★★★★★ 4
I wish it had been done better
I imagine I'm going to get unhelpful votes by saying this, but this biography was not up to par with the author's other biographies. I've read Titan, which I thought was great, House of Morgan, which was really good, and Hamilton, which was also good, and this book just isn't up to those other books.
The beginning was very frustrating because we learn about this supposedly very successful and widely acclaimed and established German banking family, yet there is practically nothing concerning how they got to be well known and exceedingly wealthy, nor what their business dealings were at the time. And this lack of information goes on and on, focusing almost to exclusion on inter-personal issues.
Looking up the Warburgs in Wikipedia, I learned that the family had been a very successful banking family from the 1600's back in Venice, even before they settled in Warburg, Germany. Starting the narrative in the mid to late 1800's with the success of Jews in what was to become Germany just left me hanging and feeling like I was missing a large part of who the Warburgs were and how they got that way.
Additionally, the family had been around for a very long time and there are scattered references to visiting or staying with uncles and aunts, but the overall breadth of the family is not addressed.
Thinking about his problem now, it almost would make more sense and read better if there was a short intro and perhaps 10 separate bios on separate family members, instead of skipping around. It would help the flow. I have a feeling the author's inability to read German or Swedish or other European languages and his lack of primary research in Europe, where the Warburgs achieved fame and fortune, contributed to this incomplete biography.
On the other hand, it appears that not much had been written on the Warburgs prior to this book (at least in English), and that is why I read the book. Additionally, the whole build up to the Holocaust and how the Warburgs kept their warm feelings for Germany throughout the experience, as a constant theme, was very interesting and well done, especially since I'm Jewish. The reading got more focused and poignant the closer the Holocaust got and immediately afterwards.
3 or 3.5 stars is probably the best score, but will upgrade so I don't get canned too badly. If you're interested in the Warburg it's a good starter book, though I imagine if this weren't one of the first books Chernow wrote, he would have done a better job as a more mature and accomplished biographer.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016
