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Summary: The House of Rothschild
Review: Ferguson (Oxford) presents a fascinating picture of the first two generations of the Rothschild family (Mayer Amschel and his five sons Amschel, Solomon, Nathan, Carl, and James), who laid the foundation for the family's banking fortune in the early 19th century. Ferguson attacks the myths surrounding the family and focuses on the nature of the partnership and the secret of its success. Intricately weaving together strands of familial, financial, and political history into a highly readable but complex narrative, the author presents a vivid picture of this Jewish family, which emerged from the Frankfurt ghetto to dominate European finance, particularly the international bond market, and which, despite its rise to unparalleled wealth and influence, never deserted Judaism. This massive, lucid, and captivating study rests largely on previously unexamined manuscript sources in Paris, London, Frankfurt, and Moscow, many written in German with Hebrew characters. These sources are meticulously documented in 140 pages of footnotes/bibliography within the 600-page text. It will remain the definitive account of the early history of the family. Highly recommended for scholars and general readers alike.
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Summary: A first-rate history, if a bit thin on the finance
Review: Ferguson has written a rare work: a family chronicle which is both a compelling read, and is good history. The text is richly detailed, while the very complete footnotes provide the reader with a clear sense of the broad scholarship that has gone into the book. One caveat: while Ferguson points out in his introduction that the work is not a financial history, he unfortunately doesn't paint as rich a picture of the financial markets of the early 19th century as the book requires. While the house's trading history makes for a fascinating read, it takes place without any contextual comparison of how other market makers behaved and traded (other than an occasional comparison of profits and losses). Still, though, it's a minor criticism of a great book. Highly recommended.
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Summary: No Bibliography
Review: Ferguson's book is really stunning, especially when viewed against the family's mythology. In Frederic Morton's The Rothschilds, for instance, we read that Nathan Rothschild, founder of the London branch, made his fortune by selling down British consols and then scooping then up at fire-sale prices. This was reportedly initiated when Nathan learned of Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo. But in The House of Rothschild, we learn that Waterloo posed more difficulties than opportunities for the family. This book is definitely a must-buy for those interested in financial history.
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Summary: Myth-breaker
Review: Ferguson's book is really stunning, especially when viewed against the family's mythology. In Frederic Morton's The Rothschilds, for instance, we read that Nathan Rothschild, founder of the London branch, made his fortune by selling down British consols and then scooping then up at fire-sale prices. This was reportedly initiated when Nathan learned of Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo. But in The House of Rothschild, we learn that Waterloo posed more difficulties than opportunities for the family. This book is definitely a must-buy for those interested in financial history.
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Summary: Was Lenin right?
Review: Furgeson makes an interesting remark at the beginning of the book, to the effect that the book can be read in conjunction with Lenin's Imperialism book to judge whether in fact "finance capital" is fundamentally imperialist and also conservative, or supportive of the restoration regimes. With that in mind, I can't say that I read the entire book, but the answer is, from the parts that I did read, a decisive no. The Rothschilds, the embodiment of finance capital (to use a quaint phrase), were not belligerent, in fact they would not support wars because it depressed the value of their bonds. That said, they did support wars, and did so by financing them, and you can't have a foreign war without borrowing money. Moreover, the family did support restoration regimes, for instance, by selling German bonds in London denominated in English pounds, extending the life of the ancien regimes by a few years. They also exercised a good deal of power because they developed a communication system (runners and pigeons) used by all of the politicians, hence they profited by being at the center of the information flow, and were able to last for so long and so profitably through arbitrage, for example, one brother would by a security in France and another would sell it in London, pocketing the difference. So Lenin was right, Rothschild and "finance capital" was remarkably powerful, but they were not essentially conservative (thought they did support restoration regimes) nor bellicose and imperialist. I do admit to skipping most of the rest of the book, but the genre of "economic history" mixed with a good deal of politics and diplomatic history is very interesting, and more power to Furgeson for pulling it off so expertly.
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Summary: Know your European history before you pick this up
Review: I have just finished reading the second volume of this extensive history of the Rothschild family. The author was given access to private writings of the family members, who were avid correspondents with one another. As a result, he is able to bring insight and additional historical information into the narrative of this famous financial house -- or rather houses -- as there were five established during the period of the family's greatest fame and influence. The author makes a strong case that financial constraints definitely limited the actions of nations as they sought to finance their wars and reparations when they lost.
While the two volume work has great sweep, it lacks depth. One senses that since the Rothschild heirs gave the author access to previously unseen source materials, he was reluctant to level serious criticism against the family. Remember, in many cases the financing they provided governments was the necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient for great human suffering -- the very point of these volumes. It is not all a dark picture for the family's activities, far from it, but a blind eye has been turned. More importantly, one turns away from the effort of reading these volumes feeling unfulfilled. Of all that he has written, what was the significance of this great family's prodigious financial activity? Were they a force for good or evil? On balance, has humanity benefitted or been ill served by them? These questions linger as the second volume concludes, and they remain unanswered, or at least, without an answer from this obviously talented and hard working author.
An essential, if unsatisfying, work.
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Summary: Interesting when it sticks to the topic.
Review: I really enjoyed this book, but I found that it went into mind-numbing detail on the financial transactions. When the author stuck to the subject, i.e., the history of the family, it was a fascinating story and I could read 20 pages without realizing it. However, the details about the rate of bonds during the Napoleanic era bored me to tears. I glazed over the last 3 chapters because it was filled with details minimally related to the history of the family. I'm still not sure why providing the exact rate of bonds during the revolutionary periods was so important. It would have sufficed to say that they increased, decreased, tanked or soared. That would have been more than sufficient for my purposes. I will read several other books before I attempt the second volume.
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Summary: No Bibliography
Review: I think that a rich bibliography at the end of a good volume like this is necessary for every reader , from the lowest train-reader to the highest scholar. The fact is simple : the paperback edition lacks the BIBLIOGRAPHY !
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Summary: An excellent and comprehensive analysis
Review: Niall Ferguson has done a commendable job of describing the developement of a captivating family saga. What I found most appealing about the book is its comprehensive nature -- it weaves the family story in the context of the political and economic developments,with which it is closely intertwined. What is even more fascinating is the level of financial details about the bank than Ferguson provides. Perhaps it is his access to the recently open archive in Moscow that allows the author to deisclose finanacial history that it fascinating and detailed.I would highly recommend this book to any serious student of history, as well as to people interested in banking and economics. Perhaps it may appear too detailed for the casual reader.
Rating: 
Summary: No Biliography Abbreviated Footnotes
Review: Shame on Penguin and Mr. Ferguson for the paperback version which contains no bibliography and has abbreviated footnotes. Persons who buy paperbacks have as great a need for the appurtenances of scholarship as hardback buyers. Further it seems a travesty to publish a book with a revisionist flavor and leave out the underpinnings of the argument, a statement of sources. Not to mention splitting the book in two to gouge the US reader!
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