Bernard M. Baruch: The Adventures of a Wall Street Legend

by James Grant

This biography of Bernard Baruch considered to be renowned as the definitive story about the notorious financial wizard and presidential advisor. Baruch's political policies are discussed briefly, and James Grant includes a detailed account of Baruch's trading and investment gains and losses.

Genres: Finance, Biography, Business, History, Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Money

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

James Grant, financial journalist and historian, is the founder and editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly journal of the investment markets. His book, The Forgotten Depression, 1921: the Crash that Cured Itself, a history of America’s last governmentally unmedicated business-cycle downturn, won the 2015 Hayek Prize of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

Among his other books on finance and financial history are Bernard M. Baruch: The Adventures of a Wall Street Legend (Simon & Schuster, 1983), Money of the Mind (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992), Minding Mr. Market (Farrar, Straus, 1993), The Trouble with Prosperity (Times Books, 1996), and Mr. Market Miscalculates (Axios Press, 2008).

Reviews

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

After 17 years as a professor at Bernard M. Baruch College in NYC, I thought it would be a good idea to learn more of our namesake. The book offers a good description of Baruch the man and Baruch the investor. Some of the financial reporting was a bit dry, but overall, it did a good job.

[Vitalijus Sostak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could not finish it, dropped at 2/3rds of the book.
It's a competent biography, though far from a page turner for me.

It basically delivers only a moderate amount of "adventures" and "Wall Street" (as per title) while showering the reader in in-depth details of every political and diplomatic action that Baruch was involved in (and there were many).
I cannot even blame the writer - Baruch's later, "post-economic" stage involved almost exclusively around politics, statesmanship and serving his country while he lived a long, productive life, died at 95 yo.

Since I'm only interested in his financier's side, the 4/5ths of the book were lost on me.
Three stars - I wish the book had a clearly labeled division where investing/financing things end so I could put it away in peace :)

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, providing a detailed biography of Bernard Baruch, one of America’s most influential citizens who you’ve never heard of. The author, financial writer James Grant, presents Baruch first and foremost as a Wall Street insider. Baruch’s later involvement in politics, both in wartime and peacetime situations, are covered, but as a collateral to his financial career rather than as a primary focus. Grant goes into great detail on Baruch’s start in the financial industry and his rise as one of Wall Street’s foremost investors. It is an amazing story, considering that Baruch came from a South Carolinian Jewish family, with his father having been a surgeon in the Confederate Army. During WWI Baruch started his relationship with the Democratic Party, becoming a life-long Wilsonian in outlook and practice. His most famous job came at the end of WWI, when his deep knowledge of the American economy was put to use as the President of the War Industrial Board (America’s first central planning agency). The second half of the book flits between Baruch’s continued Wall Street presence and his association with the Democratic Party. The author does a good job explaining how Baruch was able to maintain a strong position as a donor and advisor through an active public relations effort. But, he also points out that Baruch’s actual influence never came close to what many believed was the case. Baruch’s complicated relationship with FDR and the New Dealers is covered in some detail. It is in this section where the author’s bias comes through, though he readily admits to it and does a good job of giving both sides fair treatment. The book also describes the important role Baruch played in WWII, acting as a semi-official mediator between FDR and the industrial giants whose support was necessary for the full outpouring of the Arsenal of Democracy. The author makes the strong case that Baruch was wise to never take on an official role, leaving him free to act as an effective advisor and messenger. Overall, a well written and well researched book. Some of the writing on the complicated investment schemes can get long in the tooth, but it goes a long way to explaining the origins of many financial practices in use today. A great book for anyone interested in this important 20th century American. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to better understand the importance of positive relations between Wall Street figures and national politicians, especially in times of crises.

[Dean Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Grant captures the scale of the life of this legend of Wall Street. After reading the book, I can attest to the fact that the life of Bernard Baruch was grand to say the least.

He was a self-made millionaire at a time when that was a truly rare thing to achieve. But that was just the beginning, as Baruch went on to demonstrate a consistency as a exceptionally shrewd stock trader, venture capitalist and investor. But his successes on Wall Street were only one part of this incredible story.

