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Indlæser... The Plaza: The Secret Life of America's Most Famous Hotelaf Julie Satow
   Ingen Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog.  jetangen4571 | Aug 16, 2020 |   Painstakingly researched, the book discusses not only the building, but also the people involved with its construction, ownership, and maintenance, and with the changing world it reflects. Whether you’re interested in early labor union conflicts or eavesdropping on the famous (and infamous) guests or want to know more about the fictional Eloise or have a burning need to unravel its convoluted ownership history (including a near-disastrous period under Donald Trump), you’ll find it in these pages. (  ) LyndaInOregon | Jul 5, 2020 |  ) kimkimkim | Sep 14, 2019 | One concern when reading a book like this is that it will actually be a history of only one aspect of the subject, in this case a hotel. Satow managed to truly write a history of the Plaza, from some architecture and infrastructure to celebrity and cultural history, including the potentially dry area of business and finance. Weaving these together into one narrative kept each area fresh and compelling. The latter part of the book did get bogged down in finance and business dealings but that is less the fault of Satow and more simply the fact that as the hotel became a shell of what it had been socially the bankruptcy (Trump of course, being the wonderful businessmoron he is) and subsequent wheeling and dealing really was all the hotel had left to make it interesting. But even in these sections there were some wonderful stories to help convey the human and social aspects rather than just the "prestige" some uncouth billionaires think will rub off on them by ruining an icon. While I would recommend this to anyone interested in landmarks and their history, I would also caution readers that this is an all encompassing history so there may well be chapters or sections that are on aspects you find less interesting. That said, the writing is very good and should carry you through these sections. Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads. ( ) pomo58 | Jul 14, 2019 | ingen anmeldelser | tilføj en anmeldelse
Architecture.
Business.
Nonfiction.
Economics.
HTML: Journalist Julie Satow's thrilling, unforgettable history of how one illustrious hotel has defined our understanding of money and glamour, from the Gilded Age to the Go-Go Eighties to today's Billionaire Row. From the moment in 1907 when New York millionaire Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt strode through the Plaza Hotel's revolving doors to become its first guest to the afternoon in 2007 when a mysterious Russian oligarch paid a record price for the hotel's largest penthouse, the eighteen-story white marble edifice at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street has radiated wealth and luxury. For some, the hotel evokes images of F. Scott Fitzgerald frolicking in the Pulitzer Fountain, or Eloise, the impish young guest who pours water down the mail chute. But the true stories captured in The Plaza also include dark, hidden secrets: the cold-blooded murder perpetrated by the construction workers in charge of building the hotel, how Donald J. Trump came to be the only owner to ever bankrupt the Plaza, and the tale of the disgraced Indian tycoon who ran the hotel from a maximum-security prison cell, 7,000 miles away in Delhi. In this definitive history, award-winning journalist Julie Satow not only pulls back the curtain on Truman Capote's Black and White Ball and The Beatles' first stateside visit ?? she also follows the money trail. The Plaza reveals how a handful of rich dowager widows were the financial lifeline that saved the hotel during the Great Depression, and how today, foreign money and anonymous shell companies have transformed iconic guest rooms into condominiums that shield ill-gotten gains, hollowing out parts of the hotel as well as the city around it. The Plaza is the account of one vaunted New York City address that has become synonymous with wealth and scandal, opportunity and tragedy. With glamour on the surface and strife behind the scenes, it is the story of how one hotel became a mirror reflecting New York's place at the center of the country's cultural narrative for over a century. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Indlæser...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)917.47History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in North America Northeastern U.S. New York StateLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit: (3.7)
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It feels like a love song to the grand past of a once Grand Building that has evolved into a different time and incarnation. It's about all of the luminaries who stayed there and the impact they had on the hotel and on the public who adored them. And it's about the fascinating entertainer who embodied and wrote the iconic series of books about a young girl named Eloise and her home at the Plaza Hotel. I loved the walk through NYC history as viewed through the perspective of an iconic institution and it's patrons.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Twelve Books via NetGalley. Thank you! (