Ron Chernow’s Followers (6,518)

Ron Chernow

Born

in Brooklyn, New York City, The United States

March 03, 1949

Genre

Biography, Business, History

edit data

Ron Chernow was born in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating with honors from Yale College and Cambridge University with degrees in English Literature, he began a prolific career as a freelance journalist. Between 1973 and 1982, Chernow published over sixty articles in national publications, including numerous cover stories. In the mid-80s Chernow went to work at the Twentieth Century Fund, a prestigious New York think tank, where he served as director of financial policy studies and received what he described as “a crash course in economics and financial history.”

Chernow’s journalistic talents combined with his experience studying financial policy culminated in the writing of his extraordinary first book, The House of Morgan: A Ron Chernow was born in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating with honors from Yale College and Cambridge University with degrees in English Literature, he began a prolific career as a freelance journalist. Between 1973 and 1982, Chernow published over sixty articles in national publications, including numerous cover stories. In the mid-80s Chernow went to work at the Twentieth Century Fund, a prestigious New York think tank, where he served as director of financial policy studies and received what he described as “a crash course in economics and financial history.”

Chernow’s journalistic talents combined with his experience studying financial policy culminated in the writing of his extraordinary first book, The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance (1990). Winner of the 1990 National Book Award for Nonfiction, The House of Morgan traces the amazing history of four generations of the J.P. Morgan empire. The New York Times Book Review wrote, “As a portrait of finance, politics and the world of avarice and ambition on Wall Street, the book has the movement and tension of an epic novel. It is, quite simply, a tour de force.” Chernow continued his exploration of famous financial dynasties with his second book, The Warburgs (1994), the story of a remarkable Jewish family. The book traces Hamburg’s most influential banking family of the 18th century from their successful beginnings to when Hitler’s Third Reich forced them to give up their business, and ultimately to their regained prosperity in America on Wall Street.

Described by Time as “one of the great American biographies,” Chernow’s Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1998) brilliantly reveals the complexities of America’s first billionaire. Rockefeller was known as a Robber Baron, whose Standard Oil Company monopolized an entire industry before it was broken up by the famous Supreme Court anti-trust decision in 1911. At the same time, Rockefeller was one of the century’s greatest philanthropists donating enormous sums to universities and medical institutions. Chernow is the Secretary of PEN American Center, the country’s most prominent writers’ organization, and is currently at work on a biography of Alexander Hamilton. He lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

In addition to writing biographies, Chernow is a book reviewer, essayist, and radio commentator. His book reviews and op-ed articles appear frequently in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He comments regularly on business and finance for National Public Radio and for many shows on CNBC, CNN, and the Fox News Channel. In addition, he served as the principal expert on the A&E biography of J.P. Morgan and will be featured as the key Rockefeller expert on an upcoming CNBC documentary.
...more

Combine Editions
Ron Chernow’s books

Average rating: 4.22 · 382,936 ratings · 22,834 reviews · 23 distinct works • Similar authors

	Alexander Hamilton 4.22 avg rating — 199,098 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Washington: A Life 4.17 avg rating — 82,252 ratings — published 2010 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Grant 4.50 avg rating — 43,620 ratings — published 2017 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. 4.15 avg rating — 37,256 ratings — published 1998 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance 3.96 avg rating — 12,582 ratings — published 1990 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mark Twain 4.20 avg rating — 5,009 ratings — published 2025 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family 4.06 avg rating — 1,702 ratings — published 1993 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Death of the Banker: The Decline and Fall of the Great Financial Dynasties and the Triumph of the Small Investor 3.51 avg rating — 1,006 ratings — published 1997 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Washington [Abridged, Audiobook] Publisher: Penguin Audio 4.39 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The House of Morgan Part 2 of 2 3.42 avg rating — 12 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ron Chernow…

Believe it or not, it's time once again for our annual midyear assessment of the year’s most popular books, so far, according to Goodreads...

Polls

Ce citim in septembrie?

Palatul Puricilor, de Elif Shafak

19 votes, 22.9%

Arata-mi rezultatele

18 votes, 21.7%

Pădurea spânzuraţilor, de Liviu Rebreanu

15 votes, 18.1%

Suntem deja uitarea ce vom fi, de Héctor Abad Faciolince

11 votes, 13.3%

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, de Terry Pratchett Neil Gaiman

11 votes, 13.3%

Daniel Martin, de John Fowles

8 votes, 9.6%

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., de Ron Chernow

1 vote, 1.2%

83 total votes

2 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The History Book ...: 1. AMERICAN SPHINX ~ PROLOGUE - 1 (BEG) (3 - 26) (01/01/10 - 01/07/10) ~ No spoilers, please	79	120	Mar 02, 2010 07:22AM
The History Book ...: AUSSIE RICK'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2010	40	229	Nov 30, 2010 03:22PM
History of the Am...: Your Vote for the Next Miniseries?	4	34	Dec 26, 2010 12:30PM
The History Book ...: FEDERALIST. NO 1	37	121	Feb 08, 2011 07:52AM
The History Book ...: LAURA'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	27	48	Feb 14, 2011 01:41PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Ron to Goodreads.

Ron Chernow’s Followers (6,518)

Ron Chernow

Combine EditionsRon Chernow’s books

Related News

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Ron Chernow’s books