The gripping story of the founding of world's most successful investment bank.
When Money Was In Fashion
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
You may have noticed that some of our books are identified as "deckle edge" in the title. Deckle edge books are bound with pages that are made to resemble handmade paper by applying a frayed texture to the edges. Deckle edge is an ornamental feature designed to set certain titles apart from books with machine-cut pages. See a larger image.
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
-
Seasonal Offer:
This title is part of our Seasonal Offers promotion.
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
""When Money was in Fashion" provides a much needed and fascinating look into the life of one of Wall Street's original elder statesmen. Fisher's story is both revealing and personal and provides behind-the-scenes insight into the formative period of Wall Street's growth." --Charles Geisst, Author of "The Last Partnerships" and "Wall Street: A History"
"Most Americans know more more about string theory than they do about high finance -- and even less about the character, family background and inner life of Wall Street's principle protagonists. This beautifully written and quietly revealing biography provides a timely, fascinating and discretely unflinching account of the life of Henry Goldman -- the sixth child and second son of Bertha and Marcus Goldman, the founder of Goldman Sachs, and a key if complex force in the evolution of the firm during the first two formative decades of the 20th century. Written by Goldman's granddaughter, June Fisher, it combines a rare inside family portrait of America's most powerful banking dynasty with an unusual degree of elegance, irony and restraint. Anyone interested in the history and lineage of Goldman Sachs will be riveted by Ms. Fisher's story." --Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker""When Money Was in Fashion" is a fascinating and enlightening window into a major part of Wall Street history: the now legendary investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs and Henry Goldman, one of the firm's prime shapers." -- John Steele Gordon, Author of An "Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power " "[An] immigrants-made-good saga....[A] memoir of an admired grandfather by a current-day octogenarian who was 10 years old when he died....Patriarch Goldman knew how to enjoy his money after earning it, knew how to enjoy togetherness with family members, knew how to enrich the citizenry he sometimes had been accused of exploiting."--"USA Today""" "A graceful account of Goldman and his era....[A] charming family scrapbook."--"Bl
Book Description
The gripping story of the founding of world's most successful investment bank
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Rolf Dobelli
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
The Goldman Sachs colossus straddles the financial world today, but it started as a family business. June Breton Fisher, great-granddaughter of founder Marcus Goldman, draws on information from relatives and her own memories to portray the little-known story of the firm's founding. Two teenage boys met in a synagogue in Bavaria and throughout marriages, births, deaths, conflict and scandal, they gave life to Goldman Sachs. Whatever you may think of the bank, you'll find its forebears, particularly Henry Goldman, to be intriguing, innovative and very human. getAbstract recommends this loving memoir for its slice-of-life narrative, though astute readers will need to sort through its scattered inconsistencies and errors. And, it lacks a badly needed family tree. You might quibble over the title - after all, when hasn't money been in fashion? - but Henry's quote actually was, "Money will always be in fashion." How right he was.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars
28 reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Part Biography, Part Memoir...
2 April 2010
By Eric Hobart
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
When I selected this book, I thought that it would be an analytical book focusing on Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs, and the founding of Wall Street (as the title suggests). However, I was sorely disappointed after reading it.
The book is based on family history more than anything - it is an interesting read, but it feels as though the author (who is related to the subject) is trying to either create or repair a legacy for Henry Goldman rather than analyzing how his life influenced Wall Street.
Having said that, I must be fair - the author does present us with plenty of factual examples of how Goldman's magical touch turned his efforts into Gold (quite literally, in some cases), and she exposes some of his flaws (i.e. supporting Germany during WWI), but mostly it is about showing the kind of person Goldman was.
The book is arranged topically - unlike many history books, this one does not progress chronologically, which made it a little harder for me to read & comprehend. In and of itself, this does not make it a bad book, but it detracted from my reading experience.
There is one chapter that is largely personal memoir - there are tales of family gatherings, the "good times", and how Goldman was indeed the family patriarch. However, that chapter does not lend itself at all to the title, and that's one of my big beefs with the book - there is too much memoir and not enough focus on Goldman's efforts to make Goldman Sachs the institution that it is (was). In addition, the obvious feud between the two families, which seems to rival the infamous feud of the Hatfields and the McCoys, is overly prevalent within the pages of the book.
Truthfully, if I had to purchase this book, I would probably pass on the opportunity, because it did not meet my goal of being an economic/business type history. Keep these things in mind before picking this one up - fun read, but not overly deep, and doesn't really present any new material for historical analysis.
The book is based on family history more than anything - it is an interesting read, but it feels as though the author (who is related to the subject) is trying to either create or repair a legacy for Henry Goldman rather than analyzing how his life influenced Wall Street.
Having said that, I must be fair - the author does present us with plenty of factual examples of how Goldman's magical touch turned his efforts into Gold (quite literally, in some cases), and she exposes some of his flaws (i.e. supporting Germany during WWI), but mostly it is about showing the kind of person Goldman was.
