The Money Men, H. W. Brands
The Money Men, H. W. Brands
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The Money Men
Capitalism, Democracy, and the Hundred Years' War over the American Dollar

Author: H. W. Brands

Narrator: Lloyd James

Unabridged: 5 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/01/2006


Synopsis

From the first days of the United States, a battle raged over money. On one side were the democrats, who wanted cheap money and feared the concentration of financial interests in the hands of a few. On the other were the capitalists who sought the soundness of a national bank—and the profits that came with it.

In telling this exciting story, H. W. Brands focuses on five "Money Men": Alexander Hamilton, who championed a national bank; Nicholas Biddle, whose run-in with Andrew Jackson led to the bank's demise; Jay Cooke, who financed the Union in the Civil War; Jay Gould, who tried to corner the gold market; and J. P. Morgan, whose position was so commanding that he bailed out the U.S. Treasury.

The Money Men is a riveting narrative, a revealing history of the men who fought over the lifeblood of American commerce and power.

About H. W. Brands

H. W. Brands taught at Vanderbilt University and Texas A&M University before joining the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History. A writer on American history and politics, his books include Traitor to His Class, Andrew Jackson, The Age of Gold, and The First American. Several of his books have been bestsellers, and two, Traitor to His Class and The First American, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. He lectures frequently on historical and current events, and can be seen and heard on national and international television and radio programs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Arminius on March 08, 2016

The great financiers who emerged as the Capitalist juggernauts of our history are discussed. It starts with the smartest man ever to grace the continental United States Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton intuitively knew that a Capitalist economy would lead to great prosperity. He learned this as he saw a......more

Goodreads review by keatssycamore on February 19, 2009

Here's what I learned from the book: The banksters and speculators having been screwing up (and over) the United States for the entirety of it's existence.......more

Goodreads review by Meredith on July 20, 2023

Honestly zoned out this whole book. Can’t say I got much out of it. Thought it sounded interesting, but I got bored......more

Goodreads review by Luke on April 27, 2023

I’ve read many of Brands’s works now, and I keep reading them because I think he is very good at integrating a bunch of details on his subjects into easy to understand and efficient synopses that are always unbiased. Surely, some of his works have more details than others, and so the integration is......more

Goodreads review by Donald on December 07, 2021

This short book is a biography of several American men with profound impact on money and banking. It is a good recapitulation of the history of banking and money supply of our country. Much of this history is available in other more general history and biography; however, this is much more detailed......more