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Baruch: The Public Years
“During his public years, approximately half of the nine decades of his active life, Bernard Baruch has served or advised many of the men who in that time have ruled the Western world... Baruch approves of his own ideas and achievements, but neither is it rancid, for the author, at ninety, cares less for self-vindication than for a rational and decent order among men. The spirit of that admirable objective informs his often anecdotal narrative of men and events, among them the administration of the War Industries Board, the Paris Conference of 1919, the adventures of the prosperous and the trials of the poor in the decade of the 1920’s, and some aspects of the New Deal, economic mobilization in World War II, and the abortive efforts since then for international control of atomic energy. Here there are contented recollections of Wilson, Churchill, Clemenceau and Roosevelt, and, less contented but still appreciative, of Harry Truman... [Baruch’s] work is... significant... for what it reveals about him.” —
The American Historical Review
“That [Baruch] has unusual talents, no one denies. Had he been ambitious he might have become the first Jewish President of the United States. But not loving power, not yearning for the spotlight of publicity, and not wishing to assume responsibilities that would be extremely controversial, he has chosen to be an unofficial adviser for Presidents. And what a good one he has made! The Public Years should be a required book for all students of the United States in the twentieth century.” — The Journal of Southern History
“Looking back at his experiences, Baruch interweaves his philosophy of government, service, and values, and his autobiography stands as a personal creed of individualism, patriotism, and communal responsibility.” — American Jewish Historical Quarterly
“Mr. Baruch relates his association with great and near-great persons and his involvement in national and international affairs. His comments on past events, while profiting from the vantage of hindsight, are penetrating and sound. This account portrays the keen insight and wisdom of Bernard Baruch in surveying the momentous years between Presidents Wilson and Truman, and reveals the sage advice which he provided to those in positions of authority relative to the social, economic and military affairs of this nation.” — Naval War College Review
“It can be said with complete accuracy, I think, that no living person surpasses Bernard M. Baruch in experience, study, and leadership in all phases of industrial preparedness.” — Ordnance
“That [Baruch] has unusual talents, no one denies. Had he been ambitious he might have become the first Jewish President of the United States. But not loving power, not yearning for the spotlight of publicity, and not wishing to assume responsibilities that would be extremely controversial, he has chosen to be an unofficial adviser for Presidents. And what a good one he has made! The Public Years should be a required book for all students of the United States in the twentieth century.” — The Journal of Southern History
“Looking back at his experiences, Baruch interweaves his philosophy of government, service, and values, and his autobiography stands as a personal creed of individualism, patriotism, and communal responsibility.” — American Jewish Historical Quarterly
“Mr. Baruch relates his association with great and near-great persons and his involvement in national and international affairs. His comments on past events, while profiting from the vantage of hindsight, are penetrating and sound. This account portrays the keen insight and wisdom of Bernard Baruch in surveying the momentous years between Presidents Wilson and Truman, and reveals the sage advice which he provided to those in positions of authority relative to the social, economic and military affairs of this nation.” — Naval War College Review
“It can be said with complete accuracy, I think, that no living person surpasses Bernard M. Baruch in experience, study, and leadership in all phases of industrial preparedness.” — Ordnance
508 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2023
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About the author
Bernard M. Baruch
33 books495 followersBernard Mannes Baruch, the "Park Bench Statesman," made his fortune on Wall Street, but his greatest challenge and his greatest satisfaction were his service to his country as an economic adviser during both World Wars I and II and as a confidante to six presidents.
Bernard Mannes Baruch was born August 19, 1870, in Camden, the son of Simon and Isabelle Wolfe Baruch. His father was a German immigrant who came to America in 1855 to avoid Prussian conscription. He was 15 years old and knew only one person in America, Mannes Baum, the owner of a general store in Camden, who was married to an aunt of Baruch's mother.
Young Simon Baruch worked for Baum as a bookkeeper and, with Baum's help, taught himself English. Mrs. Baum persuaded her husband to send Simon to South Carolina Medical College and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
He became a renowned surgeon chief on Robert E. Lee's staff during the Civil War. It was Mannes Baum who gave Simon the uniform and sword he wore when he joined the Third Battalion, South Carolina Infantry, in 1862.
Bernard's mother, Isabelle, was the daughter of Sailing Wolfe, a young merchant and planter of Winnsboro, and Sara Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Hartwig Cohen of Charleston. Baruch's family moved to New York when he was about 10 years old. While his remarkable accomplishments came in New York, Washington, and abroad, his roots were always in South Carolina. Seventy years after he went to New York, he still had not relinquished a trace of his Southern accent.
Baruch graduated from City College of New York in 1889, and his first job was as an office boy earning $3 a week. He ran errands in the banking and financial district and became enamored of the potential Wall Street held. He became a runner for a brokerage house and invested all his effort and time in learning the business, eventually becoming a broker and then a partner in the firm of A. A. Housman and Company. His earnings and commissions afforded him the opportunity to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and by the time he was 30 years old, he had become a millionaire.
