Jeffrey B. (coastiejeff) - , reviewed When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I had high hopes for this rather small book (180 pages) but came away disappointed. I'm not sure Mr. Kaplan, who authored a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Mark Twain, knew what he wanted to accomplish with this book. It's certainly not a definitive biography of this unique family, nor of the grand hotels they built. It attempts to find the middle ground and explain a bit about each, but comes up woefully short in both arenas.
