What do you think?
The House of Dimon: How JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon Rose to the Top of the Financial World
A behind-the-scenes look at Wall Street's top banker
Following the eleventh-hour rescue of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon's profile reached stratospheric levels. And while the deals and decisions he's made have usually turned out to be the right ones, his journey to the top of the financial world has been anything but easy.
Now, in The House of Dimon, former business journalist Patricia Crisafulli goes behind the scenes to recount the amazing events that have shaped Dimon's career, from his rise to prominence as Sandy Weill's protégé at Citigroup to the drama surrounding his purchase of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. Each step of the way, this engaging book provides insider accounts of how Dimon successfully acquired and integrated companies, created efficiencies, and grew bottom-line results as the consummate hands-on manager.
Includes interviews with Dimon himself, Sandy Weill, and colleagues who've known Dimon over the course of his career
Shows how Dimon's management style and talent for taking calculated risks have allowed him to excel where many others have failed
Places Dimon in the context of contemporary Wall Street, an environment that has destroyed several top CEOs
During one of the most difficult and tumultuous periods in Wall Street history, Jamie Dimon has survived and thrived. The House of Dimon reveals how he's done it and explores what lies ahead for Dimon, as he attempts to grow JPMorgan in the face of the unrelenting pressures of Wall Street.
Following the eleventh-hour rescue of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon's profile reached stratospheric levels. And while the deals and decisions he's made have usually turned out to be the right ones, his journey to the top of the financial world has been anything but easy.
Now, in The House of Dimon, former business journalist Patricia Crisafulli goes behind the scenes to recount the amazing events that have shaped Dimon's career, from his rise to prominence as Sandy Weill's protégé at Citigroup to the drama surrounding his purchase of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. Each step of the way, this engaging book provides insider accounts of how Dimon successfully acquired and integrated companies, created efficiencies, and grew bottom-line results as the consummate hands-on manager.
Includes interviews with Dimon himself, Sandy Weill, and colleagues who've known Dimon over the course of his career
Shows how Dimon's management style and talent for taking calculated risks have allowed him to excel where many others have failed
Places Dimon in the context of contemporary Wall Street, an environment that has destroyed several top CEOs
During one of the most difficult and tumultuous periods in Wall Street history, Jamie Dimon has survived and thrived. The House of Dimon reveals how he's done it and explores what lies ahead for Dimon, as he attempts to grow JPMorgan in the face of the unrelenting pressures of Wall Street.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Patricia Crisafulli
18 books67 followersCrisafulli grew up in northern New York State near the Canadian border and worked as a journalist in New York City before settling in Chicago, where she was a reporter and correspondent for Reuters. Her work has appeared in a variety of media, including The Wall Street Journal and The Christian Science Monitor, and she is currently a featured blogger for Huffington Post.
Crisafulli also is the creative force behind what she calls her labor of love, Faith, Hope, and Fiction, a free, bimonthly literary ezine that features fiction, poetry, and essays.
Crisafulli also is the creative force behind what she calls her labor of love, Faith, Hope, and Fiction, a free, bimonthly literary ezine that features fiction, poetry, and essays.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 21, 2012
A decent biography of Jamie Dimon, the dynamo who rose to the top of the financial world as President of Citibank only to be cut off at the knees by his patron Sandy Weill and then triumphantly return atop JP Morgan. This is not only a great comeback story but, as with Walter Issacson's Steve Jobs biography, there is a delightful bit of revenge. Citibank and Weill stumbled. They should have never let Dimon get away.
The problem with this panegryic is that it pays a lot of homage, highlights everything Dimon did right and reads like a campaign biography. It does not dwell on his mistakes and miscalucuations which could provide equally compelling lessons for the reader. The book came out in 2009 well before the true scope of Washington Mutual's losses came out. It would be interesting to see how the writer would frame JP Morgan's recent multibillion dollar losses on credit derivatives, where Dimon's vaunted risk controls failed. Dimon is still one of the best managers on Wall Street. It is refreshing to see that he is human and capable of an occasional slipup, but this book deifies him. I plan to read another book on Dimon "Last Man Standing" which provides a more detailed, colorful account of Dimon's career, including a more penetrating description of the events leading up to his summary execution on Citibank. If you don't want to read that book, just Google "Jamie Dimon", "Deryck Maughan" and "Greenbriar" to read about a physical altercation on a dance floor that precipitated Dimon's exit from Citibank.
