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Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty
A monumental portrait of four generations of the Morgenthau family–a dynasty of power brokers whose outsized influence helped shaped New York City and the American Century.
Since their arrival in the United States from Germany in 1866, the Morgenthaus have been a linchpin in American history–losing everything only to grow rich again, assimilating, and then climbing to the country’s highest ranks of power. In the words of former Mayor Ed Koch, they are “the closest thing we’ve got to royalty in New York City.” With unprecedented, exclusive access to family archives, award-winning journalist Andrew Meier chronicles this epic American story, revealing how the Morgenthaus amassed enormous wealth, advised presidents, shaped the New Deal, decried mass murder during the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, waged war in the Mediterranean and Pacific, and built a dynasty that would remake the city of New York.
Morgenthau begins with Lazarus, who arrived in New York City dreaming of rebuilding the fortune he had lost in his homeland of Germany. While Lazarus died destitute, in shame and alone, the family rose once again with the ascendance of Henry, who became a wealthy and powerful real estate baron, and one of the first to suggest to Woodrow Wilson that he run for president. From there, the Morgenthaus went on to influence the most consequential presidencies of the twentieth century, as Henry’s son Henry, Jr., became FDR’s longest-serving aide, his Treasury Secretary during the War, and his confidante of thirty years. Finally, there was Robert Morgenthau, a decorated World War II hero who went on to become the longest-tenured district attorney in the history of New York City. Known as “DA for life,” he oversaw some of the most important legal cases in New York of the last fifty years, from the war on the Mafia and the advent of white-collar prosecutions to the race wars of the 1970s–and, of course, the Central Park Five case.
Public servants at heart, the Morgenthaus also propelled candidates into power. But they were often forced to stand loyally on the sidelines, even as they bore witness to the great moral and human cost of political expediency. The saga of the Morgenthaus has lain half-hidden in the shadows for too long. At heart a family history, drawn largely from private family records and including sixty archival photographs, Morgenthau is also an American epic, as big and improbable as the country itself.
Since their arrival in the United States from Germany in 1866, the Morgenthaus have been a linchpin in American history–losing everything only to grow rich again, assimilating, and then climbing to the country’s highest ranks of power. In the words of former Mayor Ed Koch, they are “the closest thing we’ve got to royalty in New York City.” With unprecedented, exclusive access to family archives, award-winning journalist Andrew Meier chronicles this epic American story, revealing how the Morgenthaus amassed enormous wealth, advised presidents, shaped the New Deal, decried mass murder during the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, waged war in the Mediterranean and Pacific, and built a dynasty that would remake the city of New York.
Morgenthau begins with Lazarus, who arrived in New York City dreaming of rebuilding the fortune he had lost in his homeland of Germany. While Lazarus died destitute, in shame and alone, the family rose once again with the ascendance of Henry, who became a wealthy and powerful real estate baron, and one of the first to suggest to Woodrow Wilson that he run for president. From there, the Morgenthaus went on to influence the most consequential presidencies of the twentieth century, as Henry’s son Henry, Jr., became FDR’s longest-serving aide, his Treasury Secretary during the War, and his confidante of thirty years. Finally, there was Robert Morgenthau, a decorated World War II hero who went on to become the longest-tenured district attorney in the history of New York City. Known as “DA for life,” he oversaw some of the most important legal cases in New York of the last fifty years, from the war on the Mafia and the advent of white-collar prosecutions to the race wars of the 1970s–and, of course, the Central Park Five case.
Public servants at heart, the Morgenthaus also propelled candidates into power. But they were often forced to stand loyally on the sidelines, even as they bore witness to the great moral and human cost of political expediency. The saga of the Morgenthaus has lain half-hidden in the shadows for too long. At heart a family history, drawn largely from private family records and including sixty archival photographs, Morgenthau is also an American epic, as big and improbable as the country itself.
1072 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 4, 2024
Morgenthau is a well written and (seemingly) well researched joint biography of 4 men in the Morgenthau clan. These are interesting individuals who were active in business and/or politics and hobnobbed with the likes of Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Donald Trump. Suffice it it to say that this 1,000+ page behemoth never dragged.
October 21, 2022
https://wp.me/p4dW55-1dt
Covering four generations of the Morgenthau family, and spanning more than 150 years of consequential world history, Meier's magisterial biography is epic in scale, impressive in scope and remarkably engrossing.
More than a decade of research underpins the 892-page narrative; the book's notes and bibliography total nearly 100 pages. Meier interviewed more than four-hundred people and that list often reads like a Who's Who of historians, politicians, former judges and prosecutors and, of course, Morgenthau family members, friends and colleagues. In addition, Meier was granted unrestricted access to a wide array of family diaries, photographs, correspondence and other records.
The narrative begins with German-born Lazarus Morgenthau's arrival in America in 1866 and runs to the end of his great-grandson Robert Morgenthau's life in 2019. Lazarus (1815-1897) was fabulously ambitious, scrappy, erratic and, in the end, possibly insane.
But he instilled in his son Henry Sr. (1856-1946) a strong work ethic. And with a dose of discipline probably inherited from his mother, Henry built a New York real estate empire and later served as Woodrow Wilson's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Henry Jr. (1891-1967) seemed to lack every skill Henry Sr. hoped he would possess, but stumbled into a friendship with the young Franklin Roosevelt. He parlayed this lucky break into a career as FDR's advisor / consultant / errand-boy which concluded with a dozen years as Secretary of the Treasury.
But it is in his son, Robert Morgenthau (1919-2019), where the family traits of ambition, public service and wisdom surfaced simultaneously. Robert is best-known as Manhattan's district attorney for nearly four decades. He retired at the age of 90 after prosecuting thousands of mobsters, white-collar criminals, corrupt public officials and a wide variety of thugs.
Meier tells the story of the dynasty with exceptional skill. Readers get to know the four main characters exceedingly well - but also their spouses, siblings, children and closest friends. Nearly every important supporting character (and there are many) is thoroughly introduced.
The author is also adept at embedding historical context into the story - a task made easier by the fact that the characters were so deeply immersed in that history. But great biographies also put the reader into the subjects' time and place, and Meier often does this quite well (such as when he describes the Brooklyn tenements encountered by the newly-arrived Lazarus).
There are too many meritorious moments in this book to convey, but among them are chapters describing Henry Sr.'s relationship with, and early political embrace of, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin and Eleanor's relationship with Henry Jr. and his wife Elinor, and most of the stories covering Robert's investigations and prosecutions of figures such as the Gambino family.
But some readers will find that Meier occasionally sacrifices readability for thoroughness, there is an imbalance in the space dedicated to the four generations (Robert receiving the most attention, Lazarus the least) and a "Morgenthau family tree" would have been helpful at numerous points in the book.
In addition, some readers will find Henry Jr.'s service in the FDR administration somewhat slower-moving and tedious, nearly everyone will be surprised that the Great Depression is not described more expressively and, as engaging as the stories of Robert's prosecutions are, the last one-quarter of the book frequently seems less a biography than a fascinating review of his most notable cases.
Overall, however, Andrew Meier's biography of the Morgenthau family is magnificent. Fans of meticulously researched biographies, fascinating families and mesmerizing personalities will walk away fully satisfied. And although "Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty" requires a fair amount of perseverance and fortitude, it rewards its readers handsomely.
Overall rating: 4¾ stars
Covering four generations of the Morgenthau family, and spanning more than 150 years of consequential world history, Meier's magisterial biography is epic in scale, impressive in scope and remarkably engrossing.
More than a decade of research underpins the 892-page narrative; the book's notes and bibliography total nearly 100 pages. Meier interviewed more than four-hundred people and that list often reads like a Who's Who of historians, politicians, former judges and prosecutors and, of course, Morgenthau family members, friends and colleagues. In addition, Meier was granted unrestricted access to a wide array of family diaries, photographs, correspondence and other records.
The narrative begins with German-born Lazarus Morgenthau's arrival in America in 1866 and runs to the end of his great-grandson Robert Morgenthau's life in 2019. Lazarus (1815-1897) was fabulously ambitious, scrappy, erratic and, in the end, possibly insane.
But he instilled in his son Henry Sr. (1856-1946) a strong work ethic. And with a dose of discipline probably inherited from his mother, Henry built a New York real estate empire and later served as Woodrow Wilson's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Henry Jr. (1891-1967) seemed to lack every skill Henry Sr. hoped he would possess, but stumbled into a friendship with the young Franklin Roosevelt. He parlayed this lucky break into a career as FDR's advisor / consultant / errand-boy which concluded with a dozen years as Secretary of the Treasury.
But it is in his son, Robert Morgenthau (1919-2019), where the family traits of ambition, public service and wisdom surfaced simultaneously. Robert is best-known as Manhattan's district attorney for nearly four decades. He retired at the age of 90 after prosecuting thousands of mobsters, white-collar criminals, corrupt public officials and a wide variety of thugs.
Meier tells the story of the dynasty with exceptional skill. Readers get to know the four main characters exceedingly well - but also their spouses, siblings, children and closest friends. Nearly every important supporting character (and there are many) is thoroughly introduced.
The author is also adept at embedding historical context into the story - a task made easier by the fact that the characters were so deeply immersed in that history. But great biographies also put the reader into the subjects' time and place, and Meier often does this quite well (such as when he describes the Brooklyn tenements encountered by the newly-arrived Lazarus).
There are too many meritorious moments in this book to convey, but among them are chapters describing Henry Sr.'s relationship with, and early political embrace of, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin and Eleanor's relationship with Henry Jr. and his wife Elinor, and most of the stories covering Robert's investigations and prosecutions of figures such as the Gambino family.
But some readers will find that Meier occasionally sacrifices readability for thoroughness, there is an imbalance in the space dedicated to the four generations (Robert receiving the most attention, Lazarus the least) and a "Morgenthau family tree" would have been helpful at numerous points in the book.
In addition, some readers will find Henry Jr.'s service in the FDR administration somewhat slower-moving and tedious, nearly everyone will be surprised that the Great Depression is not described more expressively and, as engaging as the stories of Robert's prosecutions are, the last one-quarter of the book frequently seems less a biography than a fascinating review of his most notable cases.
Overall, however, Andrew Meier's biography of the Morgenthau family is magnificent. Fans of meticulously researched biographies, fascinating families and mesmerizing personalities will walk away fully satisfied. And although "Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty" requires a fair amount of perseverance and fortitude, it rewards its readers handsomely.
