Oxford scholar Niall Ferguson uncovers the secrets behind the family's phenomenal economic success of the Rothschild family and reveals for the first time the details of the family's vast political network. The Rothschilds created and dominated the modern international bond market and pioneered the art of high-speed communication; their dominance as a political and financial force was such that few governments resisted turning to the family in times of crisis. "Money is the God of our time," wrote Heinrich Heine, "and Rothschild is his prophet." Ferguson was granted unrestricted access to the three surviving Rothschild archives, including documents hidden for more than half a century by the KGB, and has synthesized material from tens of thousands of letters, including many in hitherto untranslated Judeneutsch.
The House of Rothschild is also a family saga. Ferguson explores the central importance of family unity and the profound role of Judaism in the lives of the Rothschilds, who themselves rose from the impoverished confines of the Frankfurt ghetto and later used their legendary wealth to assist oppressed Jews throughout Europe. A work of impeccable scholarship, this is a definitive biography that strips away two centuries of mythology and brings to life the most powerful and fascinating dynasty of the nineteenth century.
Editorial Reviews
"A stupendous achievement, a triumph of historical research and imagination." —Robert Skidelsky, The New York Review of Books
"Niall Ferguson's brilliant and altogether enthralling two-volume family saga proves that academic historians can still tell great stories that the rest of us want to read." —The New York Times Book Review
"Superb ... An impressive ... account of the Rothschilds and their role in history." —Boston Globe
"Ferguson's fluid, masterful synthesis of a vast amount of material...brings vitality to a series of compelling issues." —Business Week
About the Author
Niall Ferguson is one of the world's most renowned historians. He is the author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus, The War of the World, The Ascent of Money, High Financier, Civilization, The Great Degeneration, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, and The Square and the Tower. He is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His many awards include the Benjamin Franklin Prize for Public Service (2010), the Hayek Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2012) and the Ludwig Erhard Prize for Economic Journalism (2013).