The book is arranged topically - unlike many history books, this one does not progress chronologically, which made it a little harder for me to read & comprehend. In and of itself, this does not make it a bad book, but it detracted from my reading experience.
There is one chapter that is largely personal memoir - there are tales of family gatherings, the "good times", and how Goldman was indeed the family patriarch. However, that chapter does not lend itself at all to the title, and that's one of my big beefs with the book - there is too much memoir and not enough focus on Goldman's efforts to make Goldman Sachs the institution that it is (was). In addition, the obvious feud between the two families, which seems to rival the infamous feud of the Hatfields and the McCoys, is overly prevalent within the pages of the book.
Truthfully, if I had to purchase this book, I would probably pass on the opportunity, because it did not meet my goal of being an economic/business type history. Keep these things in mind before picking this one up - fun read, but not overly deep, and doesn't really present any new material for historical analysis.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Story
3 Jun 2010
By Neil Kottler
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I can understand the frustration many book buyers may have had with this book. It is misnamed. Someone looking for information about the history of Wall Street has to go elsewhere; it's not really covered in "When Money Was In Fashion." Now unless the author had control over naming the book, which is highly unlikely, the fault lies with the publisher. However, what June Fisher has written is not only utterly fascinating, it is so beautifully told; very lyrical. And the subject of the title is absorbing. Henry Goldman was much more than a Wall Street figurehead or tycoon. He led a complete life, involved in the arts, music, science, a true Renaissance man. Yet the rupture between him and his kinsmen, the Sachs family, is mystifying to me; how such a close-knit family--the Goldmans and Sachs are related to each other--could become so distant that it would last a century or more. Wonderful tales of Albert Einstein and the child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin, obviously a gifted musician who lacked a backbone when he declined to play his Strad for Goldman when the old gentleman was blind and dying--the same Strad Goldman had benevolently purchased for him. The story about his relationship with Germany before, during and after World War I, his views on German society and his impatience with those who sought to subjugate Germany at the Treaty of Versailles, are also fascinating. Anyone interested in an excellent biography would delight in June Fisher's wonderful tale of her grandfather.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mildly entertaining
21 Mar 2010
By BrianB
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This chatty, informal history of the Goldman and Sachs families was not at all what I expected. This is no formal history of the great financial house of Goldman Sachs, no instructive tale of banking lore. Fisher meanders through 150 years of family history like a loquacious aunt, throwing off anecdotes and idiosyncratic personal appraisals of family members, dropping brief mention of scandals, then dallying over details of mundane daily affairs. The men of the family are handsome and intelligent, the women beautiful and elegant, the children far above average. She mentions the deficit of attention that the children suffer from their parents, but does not delve into their emotional lives in any detail. She uses colloquial expressions and cliché's with abandon: "The cat was out of the bag." "Tall dark and handsome..." "Sam, a rock ribbed Republican..." This is an easy and pleasant book to read, but not particularly informative.
The author sometimes misstates factual details, especially in the financial arena. She uses footnotes to some original sources, but also refers to popular non fiction. She relies on authors like Steven Birmingham and Lisa Endlich for many details. The result is a mostly uncritical and occasionally gushing assessment of the family and the firm.
I cringed a few times, particularly when, at Henry Goldman's funeral, the author describes how her father quoted Polonius and attributed it to Hamlet. He asserted that the deceased might be summed up in a few words, namely the "To thine own self be true" speech. There was apparently no recognition that this speech was made by one of the biggest blowhards in Shakespeare, full of trite syllogisms that were crafted to seem insufferable. There was no mention of the irony that this same speech includes the admonition "neither a borrower nor a lender be." The author quotes it without comment or correction.
The Sachs family gets very little room in this history. The author devotes most of the book to her immediate relatives. The Goldman family has a fascinating history, but this account of their history is only mildly entertaining.
The author sometimes misstates factual details, especially in the financial arena. She uses footnotes to some original sources, but also refers to popular non fiction. She relies on authors like Steven Birmingham and Lisa Endlich for many details. The result is a mostly uncritical and occasionally gushing assessment of the family and the firm.
I cringed a few times, particularly when, at Henry Goldman's funeral, the author describes how her father quoted Polonius and attributed it to Hamlet. He asserted that the deceased might be summed up in a few words, namely the "To thine own self be true" speech. There was apparently no recognition that this speech was made by one of the biggest blowhards in Shakespeare, full of trite syllogisms that were crafted to seem insufferable. There was no mention of the irony that this same speech includes the admonition "neither a borrower nor a lender be." The author quotes it without comment or correction.
The Sachs family gets very little room in this history. The author devotes most of the book to her immediate relatives. The Goldman family has a fascinating history, but this account of their history is only mildly entertaining.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 28 reviews
3.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > United States
- Books > Biography > Political > United States
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Biographies & Memoirs
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Business & Economic History
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Company Histories
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Finance and Stock Market History
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Professional Finance > Banking
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Professional Finance > Investments & Securities
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry I
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
