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Baruch: My Own Story
Baruch: My Own Story is the memoirs of Bernard M. Baruch, a man whose life spanned the late nineteenth century and over half of the twentieth century. Given the time period, he is a man who has seen much having met seven presidents, witnessing two wars and working on Wall Street for a time. In these memoirs, Baruch has tried to set forth the philosophy through which he had sought to harmonize a readiness to risk something new with precautions against repeating the errors of the past.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1993
About the author
Bernard M. Baruch
36 books482 followersBernard Mannes Baruch, the "Park Bench Statesman," made his fortune on Wall Street, but his greatest challenge and his greatest satisfaction were his service to his country as an economic adviser during both World Wars I and II and as a confidante to six presidents.
Bernard Mannes Baruch was born August 19, 1870, in Camden, the son of Simon and Isabelle Wolfe Baruch. His father was a German immigrant who came to America in 1855 to avoid Prussian conscription. He was 15 years old and knew only one person in America, Mannes Baum, the owner of a general store in Camden, who was married to an aunt of Baruch's mother.
Young Simon Baruch worked for Baum as a bookkeeper and, with Baum's help, taught himself English. Mrs. Baum persuaded her husband to send Simon to South Carolina Medical College and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
He became a renowned surgeon chief on Robert E. Lee's staff during the Civil War. It was Mannes Baum who gave Simon the uniform and sword he wore when he joined the Third Battalion, South Carolina Infantry, in 1862.
Bernard's mother, Isabelle, was the daughter of Sailing Wolfe, a young merchant and planter of Winnsboro, and Sara Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Hartwig Cohen of Charleston. Baruch's family moved to New York when he was about 10 years old. While his remarkable accomplishments came in New York, Washington, and abroad, his roots were always in South Carolina. Seventy years after he went to New York, he still had not relinquished a trace of his Southern accent.
Baruch graduated from City College of New York in 1889, and his first job was as an office boy earning $3 a week. He ran errands in the banking and financial district and became enamored of the potential Wall Street held. He became a runner for a brokerage house and invested all his effort and time in learning the business, eventually becoming a broker and then a partner in the firm of A. A. Housman and Company. His earnings and commissions afforded him the opportunity to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and by the time he was 30 years old, he had become a millionaire.
Baruch left Housman to open Baruch Brothers, in partnership with one of his brothers, Hartwig "Harty" Baruch. In succeeding years he lost his fortune and made it back several times.
In 1907, he and Harty bought H. Hentz and Company, an international commodity firm with offices on Wall Street and in Paris, London, Berlin, and other cities. By 1910, Bernard Baruch had become one of Wall Street's financial leaders.
When Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president and war was looming, he called on Baruch for advice because of the latter's understanding of the nation's economy and industrial resources. Baruch was chairman of the War Industries Board, which controlled the industrial establishment of the country for three years. With the end of the war imminent, he helped President Wilson negotiate the peace agreements in Paris.
When Baruch joined Woodrow Wilson's War Industries Board, he had left H. Hentz and Company to speculate on his own. His two other brothers, Sailing and Herman, joined H. Hentz and Company as managing partners. Herman Baruch, a doctor and banker, later became ambassador to Portugal and Holland.
After World War I, Baruch continued as an adviser to Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman. He often conferred with officials on a bench in Washington's Lafayette Park because of the privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Thus, he became known as the "Park Bench Statesman."
In 1905, he had bought Hobcaw Barony, a 17,000-acre plantation about three miles by water from Georgetown in South Carolina. It originally was part of the barony granted Lord Carteret by King George II. Baruch would permit no telephone lines to be strung to Hobcaw. The plantation was his retreat for the hunting season and the month of May each year.
Baruch took great pride in his Souther
Bernard Mannes Baruch was born August 19, 1870, in Camden, the son of Simon and Isabelle Wolfe Baruch. His father was a German immigrant who came to America in 1855 to avoid Prussian conscription. He was 15 years old and knew only one person in America, Mannes Baum, the owner of a general store in Camden, who was married to an aunt of Baruch's mother.
Young Simon Baruch worked for Baum as a bookkeeper and, with Baum's help, taught himself English. Mrs. Baum persuaded her husband to send Simon to South Carolina Medical College and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
He became a renowned surgeon chief on Robert E. Lee's staff during the Civil War. It was Mannes Baum who gave Simon the uniform and sword he wore when he joined the Third Battalion, South Carolina Infantry, in 1862.
Bernard's mother, Isabelle, was the daughter of Sailing Wolfe, a young merchant and planter of Winnsboro, and Sara Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Hartwig Cohen of Charleston. Baruch's family moved to New York when he was about 10 years old. While his remarkable accomplishments came in New York, Washington, and abroad, his roots were always in South Carolina. Seventy years after he went to New York, he still had not relinquished a trace of his Southern accent.
Baruch graduated from City College of New York in 1889, and his first job was as an office boy earning $3 a week. He ran errands in the banking and financial district and became enamored of the potential Wall Street held. He became a runner for a brokerage house and invested all his effort and time in learning the business, eventually becoming a broker and then a partner in the firm of A. A. Housman and Company. His earnings and commissions afforded him the opportunity to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and by the time he was 30 years old, he had become a millionaire.
