The Money Men

Capitalism, Democracy, and the Hundred Years' War over the American Dollar

By: H. W. Brands

Narrated by: Lloyd James

A best-selling historian's gripping account of the powerful men who controlled America's financial destiny.

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.

©2006 H. W. Brands (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Interesting

This book by Brands is another well-crafted addition to his body of work. He has a talent for weaving complex narratives from a neutral perspective, capturing the essence of the topic without getting bogged down in tedious details.

"The Money Men" exemplifies this skill, as it spans nearly 150 years of history within just 250 pages. The author manages to convey the material effectively without falling into bias or generalization. It's an excellent read for anyone interested in economics and history, offering valuable insights in a concise format.

Fair and entertaining

The book is a fantastic description of the evolution of financial history in the US

Well Narrated, Interesting Overview of American Monetary History

I liked this audiobook. It is clearly narrated. As far as content, I would say it is a fairly condensed history. I did learn some things about American financial history. I also learned some things about some individuals. I am glad that I read it but it is not an in-depth history.

Brands is one of the best

Short sweet and pithy overview of the financial formation of the country.

Brands gets the salient points across in an entertaining manner in a “cliff’s notes” fashion.

I recommend this book highly!

Interesting, if short

I am very interested in political and economic history, so when I saw this book, I was very interested.

The author does a very good job of explaining the history of the push and pull between the two groups that he calls "the capitalists" (those in the finance business) and "the democrats" (those who do not have as much money).

There is a lot to cover and he does a really good job of covering almost 100 years of financial history in under six hours.

I found the first chapter, about Hamilton and Jefferson, a bit short and I really did not learn much from that chapter, but that might be because I am fairly well versed in that part of US history.

I found the rest really, really interesting. The author does a nice job of explaining fairly complicated financial concepts (tight vs. loose money, the gold standard vs. fiat currency) in a very accessible way.

If you are an economics geek like me, you will not be dissappointed.