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Morgan: American Financier (Paperback)

~ (Author), Random House Inc. (Author) "Pierpont Morgan's arrival took the quiet chamber by surprise..." (more)
Key Phrases: shipping trust, money trust investigation, diary that night, New York, Wall Street, United States (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As Americans cope with the social and industrial changes wrought by the computer age, we seem ready to view with more sympathy the men who shaped the similarly disruptive economic revolution at the turn of the last century. Less than a year after Titan, Ron Chernow's sweeping biography of capitalist par excellence John D. Rockefeller, comes Jean Strouse's searching analysis of J.P. Morgan (1837-1913), the merchant banker whose financial prowess enabled the great American businesses to grow and thrive. Like Chernow, Strouse takes a nuanced view of a man reviled by his contemporaries as a sinister monopolist. Morgan sought to stabilize the volatile American economy and raise the cash needed to fuel its meteoric expansion. His methods were controversial, particularly his fondness for industrial "combinations" that dampened competition, but Strouse's lucid résumé of the historical backdrop illuminates the thinking behind Morgan's actions. As in her groundbreaking biography Alice James, the author never settles for received wisdom, instead reading previously neglected documents with a sharp eye to offer a fresh interpretation. She vividly limns Morgan's imperious personality and such extracurricular interests as his superb art collection. But it's Strouse's ability to clearly convey complex financial material that distinguishes this book. Her chapter on the panic of 1907, which Morgan was instrumental in halting, is as exciting as a good thriller and far more instructive. --Wendy Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Publishers Weekly

Often celebrated as the ideal capitalist or excoriated as the robber baron who most epitomized the excesses and iniquities of the Gilded Age, J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) has, in Strouse, finally been accorded a biographer whose talents match his enormous legacy. Strouse (whose Alice James won the Bancroft Prize) seamlessly weaves Morgan's exploits as America's leading banker with his frenetic social life, in the process vividly evoking the spirit of the Gilded Age. Though she captures Morgan's famed imperiousness and bluster, she paints a much fuller portrait of Morgan than has hitherto been available. Morgan was the consummate financier. Responsible for the consolidation of most of the nation's railroads as well as the formation of U.S. Steel, he also helped underwrite the creation of General Electric, International Harvester and AT&T. Before there was a Federal Reserve Board, he functioned as America's de facto central banker. He famously enjoyed his wealth and wasn't shy about spreading his money around. A passionate lover of the arts, he served as president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and played a major role in building that institution into one of the finest of its kind. Strouse spent more than 10 years researching her latest work, and readers are rewarded with numerous nuggets about the colorful people who surrounded Morgan. The Morgan who emerges from these pages is, for all his hard ambition and ruthlessness, not merely ruthless and greedy. By blending the different facets of this most complicated man, Strouse humanizesAwithout shrinking or whitewashingAone of America's mythic figures. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 848 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1st Perennial ed edition (March 22, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060955899
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060955892
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #82,650 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars nobody like him, February 22, 2002
By John W. Cotner (Belmont, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
i read ron chernow's book on j. p. morgan before reading this one and initially did not think i would like this one as much, but ended up liking it more. i recommend reading both of them to get a complete picture of morgan, who was, with john d. rockefeller and theodore roosevelt, perhaps the most influential man in america between 1875 and 1925.

chernow's book is really about the house of morgan, and j. p. morgan dies halfway through it, but jean strouse devotes all of her attention to j. p. morgan himself, both to his business and pleasure. he was a man of large ego and appetites, but enough of a fiduciary to be prudent about what he did in all spheres.

both biographers, chernow and strouse, seemed to grow fond of their subject, which is not unusual, except that morgan is a difficult man to warm to. at times they seemed to rationalize or explain away some pretty nasty behavior, e.g., his bigotry and prejudice, which, again, as a fiduciary, he did not let get in the way of making money. if i were jewish, i would not be nearly so tolerant of morgan's virulent anti-semitism as chernow and strouse charitably were. they seemed to accept it as a by- product of his time and class, and i think every biographer ends up liking his subject.

morgan could be an arrogant, haughty jerk and a prick to people, including his family, and was indifferent to his second wife -- his first, the love of his life, having died right after they were married -- and son -- an ineffectual but well-meaning typical "scion" -- but morgan grew up when the upper classes felt entitled to think and act that way, assuming the rightness of their noblesse station in this world. and, he was in a hardball business and playing for keeps with the biggest money of anyone, at any time.

one thing both chernow and strouse point out is how morgan -- seemingly the jupiter above all men -- and his financial house -- seemingly above all nations and boundaries and oriented toward britain rather than toward america -- periodically had to be reined in by the federal government when they got too bold or indifferent to the laws of nations or what was in the usa's best interests.

the law of money was all morgan and his men understood and they thought it was paramount. their machinations, while mostly for the public good and economic development of this country, caused enough distrust of wall street bankers and financiers that more government regulation was called for and ultimately, the federal reserve bank was created, right after he died.