Baruch left Housman to open Baruch Brothers, in partnership with one of his brothers, Hartwig "Harty" Baruch. In succeeding years he lost his fortune and made it back several times.
In 1907, he and Harty bought H. Hentz and Company, an international commodity firm with offices on Wall Street and in Paris, London, Berlin, and other cities. By 1910, Bernard Baruch had become one of Wall Street's financial leaders.
When Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president and war was looming, he called on Baruch for advice because of the latter's understanding of the nation's economy and industrial resources. Baruch was chairman of the War Industries Board, which controlled the industrial establishment of the country for three years. With the end of the war imminent, he helped President Wilson negotiate the peace agreements in Paris.
When Baruch joined Woodrow Wilson's War Industries Board, he had left H. Hentz and Company to speculate on his own. His two other brothers, Sailing and Herman, joined H. Hentz and Company as managing partners. Herman Baruch, a doctor and banker, later became ambassador to Portugal and Holland.
After World War I, Baruch continued as an adviser to Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman. He often conferred with officials on a bench in Washington's Lafayette Park because of the privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Thus, he became known as the "Park Bench Statesman."
In 1905, he had bought Hobcaw Barony, a 17,000-acre plantation about three miles by water from Georgetown in South Carolina. It originally was part of the barony granted Lord Carteret by King George II. Baruch would permit no telephone lines to be strung to Hobcaw. The plantation was his retreat for the hunting season and the month of May each year.
Baruch took great pride in his Souther
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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February 28, 2011It is a really good story about this man, how he grew up, what influenced him, the people he met, how he became involved in the financial arena (Wallstreet) during the early 1900's.
January 1, 2018
This is the third biography of Bernard Baruch that I have read, and it is clearly the best of the three. There was additional information than what was included in the other two books, but there was also information in the other two that wasn't contained in this book.
What I found so enticing about this particular volume was the clear, elucidating manner in which he wrote. He not only presented a variety of information, but also he expressed himself in such a way, that I could hear the man talking. His kindness, humanity and logical thought were expressed both in his words and his tone.
Best of all for me, he offered sound advice for individuals, organizations and nations.
I found the book so interesting and appealing that I had difficulty putting it down. This book, in my opinion, is one that should be read by people of all ages and interests.
What I found so enticing about this particular volume was the clear, elucidating manner in which he wrote. He not only presented a variety of information, but also he expressed himself in such a way, that I could hear the man talking. His kindness, humanity and logical thought were expressed both in his words and his tone.
Best of all for me, he offered sound advice for individuals, organizations and nations.
I found the book so interesting and appealing that I had difficulty putting it down. This book, in my opinion, is one that should be read by people of all ages and interests.
January 9, 2022
This book contains some interesting historical facts and some clear recommendations about the importance of ethical behavior. I learned how sulphur is mined by the Frasch method, how copper mining in Utah began and how to develop from a 19-year-old office boy to a 35-year-old millionaire. The reason this book just didn’t do it for me (It took me 10 months to finally sit down and plow through the second half) was due to my lack of interest in high finance and the ins and outs of stock market trading. I read a review that said to skip the first and last 80 pages if you were reading for information on the stock market. I only enjoyed the first and last 80 pages.
May 7, 2017
没细看，有干货的感觉就三四页，其他都是自传性质的回忆录。
October 12, 2017
An underrated classic. Baruch understood the importance of knowing not only the facts, but also appreciating how investor psychology will receive, interpret, and interact with, those facts.
July 13, 2023
My husband believes that Baruch's autobiography, written when he was 87, was ghostwritten.(The Wikipedia page for this book states "which he put together himself.") If that is the case, it would simply add to the sense I got from the book that Bernard Baruch was very aware of his image and studiously nurtured it.
The most interesting portions of Baruch's autobiography, as organized in the book, are the beginning chapters that tell the story of his ancestors, the concluding chapters about Hobcaw Barony and Baruch's world view coupled with commentary. The chapter on Hobcaw Barony was fascinating for insight into a way of life at a particular time in a particular place.
I was fascinated to learn about his forebears and the history that stems back to the Civil War. The history was interesting, as well as providing insight into the quality of life at that time. These were also personal chapters; stories about Baruch's family. Alas, this was the only portion of his personal life that he shared. Yes, there are a number of paragraphs about meeting his wife and courting her, and a line or two about having children, but otherwise this information was grossly missing from a book meant to be autobiographical.
Baruch chose to focus on his life almost as if his family didn't exist. He explained his pathway from wanting to be a doctor, as was his father, to becoming a wealthy speculator on Wall Street, to eventually giving up Wall Street for public service that spanned from World War I through World War II and beyond. The story of Baruch's public service, while mentioned numerous times, is more thoroughly told in his second book The Public Years.
My husband read a biography of Bernard Baruch prior to reading this autobiography (which is how I found out about the book) and was able to fill in one gap in Baruch's personal life. It turns out he had affairs. Of course, as someone who liked to steer his image, it is understandable he chose not to share more details about his personal life. However, for me the personal side of someone is equally interesting and important in garnering a full appreciation of the person.
