Book Review: The Men Who Made America Rich

This book is written for the casual reader. There are no footnotes, but there are what the authors call a "concordance," which lists key terms and people. The concordance also contains a timeline, which is particularly helpful for the lay reader who might not have thought in detail about such events in years.

The book does suffer, in my opinion, from two shortcomings. First, there is no attempt by the authors to place their work within a larger context. Much has been written on the origins of liberalism and republicanism in America, and it is not clear where Wright and Cowen see their voulme in relation to that body of work.

In a similar way, the authors make little effort to interpolate their insights past the 1820s. It makes the book seem more antiquarian -- as in a collection of old facts and stories -- than historical -- as in the creative reconstruction of the past designed to help one understand the present.

The second shortcoming lies in the authors' use of literary devices. Wright and Cowen hang labels with religious overtones on the characters they discuss. Hamilton is "the creator," while Duer is "the sinner" and Gallatin "the savior". These labels add nothing to the authors' argument, and may be seen as somewhat archaic or even misleading, given that the founders' religious views were quite nuanced.

The other literary device, which did not work for this reader, is the persistent reference to the U.S. economy as a "goose," which if fed and taken care of properly yields a handsome feast. It makes the U.S. political economy appear external from and totally unaffected by the actions of individuals. It also adds nothing to the authors' argument.

Nevertheless, the book's flaws do not negate its contribution: bringing to life key architects of the young republic's financial institutions and placing those institutions at the very center of their story.

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