The problem with this panegryic is that it pays a lot of homage, highlights everything Dimon did right and reads like a campaign biography. It does not dwell on his mistakes and miscalucuations which could provide equally compelling lessons for the reader. The book came out in 2009 well before the true scope of Washington Mutual's losses came out. It would be interesting to see how the writer would frame JP Morgan's recent multibillion dollar losses on credit derivatives, where Dimon's vaunted risk controls failed. Dimon is still one of the best managers on Wall Street. It is refreshing to see that he is human and capable of an occasional slipup, but this book deifies him. I plan to read another book on Dimon "Last Man Standing" which provides a more detailed, colorful account of Dimon's career, including a more penetrating description of the events leading up to his summary execution on Citibank. If you don't want to read that book, just Google "Jamie Dimon", "Deryck Maughan" and "Greenbriar" to read about a physical altercation on a dance floor that precipitated Dimon's exit from Citibank.
May 25, 2009
I've just completed a book on Dimon myself, and was terrified that this one was coming out six months before my own. After reading it, I could not have been more pleased. It's the worst kind of clip job imaginable. The author should be embarrassed.
December 18, 2018
This book disappointed. I assume anyone else reading it would want to know one of two things - how did JPM manage to do better than its peers during the crisis, how did Jamie Dimon build a career as a successful banker. It sheds very little light on either point.
The substance of JPM’s performance during the crisis is probably best summed up by the quote attributed to Mr Winters - that the returns on what turned out to be toxic assets were never justified by the risk inherent in them. But apart from this there is very little insight into what should be (one would have thought!) the key focus of the book.
There is plenty of material on building a ‘fortress balance sheet’ but little consideration given to the circumstances when that might be appropriate as opposed to not - some vague hints on countercyclicality (ie. when house prices are rising, check LTV ratios) but that’s about it. While the advice on anticipating - and preparing for - worst case outcomes sounds good, will shareholders always reward that sort of behaviour? This is doubtful.
Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the book was its lack of any coherent chronology. It just could not tell a story, at one point resorting to bullet points (!!) to outline the key events of the crisis. Think of all the really entertaining books that have been written - ‘The Bank that lived a little’, ‘Too Big to fail’, ‘When Genius failed’...they all tell a story. This one does not. Ok, maybe it is the case that many of those books (not all!) dealt with disasters. Maybe it is as hard to write an interesting book about keeping a bank safe as it is to reward those who ably mitigate risk...but I don’t think so.
Interesting subject matter, but mostly a dull, gushing book with very little insight into anything.
The substance of JPM’s performance during the crisis is probably best summed up by the quote attributed to Mr Winters - that the returns on what turned out to be toxic assets were never justified by the risk inherent in them. But apart from this there is very little insight into what should be (one would have thought!) the key focus of the book.
There is plenty of material on building a ‘fortress balance sheet’ but little consideration given to the circumstances when that might be appropriate as opposed to not - some vague hints on countercyclicality (ie. when house prices are rising, check LTV ratios) but that’s about it. While the advice on anticipating - and preparing for - worst case outcomes sounds good, will shareholders always reward that sort of behaviour? This is doubtful.
Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the book was its lack of any coherent chronology. It just could not tell a story, at one point resorting to bullet points (!!) to outline the key events of the crisis. Think of all the really entertaining books that have been written - ‘The Bank that lived a little’, ‘Too Big to fail’, ‘When Genius failed’...they all tell a story. This one does not. Ok, maybe it is the case that many of those books (not all!) dealt with disasters. Maybe it is as hard to write an interesting book about keeping a bank safe as it is to reward those who ably mitigate risk...but I don’t think so.
Interesting subject matter, but mostly a dull, gushing book with very little insight into anything.
September 26, 2026
This profile of Jamie Dimon from 2008 is a very informative book that is well researched and thorough. With enlightening quotes from industry experts and leaders, the book helps a reader understand the makings of and day-in-the-life of Jamie Dimon's leadership style and path to success. Despite these strengths, I rated it 3.0 because of two factors that detracted from reading: (1) style; and, (2) engagement as a result. The book's style is similar to an extra long news article, with lots of quotes and facts, and some healthy repetition, but little in ways of engaging details to truly bring the reader into the material. While that style works for articles that are 1,000+ words, it starts to wear down a reader in a book form, reducing engagement. Despite being genuinely interested in learning more, I had to force myself to keep reading versus the material encouraging to do so. But as I said, the knowledge gained is worth pushing through to complete the book.
March 4, 2022
The book is a weird mix. It's part explanation and commentary on the 2008 financial crisis by the author and part description of Diamon from a very one-sided and flattering perspective.
Diamon is - rightfully - one of the most admired business leaders in the world, but I don't think the book describes a single negative aspect of his character, leadership style or career. To the contrary, his flaws are described as too focused on his goals or too determined.
Ultimately, no one gets to where Diamon is without clear priorities and discipline as well as making some mistakes along the way. It would have suited the biography well to cover some of the tradeoffs rather than describing him as a flawless person with 60 hours a day. Or to have described some of the mistakes made in more detail.