Overall rating: 4¾ stars
July 24, 2022
I am lucky enough to get electronic advance review copies of splendid books, like this one, free of charge. Since I am a cheapskate, this continues to delight me, but there are some drawbacks to reading books which are not 100% finished. For example, these advance review copies are almost always missing page numbers. This is usually not a problem when writing a review, but in this case I wished I had page numbers. The reason is: I thought it might be useful to let prospective readers know, approximately, how much of this book is dedicated to each Morgenthau. To do this, in the absence of page number, I had to resort to … arithmetic.
According to this Goodreads page, this book is 1072 pages long. According to my Kindle, the main text of this book (that is, the part that is not acknowledgments, endnotes, sources, etc.) takes up 81% of the total text, meaning this part of the book ends more or less at page 868.
This book tells the story of the Morgenthau clan, and of course there are daughters, spouses, in-laws, cousins, etc., mentioned, but the main focus of the narrative is on the most well-known member of each generation, who are – in chronological order – Lazarus Morgenthau, Henry Morgenthau Sr., Henry Morgenthau Jr., and Robert Morgenthau. Of course, there is some overlap of generations, but generally the Morgenthau family saga is like a relay race, with one illustrious man taking the baton from the predecessor.
Here is how much of the book is dedicated to each Morgenthau, presented in the following format: Name of Morgenthau, approx. percent of the text of the complete book about this Morgenthau, my guess about the approx. number of pages about this Morgenthau.
Lazarus, 4%, 42 pages
Henry Sr., 14%, 151 pages
Henry Jr., 22%, 234 pages
Robert, 40%, 429 pages
Now, if you are a certain type of smart aleck, you may take out your cell phone, open the calculator app, and determine that, yes, neither the percentages nor the number of pages quite add up, to which I answer: “This is why I teach English and not Mathematics.”
The purpose of this information above is to let you know that this book, not unexpectedly, becomes more detailed as it approaches the present. Your enjoyment of this book may vary depending on what era especially holds your interest. My own preference is for early 20th century history, so I was a little disappointed. On the other hand, this book told me a lot that I didn't know about certain more recent historical events, e.g., the Central Park Jogger case.
I must admit that the Morgenthau who had attracted my attention most before reading this book was Henry Sr., who, perhaps more than any other single person, brought the 1915-1916 genocide of Armenians by the Ottomans to the attention of the world.
(Digression: The ghost-written memoirs of Henry Sr., detailing his efforts to alert the world to the Armenian genocide, is surprisingly readable and available for free from several sources. Download it in one of a number of different formats from the Gutenberg Project here or from manybooks.net here or read it online via the website of the library of Brigham Young University here.)
The Morgenthau family is a case study in ascending the slippery pole of power and influence in the US. In this book, the Morgenthaus don’t seem to be much smarter or more charming than tens of thousands of families who did not attain the level of political clout and renown that this family did. The quartet of important men who are the backbone of this book didn’t seem to do very well in school, yet that didn’t hold them back. Perhaps it was because the schools where they failed to excel academically were (and to some extent still are) the holding pens and training grounds of the future elites, so maybe having the best grades in the class was not as important as being an excellent tennis partner, or knowing how to mix a truly delicious cocktail.
There is some irony in the family’s ascent. Henry Sr. made a big pile of money in Manhattan real estate, after guessing correctly that land near future subway stops would be an excellent investment. Very reasonably, Henry Sr. plowed some of his excess mazooma into the campaigns of politicians, particularly Woodrow Wilson. When Wilson won, Henry Sr. felt, again reasonably, that his support could be rewarded by a prestigious political appointment. His preference was Secretary of the Treasury. Given that a career earning money often gives a solid appreciation of the larger economic scene, such an appointment would not have been completely outrageous. However, Morgenthau was a Jew, and appointing a Jew to such a high-profile position required more open-minded political courage than Wilson possessed.
Instead, Henry Sr. was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, a position that traditionally went to a Jew. (I was surprised to learn this.) The conventional wisdom, if I understand correctly, was that a Jew could mediate more effectively between the Muslim Ottomans and their more uppity Christian subjects. In any event, Henry Sr. thought this appointment was an insult and accepted it only after some pouting, but, as fate would have it, he landed in this position just in time to document the Armenian holocaust, which turned him into a man whose legacy will be remembered as heroic long after the name of the non-entity who became Wilson’s Secretary of the Treasury is forgotten.
But, more irony: the son, Henry Jr., was a poor student who somewhat disappointed his family by forming a relatively late enthusiasm for the occupation of gentleman farmer. This choice of occupation certainly didn’t seem to be one that would keep the family circulating among the high and mighty. However, the upstate New York location of the Morgenthau farm placed Henry Jr. in an excellent position to meet and befriend a nearby young gentleman farmer named Franklin Roosevelt. When Roosevelt became President, he placed Henry Jr. in the Treasury Department, eventually promoting him to the top position, even though Henry Jr. didn’t really have the background in finance that would normally qualify one for a position like this. However, he was loyal to Roosevelt, which was apparently the most important characteristic.
Robert continued the family’s talent for placing themselves adjacent to the politically up-and-coming, in this case, the Kennedy family. The Kennedys go on to be a sad political tragedy, but Robert Morgenthau zig-zags through the Manhattan legal world until he plunks down in the seat of the boss of the District Attorney of Manhattan, a place he will occupy for 35 years, until he turned, incredibly, 90 years old. That's why his story takes up 429 pages, more or less.
This is a long book, but the family history is long and event-filled, so I felt there was no padding, unnecessary information, or dull bits. This book is also worth reading as a case study in how a family gets and then keeps power.
As mentioned above, I received an electronic advance review copy of this book from Penguin Random House via Netgalley.
According to this Goodreads page, this book is 1072 pages long. According to my Kindle, the main text of this book (that is, the part that is not acknowledgments, endnotes, sources, etc.) takes up 81% of the total text, meaning this part of the book ends more or less at page 868.
This book tells the story of the Morgenthau clan, and of course there are daughters, spouses, in-laws, cousins, etc., mentioned, but the main focus of the narrative is on the most well-known member of each generation, who are – in chronological order – Lazarus Morgenthau, Henry Morgenthau Sr., Henry Morgenthau Jr., and Robert Morgenthau. Of course, there is some overlap of generations, but generally the Morgenthau family saga is like a relay race, with one illustrious man taking the baton from the predecessor.
Here is how much of the book is dedicated to each Morgenthau, presented in the following format: Name of Morgenthau, approx. percent of the text of the complete book about this Morgenthau, my guess about the approx. number of pages about this Morgenthau.
Lazarus, 4%, 42 pages
Henry Sr., 14%, 151 pages
Henry Jr., 22%, 234 pages
Robert, 40%, 429 pages
Now, if you are a certain type of smart aleck, you may take out your cell phone, open the calculator app, and determine that, yes, neither the percentages nor the number of pages quite add up, to which I answer: “This is why I teach English and not Mathematics.”
The purpose of this information above is to let you know that this book, not unexpectedly, becomes more detailed as it approaches the present. Your enjoyment of this book may vary depending on what era especially holds your interest. My own preference is for early 20th century history, so I was a little disappointed. On the other hand, this book told me a lot that I didn't know about certain more recent historical events, e.g., the Central Park Jogger case.
I must admit that the Morgenthau who had attracted my attention most before reading this book was Henry Sr., who, perhaps more than any other single person, brought the 1915-1916 genocide of Armenians by the Ottomans to the attention of the world.
(Digression: The ghost-written memoirs of Henry Sr., detailing his efforts to alert the world to the Armenian genocide, is surprisingly readable and available for free from several sources. Download it in one of a number of different formats from the Gutenberg Project here or from manybooks.net here or read it online via the website of the library of Brigham Young University here.)
The Morgenthau family is a case study in ascending the slippery pole of power and influence in the US. In this book, the Morgenthaus don’t seem to be much smarter or more charming than tens of thousands of families who did not attain the level of political clout and renown that this family did. The quartet of important men who are the backbone of this book didn’t seem to do very well in school, yet that didn’t hold them back. Perhaps it was because the schools where they failed to excel academically were (and to some extent still are) the holding pens and training grounds of the future elites, so maybe having the best grades in the class was not as important as being an excellent tennis partner, or knowing how to mix a truly delicious cocktail.
There is some irony in the family’s ascent. Henry Sr. made a big pile of money in Manhattan real estate, after guessing correctly that land near future subway stops would be an excellent investment. Very reasonably, Henry Sr. plowed some of his excess mazooma into the campaigns of politicians, particularly Woodrow Wilson. When Wilson won, Henry Sr. felt, again reasonably, that his support could be rewarded by a prestigious political appointment. His preference was Secretary of the Treasury. Given that a career earning money often gives a solid appreciation of the larger economic scene, such an appointment would not have been completely outrageous. However, Morgenthau was a Jew, and appointing a Jew to such a high-profile position required more open-minded political courage than Wilson possessed.
Instead, Henry Sr. was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, a position that traditionally went to a Jew. (I was surprised to learn this.) The conventional wisdom, if I understand correctly, was that a Jew could mediate more effectively between the Muslim Ottomans and their more uppity Christian subjects. In any event, Henry Sr. thought this appointment was an insult and accepted it only after some pouting, but, as fate would have it, he landed in this position just in time to document the Armenian holocaust, which turned him into a man whose legacy will be remembered as heroic long after the name of the non-entity who became Wilson’s Secretary of the Treasury is forgotten.
But, more irony: the son, Henry Jr., was a poor student who somewhat disappointed his family by forming a relatively late enthusiasm for the occupation of gentleman farmer. This choice of occupation certainly didn’t seem to be one that would keep the family circulating among the high and mighty. However, the upstate New York location of the Morgenthau farm placed Henry Jr. in an excellent position to meet and befriend a nearby young gentleman farmer named Franklin Roosevelt. When Roosevelt became President, he placed Henry Jr. in the Treasury Department, eventually promoting him to the top position, even though Henry Jr. didn’t really have the background in finance that would normally qualify one for a position like this. However, he was loyal to Roosevelt, which was apparently the most important characteristic.
Robert continued the family’s talent for placing themselves adjacent to the politically up-and-coming, in this case, the Kennedy family. The Kennedys go on to be a sad political tragedy, but Robert Morgenthau zig-zags through the Manhattan legal world until he plunks down in the seat of the boss of the District Attorney of Manhattan, a place he will occupy for 35 years, until he turned, incredibly, 90 years old. That's why his story takes up 429 pages, more or less.
