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.