Baruch left Housman to open Baruch Brothers, in partnership with one of his brothers, Hartwig "Harty" Baruch. In succeeding years he lost his fortune and made it back several times.
In 1907, he and Harty bought H. Hentz and Company, an international commodity firm with offices on Wall Street and in Paris, London, Berlin, and other cities. By 1910, Bernard Baruch had become one of Wall Street's financial leaders.
When Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president and war was looming, he called on Baruch for advice because of the latter's understanding of the nation's economy and industrial resources. Baruch was chairman of the War Industries Board, which controlled the industrial establishment of the country for three years. With the end of the war imminent, he helped President Wilson negotiate the peace agreements in Paris.
When Baruch joined Woodrow Wilson's War Industries Board, he had left H. Hentz and Company to speculate on his own. His two other brothers, Sailing and Herman, joined H. Hentz and Company as managing partners. Herman Baruch, a doctor and banker, later became ambassador to Portugal and Holland.
After World War I, Baruch continued as an adviser to Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman. He often conferred with officials on a bench in Washington's Lafayette Park because of the privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Thus, he became known as the "Park Bench Statesman."
In 1905, he had bought Hobcaw Barony, a 17,000-acre plantation about three miles by water from Georgetown in South Carolina. It originally was part of the barony granted Lord Carteret by King George II. Baruch would permit no telephone lines to be strung to Hobcaw. The plantation was his retreat for the hunting season and the month of May each year.
Baruch took great pride in his Souther
Bernard Mannes Baruch was born August 19, 1870, in Camden, the son of Simon and Isabelle Wolfe Baruch. His father was a German immigrant who came to America in 1855 to avoid Prussian conscription. He was 15 years old and knew only one person in America, Mannes Baum, the owner of a general store in Camden, who was married to an aunt of Baruch's mother.
Young Simon Baruch worked for Baum as a bookkeeper and, with Baum's help, taught himself English. Mrs. Baum persuaded her husband to send Simon to South Carolina Medical College and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
He became a renowned surgeon chief on Robert E. Lee's staff during the Civil War. It was Mannes Baum who gave Simon the uniform and sword he wore when he joined the Third Battalion, South Carolina Infantry, in 1862.
Bernard's mother, Isabelle, was the daughter of Sailing Wolfe, a young merchant and planter of Winnsboro, and Sara Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Hartwig Cohen of Charleston. Baruch's family moved to New York when he was about 10 years old. While his remarkable accomplishments came in New York, Washington, and abroad, his roots were always in South Carolina. Seventy years after he went to New York, he still had not relinquished a trace of his Southern accent.
Baruch graduated from City College of New York in 1889, and his first job was as an office boy earning $3 a week. He ran errands in the banking and financial district and became enamored of the potential Wall Street held. He became a runner for a brokerage house and invested all his effort and time in learning the business, eventually becoming a broker and then a partner in the firm of A. A. Housman and Company. His earnings and commissions afforded him the opportunity to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and by the time he was 30 years old, he had become a millionaire.
Baruch left Housman to open Baruch Brothers, in partnership with one of his brothers, Hartwig "Harty" Baruch. In succeeding years he lost his fortune and made it back several times.
In 1907, he and Harty bought H. Hentz and Company, an international commodity firm with offices on Wall Street and in Paris, London, Berlin, and other cities. By 1910, Bernard Baruch had become one of Wall Street's financial leaders.
When Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president and war was looming, he called on Baruch for advice because of the latter's understanding of the nation's economy and industrial resources. Baruch was chairman of the War Industries Board, which controlled the industrial establishment of the country for three years. With the end of the war imminent, he helped President Wilson negotiate the peace agreements in Paris.
When Baruch joined Woodrow Wilson's War Industries Board, he had left H. Hentz and Company to speculate on his own. His two other brothers, Sailing and Herman, joined H. Hentz and Company as managing partners. Herman Baruch, a doctor and banker, later became ambassador to Portugal and Holland.
After World War I, Baruch continued as an adviser to Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman. He often conferred with officials on a bench in Washington's Lafayette Park because of the privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Thus, he became known as the "Park Bench Statesman."
In 1905, he had bought Hobcaw Barony, a 17,000-acre plantation about three miles by water from Georgetown in South Carolina. It originally was part of the barony granted Lord Carteret by King George II. Baruch would permit no telephone lines to be strung to Hobcaw. The plantation was his retreat for the hunting season and the month of May each year.
Baruch took great pride in his Souther
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January 10, 2025
This was one of the most fascinating and informative books I have read in a long time. Bernard Baruch is one of the well rounded and influential people of our time. From Wall Street to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, he was there and contributed in a major way.
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