This is a long book, but the family history is long and event-filled, so I felt there was no padding, unnecessary information, or dull bits. This book is also worth reading as a case study in how a family gets and then keeps power.
As mentioned above, I received an electronic advance review copy of this book from Penguin Random House via Netgalley.
March 19, 2023
I had *just* been lamenting the lack of a decent biography of Morgenthau Jr. (the only one I'd found previously was a hagiography by a friend), and here it is! Even better, it confirmed my intuition that Morgenthau occasionally functioned as FDR's SOB (in the same way that Bedell (known as Beetle) was notorious as Eisenhower's SOB).
-- Hadn't realized that Henry Sr. as a sort of Jewish ambassador-at-large to Wilson and anti-Zionist, had wanted to broker a separate peace with Turkey in June 1917. He asked to meet at Gibraltar with Chaim Weizmann, the leader of the Zionists in London. However, he was accompanied by Felix Frankfurter, a Zionist and protege of Brandeis, whose goal was to undermine the mission; they believed that only a British victory in Palestine would lead to a Jewish homeland (190)
-- In the years after polio, when the Roosevelts went to the Morgenthaus, Henry Jr. would have to carry him up the 4 fron tsteps. "Itw as a scene that revealed his enfeebled state: a grown man cradled in the arms of another . . . he would turn his head aside as Henry helped to hoist him over the four front stairs. To those watching, the tension was dreadful, but Roosevelt . . . . would make jokes, throwing back that great big head, and laughing to put my father at ease" (198).
-- The two Eleanors became close friends - ER was envious of Elinor's time at Vassar, but they became horseback riding friends and "political soul mates" (198)
-- Morgenthau Jr. was instrumental to the 1928 gubernatorial campaign (to which FDR never agreed, though he did not refuse when nominated -- this seems to have been a pattern with him). Henry made 10-12 stump speeches a day upstate, while his migraines and anxiety raged. "Henry did it all: corralling the local worthies, leasing the speaking venues, hustling up the publicity, hiring the brass bands, even stringing the bunting. Henry and FDR covered nearly 7,500 miles in an old Buick, in a carousel of Grange halls, churches, farmers' cooperatives, and county fairs." (203-4). After six upstate campaigns (FDR emphasized the needs of farmers (as opposed to Smith's industrial concerns) and spoke about the dangers of religious intolerance (to defuse fears of Smith's Catholicism), "Roosevelt would hand his old friend a framed photgraph of hte two of them, riding side by side in an open car on the trail. 'To Henry,' FDR had written across it, 'from one of two of a kind.' It was not true, of course. But both men, for opposite reasons, wished it were" (205).
-- By early 1931 an exploratory committee formed, Uncle Henry invited to his home
William "Bill" Woodin, head of Amercan Car & Foundry
Colonel House
Frank Walker
Louis Howe.
They each pledged $10k (212)
-- FDR to Anne O'Hare McCormick, on campaigning across the country in 1932: "I find conditions different and worse than I expected. I have looked into the faces of thousands of Americans and they are the faces of people in want. I don't mean the unemployed alone. Of course, they would take anything. I mean those who still have jobs and don't know how long they'll last. They have the frightened look of lost children. And I don't mean physical want along. There is something more.
"He spoke of the end of thew ar, and the French faces he had seen when Wilson went to Paris in 1919. I watched the crowds in teh streets,' FDR said, 'and I noticed there, particularly in the faces of women, the same expression I see here today. A kind of yearning. . . Perhaps this man, their eyes were saying, can save our children from teh horror and terror we have known. Now they are saying: We're caught in something we don't understand; perhaps this fellow can help us out.'"
"'Franklin came home from teh 1932 campaign,' Eleanor woudl write, 'with a conviction that the depression could be licked'" (214).
-- Morgenthau had badly wanted to be Secretary of Agriculture, but his son later said 'between a Protestant from Iowa and a Jew from New York, it wasn't a tough call." (219). Morgenthau hated the idea of curtailing production. Ironically, it was Morgenthau who had brought Wallace into the inner circle in 1932, though their "mutual antipathy" soon grew. Morgenthau very much wanted to ensure that FDR had a loyal friend in the cabinet - wanted to tell him when cabinet was "unfriendly" to allow FDR to stop them (220).
-- Henry was given the directorship of Farm Credit, hoping to keep it independent from the Department of Agriculture (FDR helped). He lived in a 3-room suite at the Wardman Park and walked the 45 minutes to the office each day. Mrs. Henrietta Klotz, a friend of a friend of Ellie's from Vassar, was his long-time secretary (222).
-- Morgenthau was instrumental to the disaster of the London Economic Conference, "Roosevelt launched an assault on exchange stabilization, the very purpose of the London talks - -and the goal he'd been profession for months." Moley, Hull, and others quickly realized "Howe and Morgenthau had had the president's ear to themselves.' "Howe 'didn't know beans about monetary questions' and Morgenthau owed his 'rudimentary knowledge of monetary problems' to Professor Warren. In fact, things were worse than Moley feared. From London, the elder Morgenthau had kept his son informed, predicting that the talks were doomed" (234).
-- "Each Monday, as noon neared, Henry would leave his large oak desk in his large office at Treasury, descend in a narrow private elevator, exit a door on the west side of the building, and walk a hundred years to the East Wing of the White House for lunch with the president. From the first, others resented Henry's lunches with FDR: The two men, almost always, ate alone. Henry could still try Roosevelt's patience -- of late a self-righteous stubbornness had come to the fore. But FDR delighted in the lunches; he knew he had a new weapon in the cabinet" (241).
-- FDR wanted Tommy Corcoran for budget director after Douglas left, but Morgenthau nixed the idea, then suggested Daniel Bell (243)
-- Henry also successfully suggested Marriner Eccles to succeed the Fed Chair. "Henry had established dictatorial rule in the Treasury, and his administrative circle of power, always tethered to the president, was expanding" (253).
-- Spring 1935 they unveiled savings bonds (254).
-- Roosevelt never let anyone feel their job was safe from day to day. If he praised Hopkins in one Cabinet meeting, he'd be sure to chasten him the next. He said he had to have a happy ship, but he never had a happy ship (268).
-- Henry did much to support those fighting fascism: "he pushed for credits to China, raised duties on German and Japanese imports, and froze all funds in US banks held by the Germans, Japanese and Italians. He asked his aides to draw up a list of all the metals essential for war, and devise ways to keep them out of the fascists' hands. He halted US sales of scrap iron and aviation gasoline to Japan, and when Roosevelt asked him to corner the market on molybdenum, a metal essential to armaments production, he turned to his boyhood friend Harold Hochschild, head of the American Metals company. Agreed to suspend all sales to USSR and soon persuaded producers to halt metal shipments to Germany and Japan as well" (269).
-- Hadn't realized that Henry Sr. as a sort of Jewish ambassador-at-large to Wilson and anti-Zionist, had wanted to broker a separate peace with Turkey in June 1917. He asked to meet at Gibraltar with Chaim Weizmann, the leader of the Zionists in London. However, he was accompanied by Felix Frankfurter, a Zionist and protege of Brandeis, whose goal was to undermine the mission; they believed that only a British victory in Palestine would lead to a Jewish homeland (190)
-- In the years after polio, when the Roosevelts went to the Morgenthaus, Henry Jr. would have to carry him up the 4 fron tsteps. "Itw as a scene that revealed his enfeebled state: a grown man cradled in the arms of another . . . he would turn his head aside as Henry helped to hoist him over the four front stairs. To those watching, the tension was dreadful, but Roosevelt . . . . would make jokes, throwing back that great big head, and laughing to put my father at ease" (198).
-- The two Eleanors became close friends - ER was envious of Elinor's time at Vassar, but they became horseback riding friends and "political soul mates" (198)
-- Morgenthau Jr. was instrumental to the 1928 gubernatorial campaign (to which FDR never agreed, though he did not refuse when nominated -- this seems to have been a pattern with him). Henry made 10-12 stump speeches a day upstate, while his migraines and anxiety raged. "Henry did it all: corralling the local worthies, leasing the speaking venues, hustling up the publicity, hiring the brass bands, even stringing the bunting. Henry and FDR covered nearly 7,500 miles in an old Buick, in a carousel of Grange halls, churches, farmers' cooperatives, and county fairs." (203-4). After six upstate campaigns (FDR emphasized the needs of farmers (as opposed to Smith's industrial concerns) and spoke about the dangers of religious intolerance (to defuse fears of Smith's Catholicism), "Roosevelt would hand his old friend a framed photgraph of hte two of them, riding side by side in an open car on the trail. 'To Henry,' FDR had written across it, 'from one of two of a kind.' It was not true, of course. But both men, for opposite reasons, wished it were" (205).
-- By early 1931 an exploratory committee formed, Uncle Henry invited to his home
William "Bill" Woodin, head of Amercan Car & Foundry
Colonel House
Frank Walker
Louis Howe.
They each pledged $10k (212)
-- FDR to Anne O'Hare McCormick, on campaigning across the country in 1932: "I find conditions different and worse than I expected. I have looked into the faces of thousands of Americans and they are the faces of people in want. I don't mean the unemployed alone. Of course, they would take anything. I mean those who still have jobs and don't know how long they'll last. They have the frightened look of lost children. And I don't mean physical want along. There is something more.
"He spoke of the end of thew ar, and the French faces he had seen when Wilson went to Paris in 1919. I watched the crowds in teh streets,' FDR said, 'and I noticed there, particularly in the faces of women, the same expression I see here today. A kind of yearning. . . Perhaps this man, their eyes were saying, can save our children from teh horror and terror we have known. Now they are saying: We're caught in something we don't understand; perhaps this fellow can help us out.'"
"'Franklin came home from teh 1932 campaign,' Eleanor woudl write, 'with a conviction that the depression could be licked'" (214).
-- Morgenthau had badly wanted to be Secretary of Agriculture, but his son later said 'between a Protestant from Iowa and a Jew from New York, it wasn't a tough call." (219). Morgenthau hated the idea of curtailing production. Ironically, it was Morgenthau who had brought Wallace into the inner circle in 1932, though their "mutual antipathy" soon grew. Morgenthau very much wanted to ensure that FDR had a loyal friend in the cabinet - wanted to tell him when cabinet was "unfriendly" to allow FDR to stop them (220).
-- Henry was given the directorship of Farm Credit, hoping to keep it independent from the Department of Agriculture (FDR helped). He lived in a 3-room suite at the Wardman Park and walked the 45 minutes to the office each day. Mrs. Henrietta Klotz, a friend of a friend of Ellie's from Vassar, was his long-time secretary (222).
