American Express: The Unofficial History of the People Who Built the Great Financial Empire

by Peter Z. Grossman

A look at the evolution of one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world includes profiles of the corporate leaders who imposed their personal visions and transformed the company

Genres: Business

389 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 1987

Reviews

[Outfluenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting overview of the history of one of the more dynamic & enduring American enterprises of the past two centuries. I imagine this book will only be interesting to those fascinated by business or who currently work for American Express (I'm one of the latter). The author wraps the circumstances of this particular company around an oft overlook truth - there is no narrative that ties together the haphazard episodes of human history. American Express started out as a company shipping mail & packages across a rapidly expanding country. Through a combination of luck, cooperation, & cunning, the company stumbled from one line of business to another to become the financial behemoth it is today. Perhaps the most interesting factoid in the whole book is that at one point American Express flirted with the idea of buying Disney in the 1970s. If you're interested in the history of 19th century monopolists & 20th century financiers, you might enjoy this book.

[Mark Wuschke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Grossman turns a fairly dull history into interesting reading. I didn't know Amex was founded in 1850, as a company delivering packages, letters and money by horse and carriage. They got rich in the railway boom, survived the Great Crash of 1929, the Depression, two wars and emerged stronger than ever into the financial giant of today. I learned the interesting history of the Travellers cheque, which they invented, and how the Amex card grew from zero to a million card holders in a matter of months. An interesting story.