The House of Rothschild: Volume 1: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848 (平装)

基本信息出版社:Penguin (Non-Classics) (1999年11月1日)平装:672页正文语种:英语ISBN:0140240845条形码:9780140240849产品尺寸及重量:22.9 x 15 x 3 cm ; 613 gASIN:0140240845

商品描述内容简介The first authoritative and compulsively readable history of the rise of this legendary banking dynasty

In his rich and nuanced portrait of the remark- able, elusive Rothschild family, Oxford scholar and bestselling author Niall Ferguson uncovers the secrets behind the family's phenomenal economic success. He reveals for the first time the details of the family's vast political network, which gave it access to and influence over many of the greatest statesmen of the age. And he tells a family saga, tracing the importance of family unity and the profound role of Judaism in the lives of a dynasty that rose from the confines of the Frankfurt ghetto and later used its influence to assist oppressed Jews throughout Europe. A definitive work of impeccable scholarship with a thoroughly engaging narrative,The House of Rothschildis a biography of the rarest kind, in which mysterious and fascinating historical figures finally spring to life.

"A great biography." --Time magazine

"Absorbing. . . .Their enthralling story has been told before, but never in such authoritative detail." --The New York Times Book Review

"Niall Ferguson's rich and compelling new book . . . is a feast." --The Wall Street Journal

* Chosen byBusiness Weekas one of the Best Business Books of 1998

* A finalist for the National Jewish Book Award编辑推荐Founded in the late 18th century by expatriate German Jews, the London-based House of Rothschild was within decades the largest banking enterprise in the world. Its principals controlled a vast portion of the industrial world's wealth--more so, Oxford historianNiall Fergusonwrites, than any family has since--and as a result enjoyed tremendous political influence in the major capitals of Europe, counting as allies such important figures as Metternich and Wellington. That influence would provoke countless anti-Semitic tracts fulminating against Jewish usury and against the power of "Eastern potentates" in the empires of England and France. Although the Rothschilds were well aware of their power and not reluctant to use it, they operated fairly, Ferguson notes. For example, whereas lending rates in the textile industry, in which the Rothschilds got their start, were often 20 percent, the fledgling house charged 5 to 9 percent. Through shrewd, complex negotiations they helped promote peace and the beginnings of economic union throughout Europe.Ferguson's sprawling history covers much ground and involves a cast of hundreds of players. At the outset he notes that his book was commissioned by the modern descendants of the House of Rothschild; even so, he approaches his task with careful balance and a critical eye, pointing out the Rothschilds' failings as well as successes. The result is a fine, solid contribution to economic history, one that, unlike so many books in the field, is eminently readable.--Gregory McNamee