-- Morgenthau was instrumental to the disaster of the London Economic Conference, "Roosevelt launched an assault on exchange stabilization, the very purpose of the London talks - -and the goal he'd been profession for months." Moley, Hull, and others quickly realized "Howe and Morgenthau had had the president's ear to themselves.' "Howe 'didn't know beans about monetary questions' and Morgenthau owed his 'rudimentary knowledge of monetary problems' to Professor Warren. In fact, things were worse than Moley feared. From London, the elder Morgenthau had kept his son informed, predicting that the talks were doomed" (234).
-- "Each Monday, as noon neared, Henry would leave his large oak desk in his large office at Treasury, descend in a narrow private elevator, exit a door on the west side of the building, and walk a hundred years to the East Wing of the White House for lunch with the president. From the first, others resented Henry's lunches with FDR: The two men, almost always, ate alone. Henry could still try Roosevelt's patience -- of late a self-righteous stubbornness had come to the fore. But FDR delighted in the lunches; he knew he had a new weapon in the cabinet" (241).
-- FDR wanted Tommy Corcoran for budget director after Douglas left, but Morgenthau nixed the idea, then suggested Daniel Bell (243)
-- Henry also successfully suggested Marriner Eccles to succeed the Fed Chair. "Henry had established dictatorial rule in the Treasury, and his administrative circle of power, always tethered to the president, was expanding" (253).
-- Spring 1935 they unveiled savings bonds (254).
-- Roosevelt never let anyone feel their job was safe from day to day. If he praised Hopkins in one Cabinet meeting, he'd be sure to chasten him the next. He said he had to have a happy ship, but he never had a happy ship (268).
-- Henry did much to support those fighting fascism: "he pushed for credits to China, raised duties on German and Japanese imports, and froze all funds in US banks held by the Germans, Japanese and Italians. He asked his aides to draw up a list of all the metals essential for war, and devise ways to keep them out of the fascists' hands. He halted US sales of scrap iron and aviation gasoline to Japan, and when Roosevelt asked him to corner the market on molybdenum, a metal essential to armaments production, he turned to his boyhood friend Harold Hochschild, head of the American Metals company. Agreed to suspend all sales to USSR and soon persuaded producers to halt metal shipments to Germany and Japan as well" (269).
September 16, 2022
The saga of the Morgenthau family has lain half-hidden in the American shadows for too long. At heart a family history, it is also a far-flung epic, as big and improbable as the country itself.
from Morgenthau by Andrew Meier
It took me nearly a month to read this book. I was running behind in my reading schedule. It was disconcerting. But I was so enthralled that I had no intention of speed reading or skipping to “the end.” This was a book worth every hour I spend on it. It’s not often that a biography is thrilling, but this one was!
I had little idea when the publisher offered Morgenthau to me how perfect a fit it would be. This multi-generational biography took me into pivotal moments over 150 years of American history. From the immigrant Lazarus who changed his name to Morgenthau–“morning dew”–to his great-grandson Robert who was New York City’s District Attorney for thirty-five years, the family, Forest Gump-like, seemed to be there at the most important historical events of the century,
Henry Morgenthau was an early Woodrow Wilson supporter. As his ambassador to the Ottoman Empire on the eve of WWI, he endeavored to get America involved with the Armenian genocide. He set the standard that public service was the most worthy of life goals.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was close to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor, so integral to his administration that Eleanor said he was the only cabinet member who could “prod FDR into action.” He pushed to save the Jews during WWII.
Bob Morgenthau was a Kennedy man who, had Robert lived, likely would have been his Attorney General. Bob served in the South Pacific during WWII and his near-escapes from death were riveting. As D.A., he was the first to take on the Mafia and white collar crime and had to deal with some of the most famous murders in NYC history
My husband told me he recalled the name Morgenthau from paper money when he was a kid, old bills that were still in circulation. That was more than what I recalled. I am so pleased to have read this book. I rank it up there with some of my American History favorites.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
from Morgenthau by Andrew Meier
It took me nearly a month to read this book. I was running behind in my reading schedule. It was disconcerting. But I was so enthralled that I had no intention of speed reading or skipping to “the end.” This was a book worth every hour I spend on it. It’s not often that a biography is thrilling, but this one was!
I had little idea when the publisher offered Morgenthau to me how perfect a fit it would be. This multi-generational biography took me into pivotal moments over 150 years of American history. From the immigrant Lazarus who changed his name to Morgenthau–“morning dew”–to his great-grandson Robert who was New York City’s District Attorney for thirty-five years, the family, Forest Gump-like, seemed to be there at the most important historical events of the century,
Henry Morgenthau was an early Woodrow Wilson supporter. As his ambassador to the Ottoman Empire on the eve of WWI, he endeavored to get America involved with the Armenian genocide. He set the standard that public service was the most worthy of life goals.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was close to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor, so integral to his administration that Eleanor said he was the only cabinet member who could “prod FDR into action.” He pushed to save the Jews during WWII.
Bob Morgenthau was a Kennedy man who, had Robert lived, likely would have been his Attorney General. Bob served in the South Pacific during WWII and his near-escapes from death were riveting. As D.A., he was the first to take on the Mafia and white collar crime and had to deal with some of the most famous murders in NYC history
My husband told me he recalled the name Morgenthau from paper money when he was a kid, old bills that were still in circulation. That was more than what I recalled. I am so pleased to have read this book. I rank it up there with some of my American History favorites.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
August 26, 2022
Mr. Meier reintroduces us to the four generations of the Morgenthau family and their outsized influence on the Western world. Henry Morgenthau was a German immigrant and the last American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. The next three generations would change the trajectory of the world. This is no hagiography though and honestly shows the foibles of the family and more importantly their humanity.
September 26, 2024
It look me more than a year and a half to read this book, but it was excellent. I learned so much about history of NYC and national politics. Fascinating book.
October 31, 2022
Summary: An account of the 153 year history of four generations of the Morgenthau family and its impact on real estate, politics, diplomacy, and law enforcement.
Lazarus Morgenthau probably never should have migrated from Bavaria, where he invented a cigar box that made his fortune, for a time, before the business failed. He moved his family to America where other members of the Jewish elite had made fortunes after similar migrations. For Lazarus, all his schemes failed, from a wine import business to elixirs to cure various ailments to his Golden Book of Life. He spent the latter part of his life in and out of insane asylums. It might be that his principle purpose was to land his progeny in America, who would have a profound influence in many fields over the next hundred years.
Andrew Meier’s lengthy account of this family dynasty begins here. What follows are three full-length biographies of the leading family figure in each of the next three generations: Henry, Sr., Henry, Jr., and Robert Morgenthau, concluding at the end of the latter’s life in 2019.
Henry, Sr. built the family fortune in New York real estate. Meier takes us through the growth of his empire from his first acquisitions up through the relationship with Adolph Ochs and his acquisition of the properties that made up Times Square, and the headquarters of The New York Times. In 1912, his genius in fund-raising for Woodrow Wilson resulted in his being offered the ambassadorship to Turkey, the “Jewish seat.” It was not his first choice, but he distinguished himself in history in his efforts to advocate for and document the Armenian genocide.
Perhaps his greatest challenge was to help launch his son Henry, Jr. in life. Henry, Jr. seemed to lack a clear ambition other than becoming a farmer, which his father helped him to do in acquiring land in Duchess County. This put Henry, Jr. in touch with Franklin Roosevelt, a friendship that endured from Roosevelt’s rise as governor of New York through his presidency. He was a kind of “fixer” for Roosevelt–on farm matters in upstate New York, and later, at the Treasury. This seemed the saddest part of the book because the “friendship” seemed one of providing Roosevelt pleasant company at weekly lunches, but not asserting his own ideas or personality. Perhaps, like his father, his most significant work may have been advocacy for Jews in Europe as Hitler’s genocidal plans took shape. The US State Department and Roosevelt had been intransigent in opposing vigorous measures to help refugees, but Morgenthau probably managed to rescue 200,000 and help awaken the country to the Holocaust. The latter part of his life was the saddest in many ways as he lost his wife, was dumped by Truman, and spent the latter part of his life living lavishly with his second wife, considered “this thing he married” by his children.
I found the third part of the book the most interesting in many respects. Robert Morgenthau was an authentic war hero, offering exemplary leadership when his ship was attacked. He tried politics but failed in two runs for governor. Working with the Kennedy campaign, he won the appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He took on organized crime when the FBI refused to acknowledge its existence. He also set his sights on Roy Cohn (an associate and mentor of Donald Trump), who became the “White Whale” he could never convict. When Nixon took office, he won office as the District Attorney for New York, a position he held until 2009. He was most known for the prosecutions of organized crime (the Gambino family) and the BCCI banking firm, which he believed was channeling money to Iran for development of nuclear weapons. The latter featured high powered American figures including Clark Clifford. It was a case that may have been pursued at the Federal level. For Morgenthau, if it came through New York, it was his jurisdiction.
He built a modestly-staffed department into a powerhouse, increasing the hiring of women and minorities, funding its operations in part with the fines he won. He often opted for plea bargains for fines in lieu of prison sentences–he had no appetite for sending people to prison–except for five youth accused of assault, rape, and murder of the Central Park Jogger. They were part of a “wilding” incident that night and, when apprehended, eventually confessed to the crime and were convicted and sent to prison. Except that DNA evidence, a relatively new technology at the time, linked none of the boys to evidence collected and was set aside. Several years later, new evidence matched with a man already in prison. Morgenthau admitted the mistake and reversed the convictions, albeit too late for the boys, who later recovered an award in court. It was the major stain on his record, lessened by his integrity when new evidence came forward.
This is a massive work, really three major biographies woven into a single account of a powerful family. One gains a sense of the distinctive character of the leading figure of each generation–Henry, Sr., the shrewd, incisive, and courageous businessman turned ambassador; Henry, Jr., the modest steady friend of Roosevelt who found his voice representing Jews caught in the Holocaust; and Robert, the resolute, ambitious prosecutor with a deep sense of integrity and justice that extended to the white collar criminals who often escaped prosecution. This book will carry you through the winter months, introducing you to a family who played a key role, often behind the scenes, over one hundred years in a variety of American institutions, centered around New York City,
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
Lazarus Morgenthau probably never should have migrated from Bavaria, where he invented a cigar box that made his fortune, for a time, before the business failed. He moved his family to America where other members of the Jewish elite had made fortunes after similar migrations. For Lazarus, all his schemes failed, from a wine import business to elixirs to cure various ailments to his Golden Book of Life. He spent the latter part of his life in and out of insane asylums. It might be that his principle purpose was to land his progeny in America, who would have a profound influence in many fields over the next hundred years.
