The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets 1798-1848 (Audiobook) Niall Ferguson (Author) Review "Taken together, Ferguson's two volumes are a stupendous achievement, a  triumph of historial research an imagination. No serious historian can  write about the connection between the politics, diplomacy, and  economics of the nineteenth century in the same way again. And, as any  good work of history should do, it constantly prompts us to ask  questions about our own age, when once again we have embarked on the  grand experiment of a world economy without a world government." "Mr. Ferguson's account of the Rothschild fortunes is a meticulous study  in business history and a fascinating inside look at 19th- and  20th-century European history...." "[This book] is a well-written, superbly illustrated, and unabashedly  personalist account of the Rothschilds' phenomenal success....[T]his is  an excellent book that is well worth reading for both the general reader  and specialist." "Their enthralling story has often been told before, but never in such authoritative detail." "Ferguson's fluid, masterful synthesis of a vast amount of material  tends more toward the academic that the popular. But he brings vitality  to a series of compelling issues, ranging from the Rothschilds' staunch  Judaism to their intrafamily marriages." "Niall Ferguson's brilliant and altogether enthralling two-volume family  saga of the Rothschilds proves that academic historians can still tell  great stories that the rest of us want to read. Despite its rigorous and  sophisticated treatment of the intricacies of finance, economics and  diplomacy, [this book], the second volume of Ferguson's history, has all  the grandeur and sweet of a 19th-century three-decker novel." Publisher's noteA richly rendered portrait of the Rothschild dynasty  reveals for the first time the mechanics of this family's rise to  financial prominence, with fresh details on its experiences in the  Frankfurt ghetto and the aid it rendered to persecuted Jews throughout  Europe. Reprint. NYT. AnnotationSpanning fifty years, this historical account chronicles the  lives of the Rothschild family businessmen, from their simple  money-lending roots to their eventual status as Europe's most prominent  bankers in the early 19th century. Citing previously unavailable  sources, this book traces the reasons for the family's financial and  political ascendancy, their pivotal financing of industrialization  efforts, and the complex ethical guidelines that fueled their powerful  reign. A New York Times Notable Book for 1999.