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The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
Ummm... I'm not 100% sure about this book. It's the fourth Chernow book I've read (after Titan, which is about the Rockefellers, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington), and this was probably the worst of the four books of his I've read.
This book, as the title suggests, looks at the House of Morgan banking group, and the company's daughter companies (Morgan Guaranty, Morgan Stanley, and Morgan Grenfell) as they evolve through the three stages of banking (going from where the bankers have all the power, to where even the most staid bankers are having to hustle for business).
It wasn't a bad read. It explains what happened to the bank, and the American banking system from before the start of the bank, to 1987 (when the book was written). And therein lies the problem. Given what happened to the banking system since 2007, it might be worthwhile updating the book to address the similarities between what happened in 1987, and 2007, but that didn't happen.
My other grumble is that Chernow felt proud that he wrote the book quickly. While you probably wouldn't have noticed, had he not mentioned it, when this is tied in to the fact that the book could have been updated to address recent events, and I'm left wondering what could have happened had it been updated.
This book, as the title suggests, looks at the House of Morgan banking group, and the company's daughter companies (Morgan Guaranty, Morgan Stanley, and Morgan Grenfell) as they evolve through the three stages of banking (going from where the bankers have all the power, to where even the most staid bankers are having to hustle for business).
It wasn't a bad read. It explains what happened to the bank, and the American banking system from before the start of the bank, to 1987 (when the book was written). And therein lies the problem. Given what happened to the banking system since 2007, it might be worthwhile updating the book to address the similarities between what happened in 1987, and 2007, but that didn't happen.
My other grumble is that Chernow felt proud that he wrote the book quickly. While you probably wouldn't have noticed, had he not mentioned it, when this is tied in to the fact that the book could have been updated to address recent events, and I'm left wondering what could have happened had it been updated.
kdawn999's review against another edition
2.0
I’ll be generous and give this two stars for effort since I love Ron Chernow’s other books and his dedication to research. In House of Morgan, his first book, it feels like he hasn’t quite learned how to tell a story—or he’s trying too hard to tell the whole story of the Morgan banks. Stories, though, are better and more comprehensible when they are human centered. Chernow begins this way, and the first third of the book is much better for it. I like his description of Peabody (the bank’s true founder) as a Scrooge, and the subsequent 3 generations of Morgans had enough scandals and world events between them to carry a story, but after the 1929 crash, the book did nothing for me and became one of the most boring books I’ve ever managed to finish. During the final stretch I was about to give this 1 star, but I did learn a little about the start of these banks and the lives of the early leaders. I did not, however, learn anything about banking because Chernow did not educate his readers properly with context or processes here, which is a shame.
endlessmidnight's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Excellent dive into the House of Morgan, great book excellent details and the writing is crisp and clearly defining all of the characters
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
3.0
Exhaustive, and exhausting! Had to stop after we reached the 60s. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live lives like the Morgan’s. So much money, and for what?
erikinthedistrict's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent biographical history of the Morgan family that became the Morgan bank
henrismum's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Non-series / Non-fiction
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I've had this on my shelf for years, at least a decade at the Buffalo Library. It was time.
Will I read more by this author / about this subject?Probably Not Maybe Definitely
I won't read anything entirely about Morgan for a while; this 35 hour book was enough. I may possibly seek out shorter bios and will of course read period pieces.
The narrator was Robertson Dean. He did a good job.
Source: Brooklyn then NYC
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I've had this on my shelf for years, at least a decade at the Buffalo Library. It was time.
Will I read more by this author / about this subject?
I won't read anything entirely about Morgan for a while; this 35 hour book was enough. I may possibly seek out shorter bios and will of course read period pieces.
The narrator was Robertson Dean. He did a good job.
Source: Brooklyn then NYC
statman's review against another edition
2.0
I liked Chernow's other book on Alexandar Hamilton but this one was not as good. It is lengthy book and the first half was better than the second half. The second half started to drag on longer than needed. The first portion of the book focus more on the individuals, Pierpont and Jack Morgan who really built the Morgan empire in the late 1800's through the depression. But their influence waned as the company got bigger and it became more of a faceless corporation, that was involved in several scandals related to insider trading and the like.