The Warburgs, Ron Chernow
The Warburgs, Ron Chernow
List: $37.50 | Sale: $26.25
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The Warburgs
The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family

Author: Ron Chernow

Narrator: Jonathan Reese

Unabridged: 35 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/15/2016


Synopsis

Bankers, philanthropists, scholars, socialites, artists, and politicians, the Warburgs stood at the pinnacle of German (and, later, of German-American) Jewry. They forged economic dynasties, built mansions and estates, assembled libraries, endowed charities, and advised a German kaiser and two American presidents. But their very success made the Warburgs lightning rods for anti-Semitism, and their sense of patriotism became increasingly dangerous in a Germany that had declared Jews the enemy.

Ron Chernow's hugely fascinating history is a group portrait of a clan whose members were renowned for their brilliance, culture, and personal energy yet tragically vulnerable to the dark and irrational currents of the twentieth century.

About The Author

Ron Chernow’s bestselling books include The House of Morgan, winner of the National Book Award; The Warburgs, which won the George S. Eccles Prize; The Death of the Banker; Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Washington: A Life, which received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography; and Alexander Hamilton, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and adapted into the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton. Chernow has served as president of PEN American Center and has received seven honorary doctoral degrees. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Trish on March 08, 2022

Thank fuck it's over! I have never read such a bad biography/history book. The Warburgs are a very influential Jewish family who have had their hands in all manner of businesses for hundreds of years. As such, I was very curious to read this seemingly detailed account of the family and their history.......more

Goodreads review by Kristen on July 18, 2007

The negatives: hard to keep track of all the characters. The positives: a remarkeable story, the family lived through important and interesting parts of US/European/World history. The most interesting parts were about the German Jewish families perspective on the rise of Nazism. Overall: worth readin......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on March 08, 2022

Two things. There's a lot of good info in this biography of the Warburgs. Lots of interesting people. Aby and Eric and even Siegfried are the real standouts for me, from the establishment of philanthropy and libraries all the way to the skullduggery during the Third Reich and the dissolution of the b......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on March 03, 2020

I owe a great debt to Ron Chernow. His 2004 biography "Alexander Hamilton" sparked an interest in American history, especially the Revolutionary period, that has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment and a never ending appreciation and amazement for just how much our Founding Fathers achieve......more

Goodreads review by Bob on June 27, 2018

Summary: The story of a prosperous and sprawling Jewish banking family who eventually established banking and philanthropic efforts in Germany, England, and the U.S., experiencing both great success and influence, and stunning disillusionment with the rise of Nazi Germany. The Warburgs. It sounds lik......more


Quotes

"Splendid.... Chernow does a wonderful job fleshing out the lives of the major characters in this family drama."

-- Wall Street Journal

"[Ron Chernow] has surpassed himself in this absorbing chronicle."

-- The New Yorker

"This is grand-scale scholarship .... It is all here, along with so much of the painful, tumultuous history of our time, all in one splendid book."

-- David McCullough, author of Truman