A concise , detailed history of American aristocracy. Written so well, so smooth, and with such precise detail, that it is one long splendid dream of the gilded age. Extremely interesting, informative, and haunting.

Interesting read, going East in the spring planning on a visit to Newport and seeing all the homes mentioned.

Fabulous in so many ways!

The book is well written. The author doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of his family's history. It is a little hard to justify spending the time to read about these people. They are almost entirely frivolous, spendthrift characters after generation two. It is a window into a different time and society, and pretty disgusting really. So basically, a lot of money was made by a few Vanderbilt's and it was wasted and almost entirely gone in 5 or 6 generations.