on the positive side, morgan was an inarticulate but, deep inside, a crudely warm man, who genuinely perceived of his role as steward of the american banking and financial system, to enable large amounts of capital to flow westward from europe, to enable the usa to industrialize and expand. he was our banking system and federal reserve system all rolled into one and there is no one like him and has not been since he died. alan greenspan does only a third of what morgan did for the u. s. economy.

jean strouse does a good job of explaining all of this in a way that is not arcane or boring. i am not versed in banking and economics and some of what morgan did in effecting the acquisition and push of big money into the economy and railroads, oil, and other emerging industries is difficult to explain without going into some technical detail.

jean strouse carries this off and i imagine that when she started she had to educate herself about economics to know her subject well enough to not make a fool of herself, as she knew that everyone on wall street would read her book. her discussion of economics a la morgan is both interesting and educational.

the non-business aspect of strouse's book and treatment of morgan the man is just as interesting. morgan was not a philanthopist on the scale of rockefeller, but was a fabulous art and rare book and antiquity collector. a good portion of his collections, except for what his son sold off, became the basis for several new york museum collections that we now enjoy.

and, as strouse points out, morgan was one of the first to have what we now call a rustic lake cottage, on raquette lake in the adirondacks; he spent little time there himself because it frankly was not his style. he also had the nineteenth century version of a phallic cigarette boat, a darth vaderesque, black on black hundred foot yacht, the corsair, which would ominously announce his presence whenever it would glide into a foreign port and tie up; suffice it to say that people far more important than the local press took note of his comings and goings.

i heartily recommend that you read this book. stick with it, as it seems to bog down early on in list-making and daily living detail, but then picks up and finishes strong. you will find it interesting, well-written and worthwhile.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing historical perspective, June 24, 1999
By A Customer
Strouse goes into amazing detail (at times a bit thick, but always fascinating) as she charts Morgan's entire life--out of which context emerge the outlines of a number of the most significant shifts in emerging global finance coming out of the American Civil War: 1) moving captial to the US from Europe to refinance Civil War debt and contribute to the building of the US industrial base 2)a broad shift from debt-based financing to equity-based financing, and 3)the (at the time) scandalous shift in valuing companies from book-value to multiples of earnings (the financial media of the day descried that Morgan, at one point, got international backing for a shipping combination valued at between 2 and 3 times annual revenues).

Insights the Strouse bio makes accessible inform the daily world around us in bounteous ways that make this book an incredibly worthwhile (as well as compelling) read. In this morning's WSJ, there was discussion of Iran now making good on previously nationalized assets so as to make Iran a more attractive place for international investors; the discussion of the bond market in light of the stock market's powerful gains continues; and individual investors as well as institutions are forever coming to terms with the fact that the market continues to support companies with what have traditionally been considered wildly high p/e ratios.

Add to the mix that Morgan was a fascinating man--as interested in the details of the dresses he had made for his wife, daughters, and mistresses as in the contents of his library, the speed of and fittings on his latest yacht, as well as the characters of the men who worked for him and with whom he chose to form investing syndicates, and you have a delightful, powerful biography.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars History is subject to a tyranny of the articulate, April 12, 2002
JP Morgan ruled finance like Napoleon or Caesar ruled the battlefield, but he could never express himself clearly. On a good day he was about as eloquent as George W. Bush. Yet he would see what needed to be done and do it; words never entered the process.

This theme runs through Ms. Strouse's book (the review's title is a quote). Yet Morgan's inability to clearly express himself in no way affected his ability to understand his work. Ms. Strouse wrote a beautifully ironic book: an eloquent elegy to an inarticulate leader, and this way voicing in her biography what Morgan could not himself express.

The book gives serious readers a refreshing dose of humility; it is a welcome argument on why we need to look beyond the sound bite when evaluating today's leaders (such as GWB, like him or not).

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Bad John
Big Bad John

In the months following the year he turned 69
The banking system cracked and men started cryin'
Bankers were prayin' and hearts beat fast... Read more
Published 4 months ago by fredtownward

4.0 out of 5 stars Details, Details, Details
"Morgan: American Financier" is the most thorough biography I have ever read. The book also does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the times that Morgan lived in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by T. Karr

2.0 out of 5 stars A ponderous biography
This biography of J.P. Morgan is a yawner. Wading through this book lets you know about Morgan but you never get to know the man. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive biography of JP Morgan: ambitious son, banker, titan, soul of American finance.
Jean Strouse tries to get beyond the myths, both positive and negative, and show us the living breathing man that was J.P. Morgan and she does a remarkable job. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars THE PANIC OF 1907
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5.0 out of 5 stars a virtuoso biography
Jean Strouse, the author of several acclaimed biographies, decided to write a biography of John Pierpont Morgan, who was, in his day, America's preeminent financier. Read more
Published on December 1, 2006 by lector avidus

5.0 out of 5 stars I imagine even Morgan would be impressed.
Jean Strouse's powerful gift to tell a story combined with her intellectual muscle lead to a riveting biography of J.P. Morgan's life. I read this book when it first came out. Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough Biography
Jean Strouse's thorough biography on J.P. Morgan was...thorough. Strouse must have gone through a tremendous amount of work to put together this almost 700-page book. Read more
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