The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

by Ron Chernow
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
book data
144 ratings, 3.99 average rating, 20 reviews (more data...)
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published
September 20th 2001 by Grove Press

binding
Paperback, 832 pages

literary awards
National Book Award 1990

isbn
0802138292    (isbn13: 9780802138293)

description
Now considered a classic, The House of Morgan is the most ambitious history ever written about an American banking dynasty. Acclaimed by The Wall Stre...more




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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 317)

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Arminius
02/21/08
Arminius rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in May, 2007
Ron Chernow writes with such well thought out detail that it seems he never misses anything.“The House of Morgan” won a National Book Award and describes a powerful American family. It is a very detailed book, which is his style, that describes how banking became big in America and how the Morgan’s became more powerful than the Rothschild banking dynasty. If you ever read the great book “Creature from Jeckyll Island” and followed the author’s reasoning for not needing a Federal Re...more
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Al
10/21/08
Al rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in October, 2008
This book has sitting on my "unread" shelf, patiently waiting its turn, and I was finally motivated to pick it up by the current financial unpleasantness. It was somewhat reassuring to find that this country has been through times as bad, or worse, than what we are experiencing now. The difference is that ninety years ago, the world was smaller and relatively uncomplicated, and J. P. Morgan could just round up a few of his friends, each of whom would chip in a few million, and...more
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James
05/27/08
James rated it: 2 of 5 stars

bookshelves: abandoned
Read in February, 2009
So normally, you know me, I have a thing about how non-fiction books could probably be a pamphlet and there is no justification for a book.

Well, Chernow has done is research and has more than enough information to fill these 800+ pages.

But it turns out that in this case that is a double-edged sword. It felt like he was glossing over many details of his main text, and grossly overestimating the reader's knowledge of 19th Century history, economics, and banking. Granted, ...more
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David Wrubel
04/07/09
David Wrubel rated it: 4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: non-fiction
Read in January, 1991
US Financial History is a passion of mine, and this book is a must read if you want to understand how we got where we were, and even where we are today in 2009. BIG book, but so is the subject, and Chernow is able to write this and his other biographies with a novelist's eye for detail, context, story, and plot. You have to be somewhat interested in the topics, but it is not at all dry or boring.
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Paulkelly05
02/05/09
Paulkelly05 rated it: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. Mostly to read about the original J P Morgan. After reading the Teddy Roosevelt Biography, I was shocked how Morgan would stop a crisis by himself. A lot of the people in the post J P Morgan (Sr.) show up in a lot of other history books for the time, so it is good to get an idea of who they really were.
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Robert
05/08/08
Robert rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
Would you like to know how the world really works? Pick up your skirt, grab your balls, and read this book!

Somewhat of a beast, and certainly not light reading. The title and stated subject of this book is misleading. It is not just about a bank. It is the history of the modern world and how finance made it all happen. At the heart of it all was a small but powerful bank, powered by Ivy-league elites and men who pulled themselves up from meager origins alike. This is how the wo...more
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Beth(MN)
12/24/08
Beth(MN) marked it as to-read

bookshelves: nonfiction, to-read
As a former employee of JPM, their origins interest me in a slightly sick and twisted way...

Interesting.
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Doug
06/26/07
Doug rated it: 4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: business, history
Read in May, 2007
This book is a beast. It's starts out quickly, slows a bit in the middle and then finishes well. I probably read it before I understood the financial world well enough to grasp the significance of certain events Chernow views as critical. Chernow's books always seem to just about kill you but strangely enough, you don't want them to end. This book stops at the late 80's so for those of us who weren't conscious then, it seems a bit old. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book, finding to to ...more
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bzlog
11/24/08
bzlog marked it as to-read

bookshelves: business, to-read
금융제국 J.P.모건 1, 2
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Leslie
04/16/08
Leslie rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in July, 2008
It only took a year to read, but I finally finished it. I'm glad I read it, I learned a lot of the roots and evolution of finish and how much things have changed. I felt that the part after WWII dragged a bit, but that may be my own bias on historical eras.

Having finished the book, I now wish it were a further 100 pages to cover the last 15 years. JP Morgan's purchase of Bank One and the Morgan entities reaction to the Enron debaucle and subsequent regulations.
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Michael
03/27/08
Michael rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in February, 2008
A great history of Wall Street and global finance. Good pacing and interesting profiles for most of the book. The author loses interest once he gets to the late 1970s and the rest is terse and muddled. One could stop there and substitute _Den of Thieves_ for a better understanding of the 1980s.
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ranjit mathoda
03/11/08
ranjit mathoda rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in March, 2008
a bit boring in parts, and it misunderstands some significant financial events, but a pretty good history of the American financial world for a large chunk of time through the lens of the Morgan companies
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Duff
06/22/08
Duff rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2008
If financial history is your thing, you MUST read this book. For the rest of you, a great tour through one of the most powerful (if not THE most) bankers to ever walk the earth.
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Alex
04/16/08
Alex is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading
Read in April, 2008
An eloquent history of commercial and investment banking through the lens of arguably the most influential American bank.
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Alvar
12/21/06
Alvar rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2003
recommends it for: finance types
Bio of the man who re-shaped the US economy. He didn't do it alone, but he definitely accomplished a lot...
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Jameson
06/26/08
Jameson is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading
Good, but large. This is the summer shark to my smaller summer pilot fish...
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Kira
04/30/07
Kira rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2005
A fascinating and enjoyable book tracing the history of the Morgan companies.
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Connie
01/17/09
Connie rated it: 4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: biography
Read in December, 2008
That no matter how much things change...they do remain th same.
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Alex'ra
09/10/07
Alex'ra rated it: 4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: non-fiction
Read in July, 2006
recommends it for: Borough dwellers
Perfect companion for long subway rides.
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Jonerik
bookshelves: economics-markets, history
Read in January, 2005
So you REALLY want to understand US history?
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