Andrew Meier’s lengthy account of this family dynasty begins here. What follows are three full-length biographies of the leading family figure in each of the next three generations: Henry, Sr., Henry, Jr., and Robert Morgenthau, concluding at the end of the latter’s life in 2019.
Henry, Sr. built the family fortune in New York real estate. Meier takes us through the growth of his empire from his first acquisitions up through the relationship with Adolph Ochs and his acquisition of the properties that made up Times Square, and the headquarters of The New York Times. In 1912, his genius in fund-raising for Woodrow Wilson resulted in his being offered the ambassadorship to Turkey, the “Jewish seat.” It was not his first choice, but he distinguished himself in history in his efforts to advocate for and document the Armenian genocide.
Perhaps his greatest challenge was to help launch his son Henry, Jr. in life. Henry, Jr. seemed to lack a clear ambition other than becoming a farmer, which his father helped him to do in acquiring land in Duchess County. This put Henry, Jr. in touch with Franklin Roosevelt, a friendship that endured from Roosevelt’s rise as governor of New York through his presidency. He was a kind of “fixer” for Roosevelt–on farm matters in upstate New York, and later, at the Treasury. This seemed the saddest part of the book because the “friendship” seemed one of providing Roosevelt pleasant company at weekly lunches, but not asserting his own ideas or personality. Perhaps, like his father, his most significant work may have been advocacy for Jews in Europe as Hitler’s genocidal plans took shape. The US State Department and Roosevelt had been intransigent in opposing vigorous measures to help refugees, but Morgenthau probably managed to rescue 200,000 and help awaken the country to the Holocaust. The latter part of his life was the saddest in many ways as he lost his wife, was dumped by Truman, and spent the latter part of his life living lavishly with his second wife, considered “this thing he married” by his children.
I found the third part of the book the most interesting in many respects. Robert Morgenthau was an authentic war hero, offering exemplary leadership when his ship was attacked. He tried politics but failed in two runs for governor. Working with the Kennedy campaign, he won the appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He took on organized crime when the FBI refused to acknowledge its existence. He also set his sights on Roy Cohn (an associate and mentor of Donald Trump), who became the “White Whale” he could never convict. When Nixon took office, he won office as the District Attorney for New York, a position he held until 2009. He was most known for the prosecutions of organized crime (the Gambino family) and the BCCI banking firm, which he believed was channeling money to Iran for development of nuclear weapons. The latter featured high powered American figures including Clark Clifford. It was a case that may have been pursued at the Federal level. For Morgenthau, if it came through New York, it was his jurisdiction.
He built a modestly-staffed department into a powerhouse, increasing the hiring of women and minorities, funding its operations in part with the fines he won. He often opted for plea bargains for fines in lieu of prison sentences–he had no appetite for sending people to prison–except for five youth accused of assault, rape, and murder of the Central Park Jogger. They were part of a “wilding” incident that night and, when apprehended, eventually confessed to the crime and were convicted and sent to prison. Except that DNA evidence, a relatively new technology at the time, linked none of the boys to evidence collected and was set aside. Several years later, new evidence matched with a man already in prison. Morgenthau admitted the mistake and reversed the convictions, albeit too late for the boys, who later recovered an award in court. It was the major stain on his record, lessened by his integrity when new evidence came forward.
This is a massive work, really three major biographies woven into a single account of a powerful family. One gains a sense of the distinctive character of the leading figure of each generation–Henry, Sr., the shrewd, incisive, and courageous businessman turned ambassador; Henry, Jr., the modest steady friend of Roosevelt who found his voice representing Jews caught in the Holocaust; and Robert, the resolute, ambitious prosecutor with a deep sense of integrity and justice that extended to the white collar criminals who often escaped prosecution. This book will carry you through the winter months, introducing you to a family who played a key role, often behind the scenes, over one hundred years in a variety of American institutions, centered around New York City,
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
June 26, 2023
10 years of work, including approximately 500 interviews, by the author, and it shows. Perhaps a little too lengthy, and that is why I almost didn’t tackle it. However, once I finished I was glad I did. Epic family story and Andrew Meier more than rose to the occasion.
June 16, 2023
It’s a well researched book, epic in scope, covering four generations of an immigrant family and a century and a half of American history beginning just after the Civil War. The Morganthau family performed years of public service to the US government. Power and privilege were in evidence throughout that service as the book’s subtitle states. Neither Henry or his son, Henry junior actually finished college yet they served as Ambassador to Turkey and Secretary of the Treasury respectively. It pays to have influential friends. On the positive side, both men were strong defenders of human rights. Both tried to intercede to aid victims of genocide. Bob Morganthau, the next generation, was elected Manhattan District Attorney. He worked zealously to catch thieves, grifters, and mafioso for decades. He was fearless and persistent, stepping on many toes in the process. I admired him the most.
January 11, 2024
There is much to interest the student of history here, particularly a New York newbie like myself, just learning the lay of the land. Donald J. Trump, who served on the board of the Police Athletic League with Robert Morgenthau, repeats often the proposition that if Bob Morgenthau were still the District Attorney, he (Trump) would never have been indicted. But this book tells another story.
Some of the writing here is really compelling. Chapters 59-74 are the story of Bob Morgenthau, District Attorney for New York City, an office he occupied from 1974 to 2009, prosecuting looters in the wake of the blackout of '76, attacking organized crime in competition with US Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, disrupting a vast international fraud scheme centered on a bank called BCCI (apparently among bankers it was known as "The Bank of Crooks and Criminals"), and taking the fallout from the Central Park Five case, a fiasco that did the office real damage, as Morgenthau neared retirement. Chapters 64 and 65, in particular, cover the DA office's investigation of the Gambino crime family, a story reminiscent of The French Connection or some other pessimistic 1970s account of a city so rotten no good guys can win.
Still, this is a maddening book, a real case study in how a large-scale biography can go awry. It's not so much a bad book, as one that leaves the reader with a vision of how it could be much better.
The work covers four generations, but with no effort I can see to tie them all together. There is no introduction and no conclusion. There is no holistic consideration of how American society changed, from the time Lazarus Morgenthau came to Brooklyn in the wake of the panic of 1857, to 2019 on the even of COVID, or how the Morgenthau story reflects all that change. Throughout the book, we have only the briefest and weakest of glimpses of the Morgenthau's in the eyes of public opinion. Somehow, Henry, Jr. could be on the cover of Time magazine even as the fickle crowds, in anti-semitic rage, made him a major vulnerability for the FDR adminstration.
In Henry, Jr.'s narrative, there just isn't enough contextualization of the Treasury Department. True, it is a vast bureaucratic apparatus, but surely there are important financial matters we should have learned about, yes? Chapters 24-25 offer only shallow coverage of investigations Treasury held, showing Henry, Jr. as a passionate defender of the tax law, investigating even his own predecessor, Andrew Mellon, for tax evasion. There is no mention of any role Henry, Jr. may have had on the Federal Reserve Board, though, and only a comically short piece on the Bretton Woods agreements -- and even that focuses on the plan, drafted by Harry White and Henry Morgenthau, Jr., to punish Germany and force it to be an agrarian state instead of an industrialized one. Which, by the way, was in hindsight obviously a terrible idea, and thanks be that the rest of the adminstration banded against Henry on that one.
One gets the sense that Henry, Jr., was perhaps a mediocre public servant, for all his influence. One can hardly read chapter 23 without shuddering: Henry, Jr. introduced FDR to George Warren, a loony economist who recommended dangerous price-control policies.
Biographer Andrew Meier is no sycophant to his subjects. He's willing to depict Henry, Jr. making a mistake. But he punts the chance to make a clear historical thesis on Henry Morgenthau's tenure at Treasury. One is left simply to suspect that Truman may have not been too off the mark: "Morgenthau didn’t know shit from apple butter." All of this is in the book; why isn't there a conclusion from the author on the topic?
The weave of the generations at times ruins dramatic effects and historical context alike, as in the A-plot--B-plot structure that has us hopping from Henry, Jr. to Bob's story, and back again. Chapter 46, for example, is on Bob, his schooling and early career, which is all mere preparation for the chapter to come, how he got into the Kennedy orbit, and became a US Attorney under Robert Kennedy. This story is interrupted in chapter 47, which is entirely about Henry, Jr, and does not relate in the slightest to the Kennedy plotline.
Other times, the chapters themselves have mystifying lack of thesis or structure. Take chapter 47, for example, which is titled "This thing that he married," a snide reference to Henry, Jr's second wife by the woman who introduced the pair, Mrs. Klotz, Henry, Jr's old secretary. This is all sort of gossipy and unnecessary, and leads only to a portrait of a man dying, without the dignity and family and solidarity he deserved. Sad. But that's hardly the thesis of the chapter. This chapter has a much more interesting line of exposition, about how a historian named Robert Morton Blum worked with Henry, Jr. in his final years to produce a single-volume version of the more than 900 volumes of diaries Henry, Jr. had saved from his service in all four terms of the FDR administration. Frankly, that's far more important to us readers and Mrs. Klotz or wife 2 -- in fact, Blum's work is probably more significant than Meier's biography, as far as the history of Henry's career is concerned. But wait, there's more. Strangely, this chapter also has a fragment of the narrative involving Harry White, a staffer in the Treasury department who was likely a Soviet spy. What a bombshell revelation! Surely this should be the subject of a complete examination? Somehow, to Meier, it is not; White is mentioned, briefly, in chapters 35, 36, 42, 44, and 46. And talk about burying the lede: the high probability White was a spy is only discussed, with relevant evidence (partly the testimony of Whittaker Chambers) in the endnotes. Really, I just don't see the logic of writing it this way, and I'm surprised Meier's editors did not object. Meier apparently thinks Marcelle Puthon, a two-bit golddigger widow of zero historical significance, is more interesting to us than a Soviet spy in the Treasury Department. I suppose it goes to show, in volumes this huge, many whole narratives can be chopped up and lost, when they were meant to be recorded.