Diamon is - rightfully - one of the most admired business leaders in the world, but I don't think the book describes a single negative aspect of his character, leadership style or career. To the contrary, his flaws are described as too focused on his goals or too determined.
Ultimately, no one gets to where Diamon is without clear priorities and discipline as well as making some mistakes along the way. It would have suited the biography well to cover some of the tradeoffs rather than describing him as a flawless person with 60 hours a day. Or to have described some of the mistakes made in more detail.
November 26, 2020
This is a pastiche of second-hand sources on Jamie Dimon with no actual access to the man himself. Having said that, it's extremely well-done with unusual focus on the Chicago years.
March 21, 2022
It feels like this could have been shortened.
July 3, 2022
The House of Dimon by Patricia Cristafulli is interesting and full of anecdotes on the Wall Street Lefend, Jamie Dimon. Worth reading.
October 20, 2022
This book disappointed me.
I feel that I didn't learn anything I couldn't have found on Jamie Dimon's Wikipedia page- and it could've been condensed to a Wikipedia page. The whole thing was a rather egregious fluff piece praising him for everything he's ever done and revering him as some kind of god man. I read this book so the curtain on one of the greatest CEOs of our time could be pulled back, not to mystify him as some sort of superhuman hyper-intelligent work machine. The anecdotes were weak or uninspired while the author's commentary occupied 90% of every page and praised him for the same few things over and over again. She somehow spun his flaws into advantages that required 250 pages to qualify. Maybe he is really that amazing and great and fantastical, but this book didn't show me how- it just told me that he was over and over and over again.
4/10
I feel that I didn't learn anything I couldn't have found on Jamie Dimon's Wikipedia page- and it could've been condensed to a Wikipedia page. The whole thing was a rather egregious fluff piece praising him for everything he's ever done and revering him as some kind of god man. I read this book so the curtain on one of the greatest CEOs of our time could be pulled back, not to mystify him as some sort of superhuman hyper-intelligent work machine. The anecdotes were weak or uninspired while the author's commentary occupied 90% of every page and praised him for the same few things over and over again. She somehow spun his flaws into advantages that required 250 pages to qualify. Maybe he is really that amazing and great and fantastical, but this book didn't show me how- it just told me that he was over and over and over again.
4/10
April 12, 2009
This not particularly good but I gave it an okay rating because it was a quick reading and interesting reminder that all is not what it seems on the news and from the mouths of our legislators. Ms. Crisafulli writes with almost breathless adoration and there is little in this book that is not available from clippings in the WSJ, other papers, and company reports. Still it is timely, a quick read, and a reminder that not everyone was so caught up in the finance bubble that they were blind to the risks and excesses taking place.
December 3, 2009
Not a criticism in this book so you might think it is unbalanced but I don't. We need a hero for our age and Dimon has integrity and shutzpa to lead with bravery. It is an easy to understand light history of the happenings of Wall Street.
April 3, 2010
I worked at Bank One when Jamie came to town. I left in mid-2007. I am proud to have been part of the integration team he compares to the 101st Airborne. The account is accurate, but very repetitive and too long for the depth of the analysis.
August 23, 2010
This book is phenominal not simply because it is about a businessman who brought a company from good to great, but it doubles as an amazing leadership "fable" that everyone should have on their shelves along next to Patrick Lencioni's books.
June 22, 2011
Friends of the HHI Library store. Fits my profile, biographies of interesting people. Kind of a puff piece from a Jammie Dimon fan. The business, politics and regulatory nonsense makes me very happy that I am retired and don't have to deal with those things much any more.
May 5, 2012
Being a fan of all things Dimon I am biased. The best lessons from this book were the little glimpses into Jamie Dimon's leadership style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a broad view of what makes sense in business and a different look at leadership.
October 16, 2012
I read this hoping for some insight into Dimon's thinking. I didn't expect a complete fluff piece about his career. There is no real discussion of his approach to regulations, nevermind insight on his management style, strategies, and methodology.
Read
August 30, 2009Not bad. Short on details.
October 10, 2016
some gossip, some insight, but so much fluff
March 23, 2012
an okay biography, there is a better one of him on the market.
March 18, 2015
more myth than truth
January 3, 2018
For the most part, it's a pretty good book. I really just wanted to know about Jamie Dimon. I got that out of the bok but the author added A LOT of tangent narative regarding the financial crisis of 2007-2009. It's OK to build context to describe Mr Dimon's ability to traverse the crisis but the author seems to focus half the book on the crisis itself. I've been reading a couple books on the financial crisis and did not expect to reach so much of it here. Other than that, It was an interesting read on Mr Dimon. There may be another book that focuses soley on Mr Dimon. Not sure, but you may want to find out.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews