"Never before in the history of the world has there been such a powerful central control over finance, industrial production, credit, and wages as it "Never before in the history of the world has there been such a powerful central control over finance, industrial production, credit, and wages as it is at this time vested in the Morgan group." - Former Republican Chairman, quoted in Fortune, August 1933.
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Ron Chernow's first financial biography/history is large It is 720 pages, plus notes/etc., and spans 1938 - 1989. It started off strong. Part I: The Baronial Age (1838-1913) is focused on the MEN, namely George Peabody, Junius Spencer Morgan, and J. Pierpont Morgan. The banks were simply extensions of the men. This section was 5-stars. It was fascinating. Part II: The Diplomatic Age (1913 - 1948) is focused on the bank(s). It begins with J.P. Morgan's death follows the House of Morgan through the war years (with "Jack" Morgan shepherding). Towards the end, with Glass-Steagal, the House of Morgan breaks into three major entities: Morgan Grenfell (already separate, English), Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking), and J.P. Morgan & Co. For me this was 4-stars. Part III: The Casino Age (1948-1989) explored the explosion of banking activity post war, the focus on M&A, and the loss of stature of the House of Morgan, both as it lost power and prestige. The book ends before J.P. Morgan was bought by Chase in 1990 (the book was published in 1990). This part was interesting, but like a shotgun, the further from Pierpont you get, the more diffuse the narrative. Eventually, there just seemed too much (too many actors, too many scandals, too many narrative threads). This part probably desereves 3-stars.
All in all, I liked the book. It showed Chernow's early talent for financial storytelling and gift for capturing historical characters. For me, the most valuable part of this book (besides the information on Pierpont) was the information on the other major partners that played a big roll during the wars, and Morgan's relationships with various 19th and 20th century figures (financial, cultural, political). I was fascinated by the deep relationship the House of Morgan had with fascist Italy, ultranationalist Japan, Germany, and the Vatican. I was entranced by Tom Lamont, Monty Norman, Russell Leffingwell, etc. The book was worth the effort just to learn about these other Morgan men.
Chernow writes primarily about banking families and American biographies:
Upon reviewing my reviews, I'm convinced Chernow does slightly better at writing histories of individuals rather than families; politics rather than finance. However, I should note, I've enjoyed ALL of his books and he's a master at his craft....more
"My self-justifying image about being learned can be the very thing that sometimes keeps me from learning." - The Arbinger Institute, Leadership and Se"My self-justifying image about being learned can be the very thing that sometimes keeps me from learning." - The Arbinger Institute, Leadership and Self-Deception
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Like most series, I tend to read them backwards. I've known about these Arbinger books for years, but only recently read them. Last year I read Anatomy of Peace and figured it made sense to close the circle on the "box" and read the book that started the whole Arbinger/Self-Deception/Leadership thing.
A quick background (I talk about this a bit in my Anatomy of Peace review): I know C. Terry Warner's family. I actually went to a private, prep school in Provo, Utah with both C. Terry Warner's kids and Steven R. Covey's kids (all we needed was Clayton Christensen's kids and we would have had a full set). The school was amazing. I didn't realize at the time that I was learning French and pre-Calc among the progeny of Leadership Gurus.
First, let me back up. You might never even recognize C. Terry Warner's name while reading this book. He isn't mentioned anywhere in the book directly. It has, however, his philosophical fingerprints all over it. The book isn't written by one person, but rather by an organization (Arbinger Institute) that was founded by Dr. Warner. It builds on C. Terry Warner's ideas of self-deception, human emotions, and organizational performance.
C. Terry Warner is a PhD in philosophy and taught for years at BYU so it is natural that the foundations of a lot of Arbinger (a company he founded) is centered around philosophy, theology, and psychology. This book focuses on self-deception, and how treating people as objects and not people, and self-betrayal (not acting on our impulse to help others), hurts families, organizations, and individuals. I think the ideas in this book are sound. I wasn't, however, a fan of the terms "in the box" or "out of the box". I understand why they used it (simplicity, visually instructive, intuitive), but it also seemed a bit too simplistic (maybe that is what today's business demand?) and confusing (for years people have used the cliche "thinking outside the box" which is a completely different idea).
Anyway, I generally hate self-help and corporate leadership books. I do, however, have a soft spot for the Arbinger books, and do find them to be a bit more useful than most. Part of the reason I liked, yet am still also a bit conflicted about it, fits into a term coined by my friend Nathaniel. He called Arbinger and Covey books a sub-genre of "covertly religious business books". Some of the stories were familiar to me locally. Some concepts seemed, like Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, to repackage theological and ethical arguments I am very familiar with. Again, some of that may come from where I grew up, and the kids I was hanging with....more
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