When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age

by Justin Kaplan

Book Overview

In this marvelous anecdotal history, Justin Kaplan--Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Mark Twain--vividly brings to life a grand story from the glittering Gilded Age. Endowed with the largest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670037699
• ISBN13: 9780670037698
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Bookseller for When the Astors Owned NY

This bookseller is very good. I received my book promptly and in perfect condition as promised.. I would do business with them again.

Astors on a budget

When The Astors Owned New York is a wonderfully concise version of a period in American history. It is not meant to be a person-by-person account of the Astor family, virtually skipping the grand Mrs. Astor as she is only tangentially related to the plot, which is the change in America during the Gilded Age. By centering on great-grandsons of the dynasty's founder, Kaplan is able to connect their wealth and dreams to that very specific period. When John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic and William Waldorf Astor died in his stately imperious mansion seven years later, that part of history was already ending. The hotels that they designed, that captured the American imagination, were rapidly disappearing. Kaplan does very well in sticking to his central themes, and when he wanders, it's always for a short bit of fun that makes for grand reading. You can't write a history of any Astor without some gossip, but Kaplan puts those nuggets in their place and stays with his storyline as intended. If you want a quick read about some Astor family members, perhaps as a launching pad into some of the meatier biographies, definitely start here, but if you are interested in the period and what some Astors did with their money, Kaplan's is so far the latest word.

"May The Force Be With You" and the Astor's

I really enjoyed this book and appreciated the many imfomative anecdotes that the author obviously searched out...take it from me...after reading MANY accounts of the famous Bradley-Martin Ball, this author actually researched the fact that the U.S. Marine Band was sent up from Washington. In all the accounts of this famous evening that are available, all that is mentioned is "a band" played ...that's the sort of detail that makes this book so enjoyable. Having my great-aunt on the cover also added to my selfish recommendation of this book. The only negative I have is that there was an appalling lack of footnotes and specific references. That is truly unfortunate. Otherwise, this book will provide light, entertaining and very enjoyable fare!