This book is in Very Good condition with only minor bumping of the corners and mild yellowing of the pages.  The boards and binding are solid.  This book is inscribed by the author, Julian Dana, with a dedication to banker, George Thompson.  The dust jack is held together with archival tape. 

Found folded within the pages of this book is a photo of Amadeo Giannini, which was torn from a 1949 Life Magazine, where he was featured shortly after his death that same year.  The photo will be included with the book.

Amadeo Peter Giannini (May 6, 1870 – June 3, 1949) has been called "America's banker." His Italian father traveled home from the California gold fields, then brought a Genoese bride back to San Jose in mid-1869, via the brand-new transcontinental railroad. His mother was also an adventurous soul, leaving her family and homeland with a man she'd known for only six weeks. Their son Amadeo, born in San Jose in May, 1870, would take his own risks in the world of banking.

As a young man, Giannini succeeded in the wholesale produce business, but grew bored. Angered by the era's typical banking practices -- making loans to and servicing only wealthy clients -- he founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in October 1904.  Giannini was one of the first bankers to offer banking services to middle-class Americans, mainly Italian immigrants, rather than only the upper class. He also pioneered the holding company structure and established one of the first modern trans-national institutions.

After a disastrous earthquake and subsequent fires levelled much of the city in 1906, Giannini created new confidence. He set up a temporary bank immediately, collecting deposits, making loans, and proclaiming to all that San Francisco would rise from the ashes.

In 1928, Giannini put his banks into a giant holding company he called Transamerica Corporation, reflecting his new ambition. In 1930, he formed the Bank of America, which would eventually become the largest in the United States.

Julian Dana (1902-1961) was a newspaperman, columnist, editor, and writer of popular stories and histories of California. He was editor of the Pony Express Courier (of Placerville), a magazine dedicated to Western Americana. His major publications included: A.P. Giannini: Giant in the West (1947); Gods who die; the story of Samoa's greatest adventurer, as told to Julian Dana (1935); Lost springtime, the chronicle of a journey far away and long ago (1938); The man who built San Francisco; a study of Ralston's journey with banners (1936); The Sacramento, river of gold (1939); and Sutter of California; a biography (1934).