Morgan: American Financier

By: Jean Strouse

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Noted biographer Jean Strouse has won the Bancroft Prize and received fellowships from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts. Her work has appeared in major magazines, including The New Yorker and Newsweek. In Morgan, she creates the first complete portrait of a man who defined American commerce and banking. Contemporaries described J. Pierpoint Morgan as “the financial Moses of the New World”. He was also called “a beefy, red-faced, thick-necked financial bully, drunk with wealth and power….”

To separate the legend from the man, Jean Strouse uses a wealth of uncataloged biographical documents from the Pierpoint Morgan Library. She shows J.Pierpoint Morgan in the full context of his childhood and health, travels and tastes, personal affairs and business relationships. Through Nelson Runger’s thoughtful narration, this accessible biography becomes a fascinating audio production. Morgan sheds light on the life of a remarkable man, but it also helps us to better understand today’s international finance.

©1999 Jean Strouse (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"By uncovering the big-government impulses of capitalism's patron saint, Strouse gives us a generous sense of Morgan's contradictions. She peers thoughtfully behind the myth of an economic despot to discover a more nuanced figure." ( Fortune)

"Enormously entertaining." ( New York Daily News)

A masterfull biography

In truth, this is an American History lesson that will open your understanding of this great country. Morgan is presented as a human in all his glorious flaws. The narration is strong and it is easy to tell who is represented. Great book

American Titan

I love the depth of the material. The detail in which it was presented. Excellent book of American history.

Surprisingly accessible, make the man human

Would you listen to Morgan: American Financier again? Why?

Yes, this reads like a novel. Interesting characters, covers his business career well without drowning reader in minutiae. Morgan comes across as very human and understandable.

Great narration; have loved many of Nelson Runger's books.

Mesmerising Morganizing

Applause, applause to Jean Strauss for a delightfully illustrative presentation of a fascinating man whose life has been and continues to be an impacting force in our lives today.

More about art than money

I started to listen to this book since I was interested in JPMorgan‘s life. I initially wanted to read this because I wanted to learn about JPMorgan the financier. The author went into a long list of art items and more about the person than how he managed the financial empire he created. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a good book, but not what I was looking for as far as the narrator he did a good job so this is a solid four star.