Jacob H. Schiff: A Study in American Jewish Leadership (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life)

Rating:
Summary: compelling portrait of a complex man
Review: A window on an aspect of American Jewish history not as familiar as the mass immigration from eastern Europe, Cohen's book is also an unexpected window on an even less frequently explored topic: the use of great wealth to do good in the world. Schiff did not establish a foundation, screen grants, or hire professional advisors to guide his good works - he simply used his money to right wrongs where he saw them. Like giving half a million dollars to Barnard College as a reward for it's refusal to countenance discrimination against Jews. Or arranging mega-buck loans for the Japanese government during the Russo-Japanese War as a way of sticking it to the anti-Semitic Russians (who lost that war.) Not all of his ideas worked out, but you have to admire a man who had the courage of his convictions, and the character to put his money where his mouth was.