The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
Book Review: GREAT BOOK BY A GREAT WRITER
Summary: 5 Stars
It's all here, the history of capitalism, finance, Wall Street, Financial Barons and the rise of American capitalism.
Ron Chernow's book is marvelous and eloquant.
While reading this book, you will not only be amazed at the accomplishements of the Morgans and their close advisors, but also at how they were able to make themselves the dominant force on Wall Street. Also fascinating here, is how they were able to help our nation become the richest and most successful financial enterprise ever.
J.P Morgan has had a lasting effect on American and overseas finances and industrialization. Governments came to them for financial backing in time of need, wars and economical crises. Their dominant position in the financial markets saved England and America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Without their input and capital, none of it would have been possible. They were the pioneers, George Peebody, the patriarc, even shook the English financial establishment into a new financial era. Today's Wall Street is no longer the place it once was, where gentlemen could shake hands on deals and had enough class to compete in good faith. The Morgan Guaranty building, the place where J.P. Morgan conducted his affairs, (If you travel downtown , you can still see the bullet holes on the building recalling that famous attack on Wall Street in the early twenties)is still standing, empty though. It was not all perfect, but for the most part it was a world that many envied. Many wanted to emulate them. The Morgans were true patriots, and loved their country. They traveled the world around to promote American capital (China, Europe and Japan) allowing it become the most powerful entity in world trade.
In this book, Ron Chernow is eloquant and detail oriented. He does not miss a single point. He has done his research and made sure that all types of readers could enjoy this book.
Remarkable, straight forward and Highly recommended
Book Review: detailed but somewhat long
Summary: 3 Stars
An interesting book showing the importance of capitalism, finance, and the power a single family on shaping nations not just the US. Though somewhat long winded.
One thing that struck me was Chernow's somewhat detached account of the firm's history, usually painting the characters in The House of Morgan as basically good, and mainly philanthropic. The book does a good job of communicating the power of the corporation and Pierpont's view of competition as a "destructive, inefficient force" and subsequent dealings with the US government.
Tom Anderson
Anderson Analytics, LLC
http://www.andersonanalytics.com
Book Review: Impressive
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very impressed with Chernow's style and depth of knowledge in this cronical of the history of JP Morgan and Company. This is not a history of J. Pierpont Morgan the man but the firm he grew into an international power. A new and interesting story on each page. Finacial/Economic History buffs must read!Book Review: Amazing Achievement but Somewhat Uneven
Summary: 4 Stars
Ron Chernow is truly awe-inspiring. This is one of several, incredibly complete biographies that he has written.
At 700 plus pages this is an incredibly long book. Unfortunately it is an uneven read. I became progressively less interested in the book as I went along; however, it was worth the effort to complete.
The first section, which he calls the Baronial Era in banking, is fascinating, and for me it was a page-turner. The Morgan banking house actually began as the George Peabody bank in England, and Junius Morgan was brought over from the US to be his successor. Junius Morgan took the bank to a level far beyond where Peabody had, and then his son JP Morgan Sr. took over. JP Morgan Sr (Pierpont) is the name most associated with Morgan banking, and he was an enormously powerful and colorful character. This was the infamous age of the "Robber Barons" the rise of American railroads, big steel, and the oil industry. Pierpont was at the center of it, commanding industry while collecting art, building yachts and cavorting with women. It makes a great story.
Pierpont was succeeded by his son JP Morgan Jr(Jack) who headed the bank during what Chernow called the "Diplomatic Era". The book became less interesting. Jack was nowhere near as colorful as his father, and his reign over the bank nowhere near as autocratic. Several other bankers, among them Dwight Morrow (father of Anne Morrow Lindbergh) were major players at the bank. The bank played a huge role on the international stage in this era, and while it had strong ties to England (and its sister bank Morgan Grenfall) it also helped finance the rise of the Nazis, Mussolini and the nationalists in Japan. This was also the period of the roaring twenties and the depression. The story told in the book is not quite as gripping because it doesn't hinge on a single character, but the events impacted and the role played by the bank were enough to keep me reading with interest and occassionally complete absorption.
The third era covered was the "Casino Era". As a result of the Glass Steagle Act, the bank split into Morgan Guarantee and Morgan Stanley. This section of the book also tells about the demise of Morgan Grenfall in England. This is essentially the modern era of banking where the investment bankers at Morgan Stanley and Morgan Grenfall became involved in takeover battles and modern securities. Morgan Guarantee became a fairly staid, and boring, commercial bank. This section of the book had the least interesting characters. I found it to be pretty dry. I have read several books about the various takeover battles, so this account, which was more of a survey, lacked the blood and drama of other accounts I have read.
Finally, from the perspective of 2005, the last section of the book, covering the most recent time period, feels a bit dated. I know more about what happened to both Morgan Guarantee and Morgan Stanley than Chernow knew when he wrote the book, so the very last few chapters felt out of date.
Overall it was also interesting to see the interaction between the history of the bank, and social history. The bank originally was very "white shoe", male and protestant. It hired its first Jewish banker in 1963. Pierpont and Jack were quite anti-Semitic. Yet, within its confines, the bank was also a meritocracy and afforded many of its employees entree into the upper classes.
Although, it can be a bit of a slog at times, if you are interested in the world of banking and finance, or the history of the 19th and 20th century, this is an excellent book.
Book Review: An epic tale about an epic man.
Summary: 5 Stars
JP Morgan set much of modern American finance on its axis and started it turning. In his day, he was a private citizen who acted as the central banker in the largest economy in the world. Not once, but twice, was JP Morgan alone able to corral market-wide panics that not even the US government could halt. Morgan acted as purchasing agent for Great Britain as it stood alone against Germany before the US entered WWII. Morgan was truly a man larger than those the system allows to exist today.
This book also shows how and why efforts were made, many undertaken to limit Morgan, to change the system so that one person couldn't wield the power that Morgan plyed in his day.
Chernow captures the entire tale of Morgan's life and the era in which he lived in an easy-to-read style that maintains a good pace.
A great book for lovers of history, biography, or finance. Highly recommended.