Another revision could have resulted in a better book. We readers know that it's quite difficult to contextualize the finances of the United States, particularly in the period of the Great Depression. But that's precisely what's called for to give the verdict on Henry, Jr. And we also know just how difficult it is to analyze rule of law in the USA, and particularly the role of the US Attorneys and the local District Attorneys. (How insanely important both roles remain in 2024!) A more cohesive text would have pointed directly to the broad patterns here: Old Lazarus' penchant for raising money through philanthropic events runs in the blood of two Henry's and a Robert, but Meier never dwells on that pattern. And Henry, Jr. and Robert shared a 'prudish' sensibility that made them strict and rigorous lawmen -- but were they better lawmen for it? Our author just doesn't seem to want to say. In my view -- quite the minority, I understand, and I am only a humble high school history teacher -- every chapter should have one historical thesis, and all reasoning, argument, and evidence should be brought to bear on that thesis. I know I haven't written a one-thousand page tome of my own, and it's unlikely I ever will. But if I do, it will damn well have clear propositions.
Some of the writing here is really compelling. Chapters 59-74 are the story of Bob Morgenthau, District Attorney for New York City, an office he occupied from 1974 to 2009, prosecuting looters in the wake of the blackout of '76, attacking organized crime in competition with US Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, disrupting a vast international fraud scheme centered on a bank called BCCI (apparently among bankers it was known as "The Bank of Crooks and Criminals"), and taking the fallout from the Central Park Five case, a fiasco that did the office real damage, as Morgenthau neared retirement. Chapters 64 and 65, in particular, cover the DA office's investigation of the Gambino crime family, a story reminiscent of The French Connection or some other pessimistic 1970s account of a city so rotten no good guys can win.
Still, this is a maddening book, a real case study in how a large-scale biography can go awry. It's not so much a bad book, as one that leaves the reader with a vision of how it could be much better.
The work covers four generations, but with no effort I can see to tie them all together. There is no introduction and no conclusion. There is no holistic consideration of how American society changed, from the time Lazarus Morgenthau came to Brooklyn in the wake of the panic of 1857, to 2019 on the even of COVID, or how the Morgenthau story reflects all that change. Throughout the book, we have only the briefest and weakest of glimpses of the Morgenthau's in the eyes of public opinion. Somehow, Henry, Jr. could be on the cover of Time magazine even as the fickle crowds, in anti-semitic rage, made him a major vulnerability for the FDR adminstration.
In Henry, Jr.'s narrative, there just isn't enough contextualization of the Treasury Department. True, it is a vast bureaucratic apparatus, but surely there are important financial matters we should have learned about, yes? Chapters 24-25 offer only shallow coverage of investigations Treasury held, showing Henry, Jr. as a passionate defender of the tax law, investigating even his own predecessor, Andrew Mellon, for tax evasion. There is no mention of any role Henry, Jr. may have had on the Federal Reserve Board, though, and only a comically short piece on the Bretton Woods agreements -- and even that focuses on the plan, drafted by Harry White and Henry Morgenthau, Jr., to punish Germany and force it to be an agrarian state instead of an industrialized one. Which, by the way, was in hindsight obviously a terrible idea, and thanks be that the rest of the adminstration banded against Henry on that one.
One gets the sense that Henry, Jr., was perhaps a mediocre public servant, for all his influence. One can hardly read chapter 23 without shuddering: Henry, Jr. introduced FDR to George Warren, a loony economist who recommended dangerous price-control policies.
For months, FDR had fallen prey to a rosy promise: the notion that if the Depression had deepened as prices fell, the way out was to “reflate”—to force prices to rise again. The “brains-trusters” had tried to dissuade FDR, gently explaining that he’d inverted the relationship: Rising prices would come after the recovery, not bring it about. But the tutoring did no good; Roosevelt would not budge. He’d come under the spell of a new economic guru—George Warren, a little-known agronomist from Cornell whom he’d first met in Albany.
Biographer Andrew Meier is no sycophant to his subjects. He's willing to depict Henry, Jr. making a mistake. But he punts the chance to make a clear historical thesis on Henry Morgenthau's tenure at Treasury. One is left simply to suspect that Truman may have not been too off the mark: "Morgenthau didn’t know shit from apple butter." All of this is in the book; why isn't there a conclusion from the author on the topic?
The weave of the generations at times ruins dramatic effects and historical context alike, as in the A-plot--B-plot structure that has us hopping from Henry, Jr. to Bob's story, and back again. Chapter 46, for example, is on Bob, his schooling and early career, which is all mere preparation for the chapter to come, how he got into the Kennedy orbit, and became a US Attorney under Robert Kennedy. This story is interrupted in chapter 47, which is entirely about Henry, Jr, and does not relate in the slightest to the Kennedy plotline.
Other times, the chapters themselves have mystifying lack of thesis or structure. Take chapter 47, for example, which is titled "This thing that he married," a snide reference to Henry, Jr's second wife by the woman who introduced the pair, Mrs. Klotz, Henry, Jr's old secretary. This is all sort of gossipy and unnecessary, and leads only to a portrait of a man dying, without the dignity and family and solidarity he deserved. Sad. But that's hardly the thesis of the chapter. This chapter has a much more interesting line of exposition, about how a historian named Robert Morton Blum worked with Henry, Jr. in his final years to produce a single-volume version of the more than 900 volumes of diaries Henry, Jr. had saved from his service in all four terms of the FDR administration. Frankly, that's far more important to us readers and Mrs. Klotz or wife 2 -- in fact, Blum's work is probably more significant than Meier's biography, as far as the history of Henry's career is concerned. But wait, there's more. Strangely, this chapter also has a fragment of the narrative involving Harry White, a staffer in the Treasury department who was likely a Soviet spy. What a bombshell revelation! Surely this should be the subject of a complete examination? Somehow, to Meier, it is not; White is mentioned, briefly, in chapters 35, 36, 42, 44, and 46. And talk about burying the lede: the high probability White was a spy is only discussed, with relevant evidence (partly the testimony of Whittaker Chambers) in the endnotes. Really, I just don't see the logic of writing it this way, and I'm surprised Meier's editors did not object. Meier apparently thinks Marcelle Puthon, a two-bit golddigger widow of zero historical significance, is more interesting to us than a Soviet spy in the Treasury Department. I suppose it goes to show, in volumes this huge, many whole narratives can be chopped up and lost, when they were meant to be recorded.
Another revision could have resulted in a better book. We readers know that it's quite difficult to contextualize the finances of the United States, particularly in the period of the Great Depression. But that's precisely what's called for to give the verdict on Henry, Jr. And we also know just how difficult it is to analyze rule of law in the USA, and particularly the role of the US Attorneys and the local District Attorneys. (How insanely important both roles remain in 2024!) A more cohesive text would have pointed directly to the broad patterns here: Old Lazarus' penchant for raising money through philanthropic events runs in the blood of two Henry's and a Robert, but Meier never dwells on that pattern. And Henry, Jr. and Robert shared a 'prudish' sensibility that made them strict and rigorous lawmen -- but were they better lawmen for it? Our author just doesn't seem to want to say. In my view -- quite the minority, I understand, and I am only a humble high school history teacher -- every chapter should have one historical thesis, and all reasoning, argument, and evidence should be brought to bear on that thesis. I know I haven't written a one-thousand page tome of my own, and it's unlikely I ever will. But if I do, it will damn well have clear propositions.
June 17, 2023
This is an extremely interesting book on a highly influential family over the last 150 years of American history. Henry Morganthau was the founder, who made his money by looking at the way New York was developing and bought property as the subway system expanded. He would later emerge as leader in the “Our Crowd” society, the term for German Jewish Americans at the turn of the century. Henry would emerge as a power broker in the Democratic Party, an advocate for Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, and ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian massacre.
Henry Jr did not seem to have a particularly promising future, he was an indifferent student. After several false starts, he purchased a farm in Duchess County and he and his wife became best friends with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Henry Morganthau Jr would go onto become FDR’s secretary of the treasury, responsible for funding the New Deal, WWII, and founding the World Bank and the IMF. He was able to undermine the efforts of the somewhat racist State Department of the day and was responsible for saving 200,000 Jews from Hitler. He was also the author of a somewhat draconian proposal for the disposition of a defeated Nazi Germany. The younger Morganthau would retain his suspicion of Germany as a problematic country down to his dying day.
Robert Morganthau, the son of the Secretary of the Treasury, returned from WWII and began a legal career that stretched into the 21st century. He became prominent as Federal Prosecutor in the Southern District under Kennedy and Johnson before being sacked by Nixon. He later returned as NYC’s 9 term DA.
This book actually is greater than the sum of its parts. Though I read it mainly for details on Henry Morganthau Jr, this book provides an impressive overview of political reform movements that soon grew beyond just Manhattan. The people the Morganthaus mingled with over the centuries and their social dynamics prove invaluable to mapping out comings and goings in the upper reaches of America’s political elites from 1900-2015.
Henry Jr did not seem to have a particularly promising future, he was an indifferent student. After several false starts, he purchased a farm in Duchess County and he and his wife became best friends with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Henry Morganthau Jr would go onto become FDR’s secretary of the treasury, responsible for funding the New Deal, WWII, and founding the World Bank and the IMF. He was able to undermine the efforts of the somewhat racist State Department of the day and was responsible for saving 200,000 Jews from Hitler. He was also the author of a somewhat draconian proposal for the disposition of a defeated Nazi Germany. The younger Morganthau would retain his suspicion of Germany as a problematic country down to his dying day.
Robert Morganthau, the son of the Secretary of the Treasury, returned from WWII and began a legal career that stretched into the 21st century. He became prominent as Federal Prosecutor in the Southern District under Kennedy and Johnson before being sacked by Nixon. He later returned as NYC’s 9 term DA.
This book actually is greater than the sum of its parts. Though I read it mainly for details on Henry Morganthau Jr, this book provides an impressive overview of political reform movements that soon grew beyond just Manhattan. The people the Morganthaus mingled with over the centuries and their social dynamics prove invaluable to mapping out comings and goings in the upper reaches of America’s political elites from 1900-2015.
July 21, 2022
Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty, from Andrew Meier, is an amazingly readable story of one family's history in the United States. Most readers with an interest in history will have heard of, and know a little about, the four generations covered here (well, at least the last three of them) and this volume makes their story even more remarkable.
My personal familiarity was primarily with Henry Jr and Robert, though I knew Henry Sr was to blame for Wilson. Yet the extent to which all of them were involved in areas that affected all Americans surprised me. As a familial history, this is engaging and extremely well-researched. What really makes the book a compelling read is that it is also a history of the US in the 20th century. Not THE history, of course, but certainly one that touches on most of the major issues and events.
