Morgan: American Financier

In her book, "Morgan: American Financier" Jean Strouse has made a bold attempt to capture the essence of the man whose ideas shaped America's economy from the Civil War up through, at least, the New Deal. While the style of the writing of "Morgan: American Financier" may seem "dry", we have to remember that Ms. Strouse is not writing a biography of a colorful person like Nellie Bly or William Randolph Hearst. Still, she captures the tensions behind high-stake financing, plutocratic rivalries (Morgan vs. Andrew Carnegie, for example), and the ambitious attempt to rein in the wild speculation of railroad magnates. What makes the text of this book engaging for those not inclined to read these types of biographies, is that Strouse never lets you forget how much is at stake, not just in terms of dollars but in terms of the future of America's economic stability and growth.For me, the chapters on JP Morgan's relationship with his father, Junius, and the internal struggles he had with traditional financing versus the role of financer as corporate director were at times touching and admirable. Specifically, the chapters entitled "Family Affairs and Professional Ethics" and "Fathers and Sons" were the most successful and enjoyable. Bottom line: if you enjoy biographies/histories of the people who shaped American capitalism, this is a wonderful book. But even if that isn't your cup of tea, there is a lot of the human element to make this great reading.

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

I am a long time student of the American and European Gilded Age capitalists and industrialists, especially the Morgan's. As such I have read every biography of Morgan and his associates ever printed. This latest by Jean Strouse is without question the finest I have read. Here's why; Well written history immurses the reader in the period under discussion; nothing in the writing jars the reader back to the present. The very packaging of the book itself must give one the feel of the period The subject (in this case Morgan) must be viewed from many different angles; peers, family, reporters, foreign potentates, etc so that one gains a 360 degree view of the subject.The book must contain heretofore unseen illustrations. Not just the usual ones.The author must be so familiar and attracted to the subject that the writing is imbued with high drama. When you finish you are left with a feeling of wonder. You need time to allow the experience to permeate your senses. You do not even feel like moving onto the next book yet.Jean Strouse's biography accomplishes all the above with a 5 star rating !!

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.

I found this book to be a facinating look at the man who was so rich that he single-handedly was able to stop the stock market from crashing. Morgan has been perhaps unfairly labeled a "robber baron", when in fact he was extremely generous in his philanthropy - particularly to the Episcopal Church and to the American people, to whom he gave his vast art collection...perhaps the largest collection in the world. You won't be able to put it down once you start, and the price is very reasonable!