Steinway and Sons

I really enjoyed reading this well researched and written book. It clearly details the family's long-term struggles of running a company with a highly focused goal of creating the world's best piano. I finished the book with a greater appreciation of my Steinway.

The biography of an American companies family and its resources. Highlights the ebb and flow of this wonderful 6 generations of Steinway Giants who made the greatest piano bar none. From the curve of the standard ground to research development to make the best better every moment.

This is a wonderful book. Especially for me since my grandfather worked as a carpenter/foreman for Steinway for 50 years. My father attended the German kindergarten run by Steinway and his picture is in the book which makes it extra special for me. I consider it a treasure.

This was a very interesting book. Very informative. It contained a lot of information germain to running a business, but it was never dry and was easy to read. It not only traced the history of the business, but detailed how society has evolved dramatically over the years. Read this book!!

This was a gift...my friend liked it very much.

arrived in beautiful condition

Looking forward to reading this.

Richard K. Lieberman's "Steinway & Sons" will fascinate dedicated specialists, because its 374 pages are chock full of photos, facts and figures he extracted from the Steinway archives. The book's extensive notes will also appeal to serious scholars (or truly devoted Steinway fans). But this book will not suit general readers, who should instead consider "88 Keys - The Making of a Steinway Piano" by Miles Chapin & Rodica Prato. Although Lieberman deserves praise for assembling a massive collection of facts, his book falls short because he apparently didn't know what to make of them. This lack of understanding is further aggravated by Lieberman's poor editorial judgment. He gives trivial facts undeserved attention, he exaggerates, and he leans toward simplistic, black-&-white judgments that cannot capture the nuance of real life. In one particularly annoying case, Lieberman abuses the reader's time with a pointlessly salacious account of a sexual scandal that surrounded one of the Steinway wives more than 100 years ago. This would be fine if it contributed to the story, but it doesn't. Instead, it is mere interruption. Worse yet, no thoughtful reader will ever trust Lieberman again after reading that this woman "slept with almost every man she met". Such obvious exaggeration is an extremely unbecoming trait in a reputed scholar, and it undermines the impression of seriousness created by the book's 50 pages of endnotes. Lieberman's poor grasp of the science of pianos is another serious problem, since it causes him to maul technical issues that should be handled with care and precision. Regarding the development of the one-piece iron plate, for example, Lieberman says, "It could hold the strings under greater tension, thus increasing the length of time a piano could stay in tune." But since a taut string is more likely to stretch (and thus go out of tune) than a slack one, merely tightening the strings cannot guarantee a well tuned piano. The reader is left wondering what Lieberman means. Several possibly sensible interpretations can be imagined, but the reader should not be forced to translate an author's gobbledygook into something meaningful. Sadly, many of Lieberman's other technical claims are similarly imprecise, incomplete, or carelessly framed, leaving one with the unpleasant feeling that he simply doesn't know what he's talking about. Lieberman's very superficial understanding of business also limits this book's value. He tells the Steinway story with the voice of a maven at a cocktail party, not with the voice of a business authority. This isn't surprising, since Lieberman is a history professor. Nevertheless, his inability to understand and explain the Steinway experience as a business phenomenon is a serious flaw. One almost feels that he considers it a matter of blind luck that Steinway has survived for nearly 150 years and that it continues to produce many of the world's finest pianos. Readers who are interested in business will find few insights here, although raw data is plentiful. In summary, Lieberman's book is rich in facts, figures, and fascinating photos, but it is weak on analysis and exposition. Perhaps Lieberman will bring us a revised edition prepared with the help of a co-author who is knowledgeable about business. If so, he should submit all of his technical claims to authorities who can review and clarify them. Barring such changes, this book will mainly appeal to Steinway scholars. General readers should look elsewhere for a warmer, clearer, more accurate, and more entertaining discussion of the Steinway story.