Interesting biographies of the Van Sweringen brothers. I had heard of them but never knew anything about them. There was a good reason for this as they were intensely private and kept all information closely held. An excellent explanation of the byzantine financial schemes of the 20s and how the house of cards came tumbling down.

The finance portion was especially interesting because my paternal grandfather used many similar vehicles to amass wealth in the roaring 20s ( not to the same extent to be sure) then losing it all as the great depression deepened.

As a lover of history and trains, this bok should be essential reading for all of those who share these interests. ( )

A history of the operations of the van Sweringen brothers, who at their peak in 1929-1930 ran a vast railroad, mass transit and real estate empire from their (then brand-new) landmark Cleveland Union Terminal Building. This book tends to be pretty positive toward the brothers, lauding their vision, though to its credit it doesn't shy away from describing some of the financial shenanigans the brothers got into when they were scrabbling for cash; the author tends to try to minimize these. A lot of excellent photographic and map detail, and aside from a small handful of curious editorial glitches, generally well-edited. Recommended for railroad lovers, financial history lovers, or Cleveland lovers. ( )

Mr. Harwood takes a very interesting subject - the lives of the Van Sweringen brothers - and makes it dry as dust. One coan see the bones of a good story, but it never made it. That it's non-fiction is absolutely no excuse. ( )

Harwood's book on the vans is much more readable than Haber's earlier work. The vans once controlled one of the largest railroad empires in the United States. In Cleveland they took down too many prominent people when they went under in the depression, so there are few memorials to the brothers. The Terminal Tower and Shaker Heights are lasting monuments. The brothers are buried in Lake View.