"Our Crowd": The Great Jewish Families of New York
by Stephen Birmingham
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Description
The New York Times-bestselling history of the rise of the most powerful and privileged Jewish families in America They immigrated to America from Germany in the nineteenth century with names like Loeb, Sachs, Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. From tenements on the Lower East Side to Park Avenue mansions, this handful of Jewish families turned small businesses into imposing enterprises and amassed spectacular fortunes. But despite possessing breathtaking wealth that rivaled the show more Astors and Rockefellers, they were barred by the gentile establishment from the lofty realm of "the 400," a register of New York's most elite, because of their religion and humble backgrounds. In response, they created their own elite "100," a privileged society as opulent and exclusive as the one that had refused them entry. "Our Crowd" is the fascinating story of this rarefied society. Based on letters, documents, diary entries, and intimate personal remembrances of family lore by members of these most illustrious clans, it is an engrossing portrait of upper-class Jewish life over two centuries; a riveting story of the bankers, brokers, financiers, philanthropists, and business tycoons who started with nothing and turned their family names into American institutions. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I've never read any of Stephen Birmingham's book. This was a fascinating look not only at the families he writes about, but the times in which they lived. How the railroads and developed financially, how some of the families started as peddlers (!), and the incestuous world of banking and finance. All quite interesting.
Definitely worth reading and take your time - there's lots of detail here and it's all well documented.
Definitely worth reading and take your time - there's lots of detail here and it's all well documented.
I read this book when it first came out, and now, 54 years later, it was interesting to listen to the audio version of this book and realize that most of the great banking institutions set up by this close knit group of German Jews residing in New York City are no more, and how these proud people’s way of life is now as extinct as the dodo bird.
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Publisher's Weekly NON-Fiction list - 1912 - 1975
486 works; 4 members
Author Information
40+ Works 2,743 Members
Stephen Gardner Birmingham was born in Andover, Connecticut on May 28, 1929. He received a degree in English from Williams College in 1950. Before becoming an author, he worked as an advertising copywriter in New York for Needham Harper Steers. His non-fiction books included Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York, The Right People: A show more Portrait of the American Social Establishment, The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite, The Rest of Us: The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews, Certain People: America's Black Elite, Real Lace: America's Irish Rich, and Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address. He also wrote nine novels including Young Mr. Keefe. He died from cancer on November 15, 2015 at the age of 86. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- "Our Crowd": The Great Jewish Families of New York
- Original publication date
- 1967
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA
- Dedication
- For the children: Mark, Harriet, Carey
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 301.45 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Sociology and anthropology Formerly: Social structure
- LCC
- F128.9 .J5 .B5 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America United States local history New York
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 545
- Popularity
- 54,607
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.76)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 19
