Outside of certain circles, few Americans are familiar with the Morgenthau name. In New York City, former mayor Ed Koch claimed they were “the closest we have to royalty.”
In his epic portrait of this American family, journalist Andrew Meier goes back four generations of the Morgenthau family, detailing their influence and power from daily life in New York City to their role in shaping American history.
Meier’s “Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and The Rise of an American Dynasty,” is lengthy, but with short chapters and reads like a novel. The biographer credits his ability to provide great detail to his over 350 interviews and access to private family journals and archives.
Readers learn how the Morgenthau’s came from Germany, amassed a fortune in Manhattan real estate and became advisors and confidantes to American presidents and world leaders, as well as building a dynasty of public service.