If you're at all hesitant to pick the book up because of the length, don't be. The writing is very good and the combination of biography and history makes it a far more enjoyable read than most biographies. From NYC real estate, convincing Wilson to run for President, helping to craft the New Deal, trying (and sometimes succeeding) in improving the justice system, this book has it all. I tend to read several books at a time, usually no more than 100 pages per book per day, but I found myself unable to put this one down sometimes. And when I did it was often so I could go off on a tangent that piqued my interest, usually some event or person in history I wanted to know more about.
Highly recommended for readers of biography as well as those with an interest in US 20th century history.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
My personal familiarity was primarily with Henry Jr and Robert, though I knew Henry Sr was to blame for Wilson. Yet the extent to which all of them were involved in areas that affected all Americans surprised me. As a familial history, this is engaging and extremely well-researched. What really makes the book a compelling read is that it is also a history of the US in the 20th century. Not THE history, of course, but certainly one that touches on most of the major issues and events.
If you're at all hesitant to pick the book up because of the length, don't be. The writing is very good and the combination of biography and history makes it a far more enjoyable read than most biographies. From NYC real estate, convincing Wilson to run for President, helping to craft the New Deal, trying (and sometimes succeeding) in improving the justice system, this book has it all. I tend to read several books at a time, usually no more than 100 pages per book per day, but I found myself unable to put this one down sometimes. And when I did it was often so I could go off on a tangent that piqued my interest, usually some event or person in history I wanted to know more about.
Highly recommended for readers of biography as well as those with an interest in US 20th century history.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
January 9, 2024
At 900 pages (not including notes), MORGENTHAU is likely to turn off some readers. Don't let it. This was the best book I read in 2023. Starting with Henry Morgenthau, the grandfather of Robert Morgenthau - the New York DA from 1976-2009 - the book charts the rise of this fascinating, successful and influential family. Meier first details how Henry, Sr. acquired great wealth thru savvy real estate investments that changed the landscape of NYC and how he later served in the Wilson administration as Ambassador to Turkey where he exposed the Armenian genocide. He then describes how Henry, Jr. parlayed his friendship with FDR to become one of his closest confidants and Secretary of the Treasury for 12 years, but whose insecurities and oft-times prickly personality ultimately reduced his influence following FDR's death. Finally, Robert Morgenthau's life is traced, from his heroism in WW II, to his friendship with Robert Kennedy, his battles against the Mob and Roy Cohn as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and finally to his lengthy tenure as the DA of New York City. Meier offers moving personal portraits of these 3 giants and through their stories he is also able to tell a history of the United States from the 1880's to the Present. As the reviews on the jacket state, the book is "magisterial".
April 8, 2023
Well written history about the Morgenthau family, ending with Robert Morgenthau, the former long-standing Manhattan D.A. I read several other books while reading this dense history, so it took a long time to finish. I found it interesting on several levels: the 20th century history, the family history, the Jewish element in the history, and the crimes and cases prosecuted by Robert Morgenthau, many of which I was aware of, as I lived in NYC and those events were contemporaneous with my life.
April 23, 2024
A stunning, Caro-esque epic outlining four generations of varied personalities. It was quite remarkable to think Meier meticulously researched such massive scope with intricate complexity and talented narration.
Lazarus' story was a tragic one for me. Beginning as a successful manufacturer in Germany, he never rebuilt his thriving business in the land of opportunity and essentially succumbed to a "snake-oil" type circus character. Unfortunately, his struggles with obvious mental health issues doubled down on the tragedy, which caused the family to distant themselves (for their safety). I found his story a difficult one to read.
Henry Morgenthau Sr, in my opinion, was the most interesting of the four. With his obsession on self-improvement and self-restraint, he truly lived the life his father strived for when moving to America. I found it admirable that he was able to be the bridge between his father and his mother and managing that situation for the safety of all. On top of that, he propelled his career with risks and gambles that paid off. He certainly was the captain of the family and he navigated difficult situations with staunch persistence, finally becoming a real estate mogul and setting the foundation of a Morgenthau dynasty. Becoming a US Ambassador only furthered my admiration for his accomplishments.
Henry Morgenthau Jr was an enigma. As I read about his love for farming and agriculture (which veered so away from his father), I was shocked where he ended up, as a prominent government figure taking on massive responsibility in humanity's greatest conflict. His personal friendship with the Roosevelts obviously got him there. What makes me scratch my head is how he got there with virtually no formal training or experience. He kind of just learned on the job it seems. He was fortunate to have a master leader in FDR, as Truman quickly spotted a bluff and dismissed him. After being fired from his post, he sort of meandered and never fully recovered when his biggest backer had passed.
Robert Morgenthau I believe was the personification of all these characters (well, maybe with the exception of Lazarus). A seasoned war veteran who escaped tragedy, he propelled himself to the law, made alliances quickly and chose cases that he was passionate and curious about. Yes, he had an immense ally in RFK, but Bob was determined and obsessive with the work. It was that curiosity (which he did not see in Vance) that made him a legend in the Big Apple.
All in all, a tremendous undertaking by the author. I felt he could have done a better job bringing all these men together and looked for synergies and shared qualities, but he made an attempt at it and it worked fine. Robert Caro I'm sure has taken notice and I hope he's proud.
Lazarus' story was a tragic one for me. Beginning as a successful manufacturer in Germany, he never rebuilt his thriving business in the land of opportunity and essentially succumbed to a "snake-oil" type circus character. Unfortunately, his struggles with obvious mental health issues doubled down on the tragedy, which caused the family to distant themselves (for their safety). I found his story a difficult one to read.
Henry Morgenthau Sr, in my opinion, was the most interesting of the four. With his obsession on self-improvement and self-restraint, he truly lived the life his father strived for when moving to America. I found it admirable that he was able to be the bridge between his father and his mother and managing that situation for the safety of all. On top of that, he propelled his career with risks and gambles that paid off. He certainly was the captain of the family and he navigated difficult situations with staunch persistence, finally becoming a real estate mogul and setting the foundation of a Morgenthau dynasty. Becoming a US Ambassador only furthered my admiration for his accomplishments.
Henry Morgenthau Jr was an enigma. As I read about his love for farming and agriculture (which veered so away from his father), I was shocked where he ended up, as a prominent government figure taking on massive responsibility in humanity's greatest conflict. His personal friendship with the Roosevelts obviously got him there. What makes me scratch my head is how he got there with virtually no formal training or experience. He kind of just learned on the job it seems. He was fortunate to have a master leader in FDR, as Truman quickly spotted a bluff and dismissed him. After being fired from his post, he sort of meandered and never fully recovered when his biggest backer had passed.
Robert Morgenthau I believe was the personification of all these characters (well, maybe with the exception of Lazarus). A seasoned war veteran who escaped tragedy, he propelled himself to the law, made alliances quickly and chose cases that he was passionate and curious about. Yes, he had an immense ally in RFK, but Bob was determined and obsessive with the work. It was that curiosity (which he did not see in Vance) that made him a legend in the Big Apple.
All in all, a tremendous undertaking by the author. I felt he could have done a better job bringing all these men together and looked for synergies and shared qualities, but he made an attempt at it and it worked fine. Robert Caro I'm sure has taken notice and I hope he's proud.
October 12, 2022
An Immigrant German Family Rose to the Top in Twentieth Century America
Lazarus Morganthau arrived penniless in America in 1866 dreaming of remaking the fortune he had left behind in Germany. Although Lazarus died penniless, his descendants rose to the top of American finance and politics. This family history focuses on the most successful Morganthaus: Henry, Henry, Jr., and Robert.
Henry Sr. made money in Manhattan real estate guessing correctly that the value of property near subway stops would skyrocket. He was a strong supporter of Woodrow Wilson and was rewarded for his generous contributions to the campaign with the post of Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Henry wanted to be Treasury Secretary, but the post of Ambassador gave him an international reputation when he drew attention to the Armenian massacre.
Henry Jr. met FDR when both were gentleman farmers in upstate New York. The friendship was a strong one and led to Henry becoming one of FDRs most trusted advisers during WWII when he was made Secretary of the Treasury.
Robert was a supporter of the Kennedy’s. Robert Kennedy’s death foreclosed Roberts national political ambitions, but he became New York’s longest serving DA instituting high profile investigations of the Mafia.
This is an excellent, well-researched book about an important American family. Although I had heard about the Morganthaus I was unfamiliar with the family history. It was interesting to see the rise of the family in the twentieth century giving a view of the history of that turbulent period. I highly recommend this book.
I received this book from Random House for this review.
Lazarus Morganthau arrived penniless in America in 1866 dreaming of remaking the fortune he had left behind in Germany. Although Lazarus died penniless, his descendants rose to the top of American finance and politics. This family history focuses on the most successful Morganthaus: Henry, Henry, Jr., and Robert.
Henry Sr. made money in Manhattan real estate guessing correctly that the value of property near subway stops would skyrocket. He was a strong supporter of Woodrow Wilson and was rewarded for his generous contributions to the campaign with the post of Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Henry wanted to be Treasury Secretary, but the post of Ambassador gave him an international reputation when he drew attention to the Armenian massacre.
Henry Jr. met FDR when both were gentleman farmers in upstate New York. The friendship was a strong one and led to Henry becoming one of FDRs most trusted advisers during WWII when he was made Secretary of the Treasury.
Robert was a supporter of the Kennedy’s. Robert Kennedy’s death foreclosed Roberts national political ambitions, but he became New York’s longest serving DA instituting high profile investigations of the Mafia.
This is an excellent, well-researched book about an important American family. Although I had heard about the Morganthaus I was unfamiliar with the family history. It was interesting to see the rise of the family in the twentieth century giving a view of the history of that turbulent period. I highly recommend this book.
I received this book from Random House for this review.
September 2, 2023
This is a well written documentary of the Morgenthau dynasty starting withLazarus a Bavaria who sold cigars from his factory around the Civil War to California miners to Robert the long-serving NY District Attorney. In between we have Henry who made his money in NY real estate and became ambassador to Turkey and tried to publicize the horrors of the Armenian Genocide to President Wilson.
Henry’s son, Henry Jr, who dropped out of Cornell as an agriculture student was given a farm to run in Dutchess County where he met and became extremely close to FDR, a neighbor. Much of the book is on Henry Jr, his close relationship with FDR and as Secretary of the Treasury who encouraged FDR and implemented the Lend- Lease program for Great Britain. At the end of the war he came into disfavor for public advocacy of reducing Germany to an agricultural nation, stripping them of the industrial capabilities. Although neither of these Morgenthaus were observant Jews, Henry Jr was the first President of UJA and a supportive Zionist.
