The Lords of Creation Audiobook By Fredrick Lewis Allen cover art

The Lords of Creation

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Lords of Creation

By: Fredrick Lewis Allen
Narrated by: William Hope
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $29.95

Buy for $29.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

An acclaimed classic detailing the economic history of America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and exposing the capitalist giants who changed the world. Frederick Lewis Allen’s insightful financial history of the United States - from the late 1800s through the stock market collapse of 1929 - remains a seminal work on what brought on America’s worst economic disaster: the Great Depression. In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the capitalist system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the "lords of creation" who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity, ruthlessness, and greed, America’s giants of industry remolded the US economy in their own preferred image. In so doing, they established their absolute power and authority, ensuring that they - and they alone - would control the means of production, transportation, energy, and commerce - thereby setting the stage for the most devastating global financial collapse in history.

As Gretchen Morgenson thoughtfully states in her introduction, "It is not immediately clear why the frequency and severity of financial scandals is increasing in the United States. What is clear is that we need to understand the origins of these disasters, as well as the policies and people that bring them on.... While distant actions may seem unrelated to current events, rereading about the past almost always provides surprising insights into the present."

©1935 Frederick Lewis Allen (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Economic History United States American History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Lords of Creation

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    82
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    83
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    83
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enlightening

If all this is true, then what else is possible? Great info, too much side story sometimes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read, historical perspective

Wonderful examination of the history of high finance and it’s real influence on the American economy and hence the American people.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A 1935 Look with Modern Implications

In addition to the interesting tone and storytelling, Allen's analysis of wealthy machinations, dangerous practices, and unsound financial instruments proves instructive. The names and tools have changed, but as the 2008 collapse (and other downturns) tell us, the dangers of predatory and manipulative capitalism and the too often belated efforts to rein it in remain a constant nearly 100 years later.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An absolute 'must read'

Answers many of your questions about 'what is wrong with America' and the world. Explains why the best country the world has ever seen is polarized and 'how' God was replaced with $$$

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

timeless

might as well describe today's economy. the players and names change, but the game and the plays don't change much, if at all. they just adapt.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Michael Lewis of the Early 20th Century

Allen did a great job describing the in and outs of the banking business from the 1890s to the 1940s. It's too bad we can't seem to shake off the demons of greed, and fix the errors in our investment system.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ideas of power...

The start of unchallenged ideas yet still continues... A train wreck concerning men of power.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Forgotten mistakes of the past

Maybe a bit too much backround on everything. But this is truly an eye opener. Scary how well this bit of history fits into the times at hand.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

GREAT, CLEAR, THOUGHTFUL

The underlining behavior of rapacious Americans against fellow citizens in the Progressive era through stock manipulation always to me, until now, seemed vague. This listen solved to my mind some of the seemingly bizarre behavior of recent Congresses and presidents as though against my fellow Americans in favor of corporations. I will not provide spoilers. As a favor to your understanding of US social policy, listen. Narration is among the best I have heard.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very glad I got around to listening to this...

Was a very good read/listen...

Aries 19 Apr to 13 May
Taurus 14 May to 21 Jun
Gemini 22 Jun to 20 Jul
Cancer 21 Jul to 10 Aug
Leo 11 Aug to 16 Sep
Virgo 17 Sep to 30 Oct
Libra 31 Oct to 23 Nov
Scorpio 24 Nov to 29 Nov
Ophiuchus 30 Nov to 17 Dec
Sagittarius 18 Dec to 19 Jan
Capricorn 20 Jan to 16 Feb
Aquarius 17 Feb to 11 Mar
Pisces 12 Mar to 18 Apr

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!