Dynasties

<b>From the author of the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>The Wealth and Poverty of Nations</i> a fascinating look at the crossroads of kin and coin</b> <p/> David S. Landes has earned a reputation as a brilliant writer and iconoclast among economic historians. In his latest acclaimed work he takes a revealing look at the quality that distinguishes a third of today's Fortune 500 companies: family ownership. From the banking fortunes of Rothschild and Morgan to the automobile empires of Ford and Toyota Landes explores thirteen different dynasties revealing what lay behind their successes-and how extravagance bad behavior and poor enterprise brought some of them to their knees. A colorful history that is full of surprising conclusions <i>Dynasties</i> is an engrossing mix of ambition eccentricity and wealth.