Ron Chernow’s Followers (4,796)

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: 4.2 · 304,256 ratings · 18,300 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Alexander Hamilton 4.21 avg rating — 165,179 ratings — published 2004 — 53 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 4.13 avg rating — 67,108 ratings — published 2010 — 32 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 4.47 avg rating — 31,820 ratings — published 2017 — 25 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 — 27,812 ratings — published 1998 — 24 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 3.93 avg rating — 10,080 ratings — published 1990 — 19 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 4.09 avg rating — 1,313 ratings — published 1993 — 15 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 3.50 avg rating — 711 ratings — published 1997 — 9 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 Titan 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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: A Family Saga 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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 Titan :Illustrated Edition 0.00 avg rating — 0 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

More books by Ron Chernow…

There is nothing like reading a history or biography book and being so completely transported to another time and place that you find...

Polls

Which Nonfiction book would you like to read with the "Reading for Pleasure" group during February and March? Please vote for your choice here.

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls by Lauren Graham

48 votes, 24.0%

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

40 votes, 20.0%

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

38 votes, 19.0%

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by Lindsay Moran

28 votes, 14.0%

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

25 votes, 12.5%

Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner

21 votes, 10.5%

200 total votes

3 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	113	Mar 02, 2010 07:22AM
The History Book ...: AUSSIE RICK'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2010	40	211	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	119	Feb 08, 2011 07:52AM
The History Book ...: LAURA'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	27	47	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 (4,796)

Ron Chernow

Combine EditionsRon Chernow’s books

Related News

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Ron Chernow’s books