- Hardcover: 380 pages
- Publisher: Viking Books (21 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670033383
- ISBN-13: 978-0670033386
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,162,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Dynasties
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Review
Praise for The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: 'An inimitable combination of great erudition and pithy wisdom' Niall Fergusson 'A gripping yarn of global and economic history' Observer
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Observer
`A gripping yarn of global and economic history'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You know the names: Rothschild, Rockefeller, Ford, Toyota, Guggenheim. Yet, economists rarely analyze the impact of family enterprises. Bestselling author and scholar David S. Landes corrects this imbalance with his study of 11 enduring, influential dynasties. He defines a dynasty as a successful business held within one family's control for at least three generations. Family companies, even immense ones, often follow a predictable pattern: First, an ambitious, clever, hard-working patriarch, and, perhaps, his children, found a big, profitable business. Then, the following generations spend the accumulated wealth instead of adding to it. Yet, there are fascinating anomalies within this model - from amazing philanthropy to bad apples. The dramas behind family ties that unravel (or knit more strongly) in the face of big money make each chapter read like an absorbing novel. Sometimes Landes' attempt to track every branch of a family tree can leave the reader out on a limb, yet getAbstract warmly recommends this entertaining work to anyone with an interest in history, economics or family dynamics.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My favourite book of 2008! Landes well written ,meticulously researched, accessible, relevant book surprised me with its inherently easy to read, yet informative style. It has provided me with incredible historically relevant background information to the current financial banking crisis. Though it is much much more than a book about banking families, I personally found that element resonated most given our current climate.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
I, on the Other Hand, Liked it
5 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover
Contrary to the other reviewers, I thought this was a worthwhile and interesting read. The subject matter is compelling given that, as Landes points out, many of the great companies of the world start out as family run and were handed down within the family for at least two more generations.
Landes rather convincingly shows that while long term adaptation requires shifting to professional management, the family-run model holds unique advantages that explains the critical early success of the enterprise. Loyalty, passion for the business, esprit de corps, willingness to re-invest in the business, and long-term thinking are all characteristics of the family-run business. Professional management tend to think in more short-sighted ways and the shift from the family as well as the alientation brought on by the big money paid professional managers can seriously erode morale.
All of which raises the issue of why we tolerate the compensation structures of professional managers. It would seem preferable to restructure financial incentives to reward long-term thinking. Perhaps we should think about lower salaries that don't completely alienate the rest of the workforce as well as stock options or deferred compensation tied to long-term corporate performance.
Landes is thoughtful and entertaining and has wonderful anecdotes. The portrayals of Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller are all very striking and amusing.
I recommend it.
Landes rather convincingly shows that while long term adaptation requires shifting to professional management, the family-run model holds unique advantages that explains the critical early success of the enterprise. Loyalty, passion for the business, esprit de corps, willingness to re-invest in the business, and long-term thinking are all characteristics of the family-run business. Professional management tend to think in more short-sighted ways and the shift from the family as well as the alientation brought on by the big money paid professional managers can seriously erode morale.
All of which raises the issue of why we tolerate the compensation structures of professional managers. It would seem preferable to restructure financial incentives to reward long-term thinking. Perhaps we should think about lower salaries that don't completely alienate the rest of the workforce as well as stock options or deferred compensation tied to long-term corporate performance.
Landes is thoughtful and entertaining and has wonderful anecdotes. The portrayals of Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller are all very striking and amusing.
I recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Powerful, successful family businesses that grew into dynasties
29 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover
You know the names: Rothschild, Rockefeller, Ford, Toyota, Guggenheim. Yet, economists rarely analyze the impact of family enterprises. Bestselling author and scholar David S. Landes corrects this imbalance with his study of 11 enduring, influential dynasties. He defines a dynasty as a successful business held within one family's control for at least three generations. Family companies, even immense ones, often follow a predictable pattern: First, an ambitious, clever, hard-working patriarch, and, perhaps, his children, found a big, profitable business. Then, the following generations spend the accumulated wealth instead of adding to it. Yet, there are fascinating anomalies within this model - from amazing philanthropy to bad apples. The dramas behind family ties that unravel (or knit more strongly) in the face of big money make each chapter read like an absorbing novel. Sometimes Landes' attempt to track every branch of a family tree can leave the reader out on a limb, yet getAbstract warmly recommends this entertaining work to anyone with an interest in history, economics or family dynamics.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Uhhh, Ohhhh, Ehhhh, In a word? Disappointing!!!
7 Jun 2007
Format:Hardcover
David Landes has written one - not only in my opinion, I believe - of the "must read" book of all times: ''The wealth and poverty of Nations'' . Based on this, You can tell the amount of expectation on every single line he writes, and "Dynasties" unfortunately does not help at all. The book is too long, too superficial, and some times it was really hard to keep on reading. If you are looking for something to chat on cocktails and/or with your colleagues at the cafeteria - there are some interesting stuf in here. In the other hand, if you are looking for some analysis on the familiar enterprises and their evolution (organizational, structural, etc.) - search somewhere else.
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