He became a adviser to presidents and a key player on the international stage. For his service to his country during World War 1, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his masterful administration of the War Industries Board. When the United States entered World War 2, President Roosevelt appointed him Director of the Office of War Mobilization and in 1946, President Truman appointed him United States Representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. Baruch went on to advise on international affairs until his death in June of 1965 at the age of 94.

During the time I was reading this book, I was impressed by Baruch's many accomplishments and seemingly endless list of contributions to his country and many others around the world.

This was an expertly written biography about a truly exceptional man.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book interesting, but then again I like this genre. Having only read one book on Baruch, I can’t comment on Grant’s recounting of events. It did seem as if Baruch made very few investment or policy snafus - a situation I found bordering on disingenuous. As with most historical characters, a reader is encouraged to read various sources with their eyes wide open before forming an opinion of how the subject matter is presented.

[James Nasipak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about a man that I not heard of before in regards to finance and his role in America's history. It was lengthy, and at times tailored for the fan of Baruch. In the end, I would recommend it to others to see how finance, politics, society and world events all are interwoven in our lives.

[David smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

What a wild ride in the stock market. From good to bad to good etc. Great info on the 1929 crash.

[Conan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific

[Charles J. Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a balance sheet could talk, it would sound like this. It isn't about a man— it's about money.

[Alex Xu · Rating 4 out of 5]

交易员到政客。有意思。

[M C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook. Well done

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baruch is indeed a legend. His money-making exploits were extraordinary. Perhaps that requirement to deal with the truth rather than to distort it is why he was less extraordinary in the world of politics. Jim Grant does a good job of telling the story of his life and times, even if there's rather too much time spent on his times and the style is rather dry. Even so, as a life story and a narrow history of the world Baruch inhabited the book is a success.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I was invited to give a lecture at Bernard Baruch College, I decided to read a book about the man it was named after. This work gives a general overview of his life, overtly concentrating on the "public" aspect of his actions as speculator and as government official and influential supporter of the Democratic party. The author steers clear of Baruch's well-known philandering and his poor relations with his wife and children on the rather lame grounds that a lot of it is hearsay.

BB made a fortune on NY stock exchange in the early 1900s. The author goes into some detail, but is rather sketchy overall. For some reason he goes into huge detail about a particular deal involving copper mining, and I found it rather less than pellucid. The author goes into more detail the closer he gets to the subject's death. This means that BB's activities in connection with the War Industries Board (the organization set up to coordinate industrial output in the 1 1/2 years' involvement of the US in the First World War) is unsatisfyingly vague. This sort of "war socialism" was ultimately the basis for the failed governmental intervention in the aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street crash, and it was probably BB's most important intervention in public life. I would have liked to know more about it. The author spends what struck me as an excessive amount of space on BB's involvement in the abortive negotiations to bring nuclear weapons/power under the aegis of the newly founded UN directly after the Second World War.

The work is arranged chronologically, which can lead to a lack of overall analysis, since a given topic (like the breakdown of the marriage) may have repercussions in a number of places but is treated only in one. Another topic that the author skirted around was that of BB's Jewish origins and its affect on his life.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written book about an interesting person. The author has a challenging task trying to capture the personality of a dynamic figure, both on Wall Street and in public service. However, Baruch was not a fluid letter writer or speech maker, so his essence has to be pieced together from other sources. His influence was his financial insights, that he might have acted upon, but did not document, and his friendships with powerful figures.

The author's (a noted economist and journalist) stated focus of the book is Baruch's Wall Street activities. He does a good job discussing the culture of Wall Street at that time, as well as how markets functioned and evolved. However, the archives were apparently sparse when it came to individual trades, so it doesn't give a great picture of his dealings.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a recommendable and very good bio. Although there are other bios of Baruch, none of which I happen to have read, James Grant is an excellent writer who also possesses considerable financial acumen (Barron's fixture and author of the long-running Grant's Interest Rate Observer). One niggling (if not trivial) point: there are numerous puzzling spelling errors, which seems to indicate a lack of careful editing.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more about the financial times of a truly great American than about his personal life and history. Enjoyed the read about a little know but extremely influential American. Very little detail on his political and public life. I would have enjoyed reading more in depth about this man. This book could have easily turned in a 1000 page book.

[Brian Schwarzmueller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a dry, boring book. BMB seems to have made most of his money from insider trading in the stock market, than anything else. I did enjoy the political history lesson though.