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

by Justin Kaplan

Book Overview

Endowed with the largest private fortunes of their day, cousins John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor lived incomparably privileged lives in the blaze of public attention. For three decades around the turn of the nineteenth century, they vied for dominance of high society, creating the grandest hotels the world had ever seen-perfect fusions of excess and efficiency that became America's castles of capitalism. In this fascinating anecdotal...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670037699
• ISBN13: 9780670037698
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Don't Buy Boring & No Facts

One Of The Worst Books I Ever Read. Author. Is All Over The Place. In His. Writing ; I Never Kno Which. Astor. He Is Referring. To. Confusing. &. Jst. Bores. U To Death. I Never Liked Fiction. &. This Book Doesn't Seem. Factual. He Goes From 1800S To 1900S. Not. Telling Us Facts. What Happen. Yea. Built. Waldorf Astoria. How. Who. Who Designed It. Who Stayed There. Sorry. But. Its Boring

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!