The House of Rothschild Series

A major work of economic, social and political history, Niall Ferguson’s The House of Rothschild: The World’s Banker 1849-1999 is the second volume of the acclaimed, landmark history of the legendary Rothschild banking dynasty.

Niall Ferguson’s House of Rothschild: Money’s Prophets 1798-1848 was hailed as a “great biography” by Time magazine and named one of the best books of the year by Business Week. Now, with all the depth, clarity and drama with which he traced their ascent, Ferguson – the first historian with access to the long-lost Rothschild family archives – concludes his myth-breaking portrait of once of the most fascinating and power families of all time.From Crimea to World War II, wars repeatedly threatened the stability of the Rothschilds’ worldwide empire. Despite these many global upheavals, theirs remained the biggest bank in the world up until the First World War, their interests extending far beyond the realm of finance. Yet the Rothschilds’ failure to establish themselves successfully in the United States proved fateful, and as financial power shifted from London to New York after 1914, their power waned.

“A stupendous achievement, a triumph of historical research and imagination.”—Robert Skidelsky, The New York Review of Books

“Niall Ferguson’s brilliant and altogether enthralling two-volume family saga proves that academic historians can still tell great stories that the rest of us want to read.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Superb … An impressive … account of the Rothschilds and their role in history.”—Boston GlobeNiall Ferguson’s new book The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook will be published in January 2018. 

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower

In his rich and nuanced portrait of the remarkable, elusive Rothschild family, Oxford scholar and bestselling author Niall Ferguson uncovers the secrets behind the family’s phenomenal economic success. He reveals for the first time the details of the family’s vast political network, which gave it access to and influence over many of the greatest statesmen of the age. And he tells a family saga, tracing the importance of unity and the profound role of Judaism in the lives of a dynasty that rose from the confines of the Frankfurt ghetto and later used its influence to assist oppressed Jews throughout Europe. A definitive work of impeccable scholarship with a thoroughly engaging narrative, The House of Rothschild is a biography of the rarest kind, in which mysterious and fascinating historical figures finally spring to life.