This second volume of Niall Ferguson's acclaimed landmark history of the legendary Rothschild banking dynasty concludes his myth-breaking portrait of one of the most powerful & fascinating families of modern times With all the depth clarity & drama with which he traced the Rothschild's ascent Ferguson shows how their power waned as conflicts from Crimea to the Second World War repeatedly threatened the stability of their worldwide empire & how their failure to establish themselves successfully in the United States would prove fateful At once a classic family saga & a major work of economic social & political history this is the definitive biography of some of the most powerful financiers of recent times