Dimensions
153 x 233 x 40mm
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Rothschilds were firmly established as the world's greatest bankers - as well as the richest family in all history. In the decades which followed, their business empire became truly global, extending beyond finance into railways, gold, diamonds and oil. In this, the second volume of his acclaimed and grippingly readable history, Niall Ferguson describes the challenges which ultimately ended their supremacy. From the Crimea to the Second World War, international conflict created new dangers as well as financial opportunities. And the rise of new political forces - not least socialism and racialism - nearly proved fatal to a family who had come to personify both capitalism and Judaism.
'Remarkable... Ferguson weaves social, political, literary and religious history into the fabric of this splendid book... a compulsive read.'
Charles P. Kindleberger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology