About this title: The story of the Morgan family, which became rich and powerful through its banking interests in London and New York. The Morgan fortune, it is said, saved America from bankruptcy more than once before the establishment of the national bank. This biography focuses on the business side, rather than on the personal.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780671734008ISBN:0671734008
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Near Fine. Trade Paperback. Simon & Schuster Books, 1991. Near Fine Book. Lightly handled, with minimal wear to book. Aside from light foxing to book, overall a clean and tight copy. Media Mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books
Date Published: 1991-02
ISBN-13:9780671734008ISBN:0671734008
Description: Very Good. Almost like new paperback. No marks or damage inside or out. Mild cover wear only. Tight square binding, no spine creases. read more
Edition: First paperback edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Touchstone; Simon and Schuster, New York
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780671734008ISBN:0671734008
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. xvii, 812 pp., illus., biblio., index; 23 cm. Tight, clean copy. Spine slightly bowed. OVERSIZE! No priority/air, except by special arrangement. Winner of the National Book Award. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books
Date Published: 1991-02
ISBN-13:9780671734008ISBN:0671734008
Description: Very Good. As issued no jacket. First Touchstone Edition 1991. Trade Paperback. Very Good condition with no markings. No highlights, underlines or notes in text. No creases to spine or cover. Minor wear to cover. Tight binding and clean crisp text. Very Nice copy. read more
Description: Good. 0671734008 15520 PB: spine cupped, text clean, cover has light shelf wear-allow 30 days for standard/media m a i l. wt4lb. read more
"A glimpse into the power structures of a century ago. Very important background reading in understanding how the banking system got to be so arrogant."
"A headline in the paper this morning reads: "Big, troubled banks have grown bigger." The fourth paragraph begins: "J.P. Morgan Chase, an amalgam of some of Wall Street's most storied institutions, now holds more than $1 of every $10 on deposit in this country." So this 1990 book by Ron Chernow remains relevant today, and its ultimate lesson still rings true: Through crisis and scandal, booms and busts, the House of Morgan always survives and usually thrives. "The House of Morgan" traces this legendary institution from its beginnings in the 1830s as the House of Peabody. George Peabody was a bachelor with no heirs, which is why the lineage continues with Junius Morgan, followed by J. Pierpont Morgan, followed by Jack Morgan. Jack Morgan seems to me to be by far the most likable of these characters, J. Pierpont the most interesting. He was a scamp. He also had a nose that belongs in the Hall of Fame of noses. It was a bulbous nose, as you can see from pictures. You can't see in most of the pictures, because they've been doctored, that it also was grotesquely deformed. His nose was so significant that it has its own entry in the index: Morgan, John Pierpont Sr., nose of. "Children found it scarily hypnotic," Chernow writes. "When a later partner, Dwight Morrow, brought Pierpont to his home, his daughter Elizabeth -- instructed not to mention the nose -- asked the tycoon tremblingly, 'Do you like your nose in your tea?'" After Jack Morgan, the Morgans largely fall out of key positions in the House of Morgan, and so many key figures take their place it's hard to keep track of them. Also, the book becomes the story of three institutions: Morgan Stanley, Morgan Grenfell (in London) and Morgan Guaranty. This, also, becomes hard to follow. So the last third (roughly) of the book is a lot less interesting than the first two-thirds. I did find that I liked the stodgy, genteel House of Morgan of the 19th century much more than I liked the aggressive, win-at-all-costs House of Morgan of the late 20th century."
"Excellent book. Highly recommended. Post WWII history of the banks wasn't quite as interesting, but I liked how Chernow wrapped things up. Was quite prescient in foreseeing some of the problems we would face with the banks today, especially the problem of over-leveraging and the banks continuing to take riskier and riskier bets with the creation of fancier and fancier financial products that hid the true risk from the public and purchasers of those financial products..."
"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."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