With that image nurturing in mind, I nonetheless applauded many of his more noble thoughts as he reflected on the way people and countries should engage with one another. According to his book, he went out of his way to maintain fairness in monetary transactions, and several times he made large outlays of his own money to support, assist or protect others in their transactions.
Would I recommend this book? It depends on your interest in history, particularly financial history during the time of the Railroad Barons in the United States.
The most interesting portions of Baruch's autobiography, as organized in the book, are the beginning chapters that tell the story of his ancestors, the concluding chapters about Hobcaw Barony and Baruch's world view coupled with commentary. The chapter on Hobcaw Barony was fascinating for insight into a way of life at a particular time in a particular place.
I was fascinated to learn about his forebears and the history that stems back to the Civil War. The history was interesting, as well as providing insight into the quality of life at that time. These were also personal chapters; stories about Baruch's family. Alas, this was the only portion of his personal life that he shared. Yes, there are a number of paragraphs about meeting his wife and courting her, and a line or two about having children, but otherwise this information was grossly missing from a book meant to be autobiographical.
Baruch chose to focus on his life almost as if his family didn't exist. He explained his pathway from wanting to be a doctor, as was his father, to becoming a wealthy speculator on Wall Street, to eventually giving up Wall Street for public service that spanned from World War I through World War II and beyond. The story of Baruch's public service, while mentioned numerous times, is more thoroughly told in his second book The Public Years.
My husband read a biography of Bernard Baruch prior to reading this autobiography (which is how I found out about the book) and was able to fill in one gap in Baruch's personal life. It turns out he had affairs. Of course, as someone who liked to steer his image, it is understandable he chose not to share more details about his personal life. However, for me the personal side of someone is equally interesting and important in garnering a full appreciation of the person.
With that image nurturing in mind, I nonetheless applauded many of his more noble thoughts as he reflected on the way people and countries should engage with one another. According to his book, he went out of his way to maintain fairness in monetary transactions, and several times he made large outlays of his own money to support, assist or protect others in their transactions.
Would I recommend this book? It depends on your interest in history, particularly financial history during the time of the Railroad Barons in the United States.
December 3, 2019
I have read this interesting memoir twice. I read about Bernard Baruch in a newspaper article and downloaded the book through Open Library. Bernard Baruch (1870 - 1965) was born in South Carolina. He became a financier on Wall Street, making his fortune eventually but not without losses. He eventually became a consultant to 7 presidents, starting with the War Industries Board during WW1 and, towards the end, with a presentation to the UN on behalf of the US urging the importance of a nuclear arms policy (some things never change). The fascinating part about this book is how Baruch meanders from topic to topic, like his first automobiles, which, on occasion, he shipped to Europe to drive as there were no speed limits. New York’s limit, at that time, was 10 mph. While on Wall Street, he was deeply involved in the railway sector, a major component at the turn of the century. He also describes, in interesting ways, his efforts to help develop the rubber, copper, sugar and coffee industries. He also describes his adventures, efforts and visitors at his beloved second home, Hobcaw, a 17 000 acre former plantation near Pawley’s Island S.C. He comes across as a very modest, honest and astute gentleman, who had seen so much, starting with his father’s role in the Civil War as a physician. He describes big pictures very well, asserting that the role of important countries is to develop a positive, interconnected global strategy. It’s quite amazing how his statements still resound today.
July 8, 2024
For readers with an interest in finance and markets, this book is #2 on the required reading list immediately behind #1 The Intelligent Investor, and just ahead of #3 Security Analysis.
My favorite quotes from the book:
-"My years in Wall Street and business, in fact, became one long course of education in human nature...I found myself confronted with this same eternal riddle - how to balance the nature of things in this world in which we live with the nature of mankind."
My favorite quotes from the book:
-"My years in Wall Street and business, in fact, became one long course of education in human nature...I found myself confronted with this same eternal riddle - how to balance the nature of things in this world in which we live with the nature of mankind."
October 10, 2018
At one side there are investors but here is a legend in its own right who not only became first among equals among the speculators but due to its character, intelligence and honesty became close confidant of the President’s of the USA. Some of investing thinking can be found in Buffet & Lynch. One of the best books on Wall Street.
January 21, 2021
Intensely interesting book. He experienced the wild years of little or no oversight from the SEC, but navigated safely with his integrity intact. This is a must read for anyone who has traded stock and has been tempted with the idea of speculating.
September 6, 2020
Great read!
February 28, 2021
Quite good but the last few chapters are very dated - written in 1965.
September 1, 2021
Where you came from is not as important as where you’re going.
July 31, 2022
“Those who mind , don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”. A great read on both history and philosophy
December 31, 2022
Was slow and didn’t include as much stock trading as I’d hoped.
May 15, 2015
"A arte de viver está menos em eliminar nossos problemas do que em crescer com eles".
(Bernard M. Baruch)
March 4, 2009
Great autobiography of a true patriotic American filled with the American dream.
July 2, 2013
This is truly a great book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews