The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets 1798-1848

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Ferguson also praises the Rothschilds for the intelligent and generous support that they gave to many artists, writers and poets. I believe that this aspect of the Rothschilds is generally known and so I make no further comments. A stupendous achievement, a triumph of historical research and imagination.”—Robert Skidelsky, The New York Review of Books Let's look at the good side. Ferguson notes that the bonds issued by the Rothschilds would almost invariably rise and settle well above their initial strike price. Ferguson concludes correctly that this pattern was a clear sign of superior management. Indeed the Rothschilds chose their projects carefully. They underwrote responsibly which meant that their clients did not bankrupt themselves trying to pay debt beyond their resources but rather became richer because their borrowing costs were in proportion to their ability to pay.

Having recently finished a biography of the Warburgs, I'm surprised at how little overlap there seems to be (I think they were mentioned just once in this book). However, since this one ends in 1848, it's still a bit early in the Warburg timeline. The second part might have more.An entertaining dissection of the very British obsessions with money, class and scandal... High Time is a lot of fun' - Irish Times This is fascinating but very dense. Not for every reader. If you love financial history though, it is great. Theirs is a rags-to-riches story. The Jewish Ghetto of Frankfurt was one of the most repressive in Western or Central Europe. Begun in the 12th century it had not changed much in the 18th: the laws controlling the lives and livelihoods of Jews were very strict and repressive. The man who is considered the “founder” of the famous branch of the family, Mayer Amschel Rothschild (an Ashkenazi Jew) began life as the son of a respectable man, but not one of wealth. Both of his parents died before his thirteen birthday and after and apprenticeship in Hanover, he returned to Frankfurt in1764. Rózsika died in 1940, but Dolly would live long enough to see the dream of early 20th-century Zionists realised in the creation of Israel. She became a leading patron of the young state, and a confidante to several of its most important leaders. While many contemporaries noted the irony of Jewish bankers being the main prop for the the "Holy Alliance" of Catholic monarchies in the East, and the Protestant ones in the West, Ferguson shows that in fact if the Rothschild's had a bias towards anything it was towards peace, an expensive and armed peace they preferred, but peace nonetheless. They often also used their clout to demand increased rights for Jews and sometimes even more parliamentry democracy, which they thought stabilized investments. Perhaps the best part of the book is showing the Rothschild's participation in the tangled webs of international diplomacy at the time, where ideologies were attached to regimes and countries like in few later periods. Liberals tended to support French and Belgian claims in any circumstances, while reactionaries supported Austria and Prussia, and domestic politics often involved playing off different nations as much as different policies. On the whole, the Rothschild worked across these ideological lines, but they turned more Whig and liberal as time went on.

the British haven’t lost is their sense of humor, and Ms. Rothschild provides a large dose of it in this quirky satire.’ The Wall Street Journal Rothschild's) brilliant new novel, High Time, is pure escapist satire. Once again set in the world of high art as well as high finance – both of which she lampoons with comic aplomb – the book reads like a thrilling fairground ride version of Downton Abbey.' - Independent This book has a lot of detail, which I enjoyed quite a bit. In addition to detail about the family it goes into depth about finance and economics, and the politics (and wars, etc.) going on in Europe during the first half of the 19th century, obviously as how they pertain to the Rothschild family.A major work of economic, social and political history, Niall Ferguson’s The House of Rothschild: The World’s Banker 1849-1999 is the second volume of the acclaimed, landmark history of the legendary Rothschild banking dynasty.