America is a more diverse and democratic and transparent society
Chernow's book, however, shows us how Wall Street got to where it is now
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Philo
- 20-05-14
Monumental. Loved it.
This is the first Ron Chernow book I have read. Wow, what a storyteller. I presume the reader already has an interest in the overall topic. Mr Chernow has a way of plucking out a telling little detail that sets a scene or gives a sense of a personality marvelously. And he tirelessly delivers this sort of thing across a vast canvas. He did the same with Alexander Hamilton, as I have since heard it. I hope an audio of his book "The Warburgs" is forthcoming.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mark
- 20-05-14
Starts out strong but then fractures
Would you try another book from Ron Chernow and/or Robertson Dean?
Absolutely! Chernow's book on Rockefeller is one of my all time favorites! Writing a book about an investment bank that is both interesting and compelling throughout is a herculean task. Ron Chernow has done as good a job as can be done for such a book. This book is 34 hours and 36 minutes long so keeping the mind engaged was challenging in the end where the company was so fractured was difficult
Would you recommend The House of Morgan to your friends? Why or why not?
It depends on the friend but in general - no. Most would not enjoy this book and would find the details of investment bankers dealings quite tedious. If a friend was interested in understanding the financial history of the US economy and the forces that shaped it - I would recommend this book.
Which character – as performed by Robertson Dean – was your favorite?
Lamont was an interesting and complex man.
Do you think The House of Morgan needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No. I think Chernow has pretty much covered everything.
Any additional comments?
The book is very monolithic in the begining with the powerful J.P. Morgan - but as the company moved out of the hands of the Morgan's and became more fractured I found it more difficult to follow all these little men.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Damian
- 25-02-17
Chernow has done better...
But the subject of banking is not exactly a murder mystery. As such, the book's sub-plot biographies of Junnius, JP and Jack Morgan rescued what otherwise would've been some pretty dry history. Unfortunately, Jack died long before the House of Morgan concluded, leaving a pretty tedious ledger sheet of complex finance, corporate takeover, incomprehensible economics and Wall Street greed. What else is new?
3 people found this helpful