His son, Robert was well educated, fought and almost lost his life as a Navy officer in the Pacific War, and went on to be Kennedy’s US Attorney in Manhattan, failed in two runs for governor, and finally served for 30 years as Manhattan’s District Attorney. In this role he pursued the mob and presided over the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five.
Quite a family and lots of history to absorb along the way.
Henry’s son, Henry Jr, who dropped out of Cornell as an agriculture student was given a farm to run in Dutchess County where he met and became extremely close to FDR, a neighbor. Much of the book is on Henry Jr, his close relationship with FDR and as Secretary of the Treasury who encouraged FDR and implemented the Lend- Lease program for Great Britain. At the end of the war he came into disfavor for public advocacy of reducing Germany to an agricultural nation, stripping them of the industrial capabilities. Although neither of these Morgenthaus were observant Jews, Henry Jr was the first President of UJA and a supportive Zionist.
His son, Robert was well educated, fought and almost lost his life as a Navy officer in the Pacific War, and went on to be Kennedy’s US Attorney in Manhattan, failed in two runs for governor, and finally served for 30 years as Manhattan’s District Attorney. In this role he pursued the mob and presided over the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five.
Quite a family and lots of history to absorb along the way.
May 22, 2025
I am not sure whether to call this 3 1/2 biographies merged into one (I viewed Lazarus's biography as setting the stage for Henry Sr.'s biography) or Bob Morganthau's biography with a very long family background. However it is characterized, it is an outstanding biography. It covers such a way array of subjects that it really feels like separate biographies--from the real estate acumen of Henry Sr., to the fascinating account of his time as ambassador in the Ottoman Empire, to the harrowing account of the Armenian Genocide, to Henry Jr.'s passion for farming, the political biography of his time with FDR, to the wartime drama of Bob's military service, and finally the wide variety of cases handled while Bob was district attorney. So many different genres covered, but all so consistently interesting. There is a ton of variety in this book, and the author covered each of them so well. This biography was a consistent page-turner. I understand now why it is such a highly regarded biography. If anything, the center of the novel is New York--everything in the biography always comes back to the city where the Morgenthau dynasty was born, where relationships with presidents were forged, the farm that played such a central role to the family's identity, and where the world's money converged, making Bob Morgenthau one of the most important district attorneys of the 20th and 21st centuries. Highly recommend.
November 14, 2024
More properly a series than a book, Meier's work here is wide ranging. Largely chronological in order, detailed without being exhaustive, Meier shows us a not quite fascinating extended snapshot of American power and prestige in the lives of succeeding generations of the same accomplished family. Through it all, New York City is woven like a silver thread, in all of its fascinating evolution, glittering power, and appalling horror. We also get well-written glimpses of other facets of history, such as 19th century Germany, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and crime and punishment in modern 20th century America.
In relation to the writing, Meier is clear always, and occasionally rises to downright absorbing. I found myself often wishing that he had chosen a better subject for I think his writing could carry it. Obviously, this book has a rather narrow niche being essentially a history of New York City, but the stories contained here are little known, the arc is wide, and the writing displays it all to good effect.
In relation to the writing, Meier is clear always, and occasionally rises to downright absorbing. I found myself often wishing that he had chosen a better subject for I think his writing could carry it. Obviously, this book has a rather narrow niche being essentially a history of New York City, but the stories contained here are little known, the arc is wide, and the writing displays it all to good effect.
April 3, 2023
I would pose that this is one of those stories that goes into the category 'If you really want to understand New York, you have to know the Morgenthau story.' Meier really does give us a huge picture of New York as he reveals to us how this family rose to power. And there are facets of the story can be almost as revolting as they are revealing.
Upon a few hours reflection I have upgraded this one to four stars. Meier deserves better than my initial reaction which was driven by some resentment that New York seems to engender such over-the-top patting itself on the back for the efforts of its denizens. He does explain a bit of what it takes to treat almost as royalty some of the movers and shakers of the city. The quality of the literature does not change the fact that I can conceive of almost no reason to actually live there - the city exhibits so much of the ugly underside of modern urban life.
Upon a few hours reflection I have upgraded this one to four stars. Meier deserves better than my initial reaction which was driven by some resentment that New York seems to engender such over-the-top patting itself on the back for the efforts of its denizens. He does explain a bit of what it takes to treat almost as royalty some of the movers and shakers of the city. The quality of the literature does not change the fact that I can conceive of almost no reason to actually live there - the city exhibits so much of the ugly underside of modern urban life.
June 22, 2022
The Morgenthaus came to the United States in 1866 from Germany. And immediately began to make their fortune. Losing everything they had only to rise to the top once again.
In this book, Meier accesses archives not previously seen in public. We learn how they gained enormous wealth and influence. They advised presidents and were vocal about the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust.
Lazarus is where we begin. He came to New York dreaming of building a bigger fortune than the one he lost in Germany. Sadly, that was not to be. But then came Henry, who became wealthy as a real estate mogul.
His son became FDR’s longest-serving aide. They built a dynasty in New York and the author has given us an unprecedented look at this powerful family.
What an interesting read this was. So many people are behind the scenes, pulling strings. But good people as well.
NetGalley/October 11, 2022, RHPG
In this book, Meier accesses archives not previously seen in public. We learn how they gained enormous wealth and influence. They advised presidents and were vocal about the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust.
Lazarus is where we begin. He came to New York dreaming of building a bigger fortune than the one he lost in Germany. Sadly, that was not to be. But then came Henry, who became wealthy as a real estate mogul.
His son became FDR’s longest-serving aide. They built a dynasty in New York and the author has given us an unprecedented look at this powerful family.
What an interesting read this was. So many people are behind the scenes, pulling strings. But good people as well.
NetGalley/October 11, 2022, RHPG
October 11, 2022
Meier's examination of Morgenthau does what it sets out to do. It is well-researched, well written, and thoroughly covers the depth and breadth of Morgenthau's life. Meier doesn't shy away from putting things into perspective of Morgenthau's ego and his drive to achieve status.
I learned a lot of information I did not know and came away with a different perspective of the subject than I went into the work with.
This book covers a lot, though my review is not lengthy.
If you like biographies, history, and learning more about people and cultural changes of the world then this book is for you.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
I learned a lot of information I did not know and came away with a different perspective of the subject than I went into the work with.
This book covers a lot, though my review is not lengthy.
If you like biographies, history, and learning more about people and cultural changes of the world then this book is for you.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
November 19, 2022
Whilst I had been previously made aware of the Morgenthau family (I'm a bit of a fan of Bobby Kennedy and he and Robert Morgenthau often worked together after all), I didn't know that much about their influence on American history. Here, however, I learned more about their origins as immigrants, the role they played in raising awareness of the Armenian genocide, and even Robert's attempts to tackle crime.
Of the several generations, Robert's work was the most interesting, partially out of respect for a guy who keeps going whilst in his 90s, his interactions with Bobby Kennedy, and for bringing up some fascinating cases that I'm curious to learn more of - the jogger case was a standout.
All in all, a decent book.
Of the several generations, Robert's work was the most interesting, partially out of respect for a guy who keeps going whilst in his 90s, his interactions with Bobby Kennedy, and for bringing up some fascinating cases that I'm curious to learn more of - the jogger case was a standout.
All in all, a decent book.
May 21, 2024
This book was a great chronology of the Morgenthau family from the 1840’s to 1967. In that time period we learn about their immigration to America, the rise of Henry Morgenthau Sr and his real estate empire, and his son Henry Morgenthau Jr who became the best of friends for 30 years with President Franklin Roosevelt and also became his Secretary of the Treasury for 12 years. I’d give that part of the book a solid 41/2. However the next half of the book is about Robert Morgenthau Jr who became the New York District Attorney for more than 40 years. That part of the book is way, way too long and who cares. Interesting book but I’m giving it 3 stars because of its length about Robert Morgenthau Jr.
June 5, 2023
I suspect most Americans wouldn't know who the Morgenthau's have been. If they know the name, it is doubtful that they know much about them. Three generations of Morgenthau men had remarkable careers and sizable impacts through public service - from diplomacy, to economics, and justice. Staked to wealth, they focused on the social impacts rather than acquisition. Power was a tool, not a goal.
Meier provides an extensive and detailed description of the three most accomplished men. The most engaging parts were Robert's career as a district attorney in New York. His battle against organized and white collar crime were cutting edge, and important.
Good read.
Meier provides an extensive and detailed description of the three most accomplished men. The most engaging parts were Robert's career as a district attorney in New York. His battle against organized and white collar crime were cutting edge, and important.
Good read.
January 2, 2023
A towering book. Andrew Meier does a wonderful job meticulously describing the lives of four generations of the Morgenthau family, with writing that is incisive yet warm and cohesive. Although at almost a thousand pages, it constantly pulls you in, and it engenders a wide sort of reactions. If I were to name one, it would be a grudging admiration I the reader develop for the institutions of our Republic. A must read book for New York enthusiasts, along with those somehow connected to “the our crowd” concept.
February 19, 2023
This book presents a daunting yet worthwhile challenge. Rather than attempt to plough through the book until I finished, I read a portion at a time before transitioning to the audiobook. The book covers over 150 years and four generations of an influential family close to major events in United States and world history. This massive tome serves more as a biography of Henry Sr, Henry Jr, and Bob, than a chronicling of the family as the siblings/other children seem to disappear as Meier shifts the focus of the narrative. This book is definitely not for everyone but is definitely for me.
June 12, 2022
Many many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this new work.
This was my first read of the Andrew Meier. He is a wonderful writer! This was such a pleasure to read. I learned so much from this. This family is such an important part of this country's story and this book was long needed.
I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in US History. I can't help but think this deserves to be mini-series to help this story reach an even bigger audience.
This was my first read of the Andrew Meier. He is a wonderful writer! This was such a pleasure to read. I learned so much from this. This family is such an important part of this country's story and this book was long needed.
I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in US History. I can't help but think this deserves to be mini-series to help this story reach an even bigger audience.
August 18, 2022
An exceptional book that details the Morgenthau family rise from the arrival of Lazarus in the 1800’s to Bo in current times. This book provides lots of information and detail that is fascinating. It also gives a look at our country through the years from different perspectives. The author has done a great job of presenting in a easy to read manner. The book is huge at over 1000 pages so it takes a while to read. I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.
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