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Rating: 
Summary: A book worth every penny and every minute!
Review: Before I start to review the book, I must say that I have been fascinated by the story of the death of Stanford White since the first time I heard it when I was in my teens. Of course, I was fascinated in a very `young' way. Something on the order of `You mean they did those things back then, too.' And the book satisfied (and broadened) my by now adult fascination. What a pleasure to read.Ms. Lessard (White's great-granddaughter) has written a brilliant family history, showing how White's death affected the family through 4 generations. But the book is far from merely a family history. The author discusses througouht the book her own love-hate relationship with her great grandfather and the beautiful and (for her) frightening architecture he left behind. From the New York Public Library to her own college and New York's Washington Square arch, White's architecture is everywhere. The author is unsparing in her judgements of White, and perceptive in her conclusi! ! ons about him. And what's more, I learned the facts of the story from the inside, which constituted a fascinating and satisfying quest. I would fail in my efforts to review this book if I didn't mention the pleasure and excitement that I felt while immersed in Ms. Lessard's description of the Gilded Age. Is it because we are at the end of the century now as well that the Gilded Age retains its fascination? I can't say. But she does a masterful job of evoking the era. And the almost legendary people who make appearances: Stanford White, Evelyn Nesbit, John Barrymore, Harry Thaw. What a fascinating book. I would say it's the best book of it's type I've ever read, but I'm not sure what type it is. However, it is deeply satisfying and interesting in the most intimate of ways. And what conclusions is one to draw about Evelyn Nesbit, the woman (girl) in this legendary menage a trois. One of her lovers murdered by another of her lovers when she was 21 in 1906. And she ! ! lives until at least 1955. No wonder the story still has a! hold on our collective imagination. And I only have time to mention one of the real (and unexpected) `stars' of the book. Box Hill, the White family home on Long Island. The book is too multi-layered to discuss the home here, but it is the backdrop for much of the `action' of the book, and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. The book is dedicated to William Shawn of the New Yorker, and all I can say is that I'm sure he would be pleased with Lessard's effort.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story by a lyrical writer
Review: Powerful, lyrical writing builds the story of Stanford White one layer at a time. The writer, his granddaughter, is uniquely qualified to tell the tale of genius gone awry. You'll remember this story long after you finish it -- a sure sign that you've experienced not just a book, but true art.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story by a lyrical writer
Review: This book defies a brief explanation. I sensed deep passion in the author as I read her words, a passion for her family's weaknesses and strengths, a passion for knowing herself, a passion for the power of architecture, and a passion for her great-grandfather, the infuriatingly complex architect, Stanford White. Stanford was generous and careless, creative and self-destructive, maniacally disciplined and utterly irresponsible. While he selflessly gave his heart and soul to his massive stone buildings, he thoughtlessly shattered the hearts and lives of the people around him. Even while he was racked by ill health, he drove himself in his work life AND his recreational life as if he were immortal. He either believed he could never die, or knew he surely must and so didn't care. The sexual portrait of Stanford can be rather harrowing: The countless love nests he set up around New York; his systematic debauchery of young women (many of whom fell in love with him); the attorneys he hired to hush things up; the endless supply of cronies he found to join him in his nocturnal plundering--his appetites--and his ability to feed his appetites--knew no limits. As for Evelyn Nesbit, the celebrated beauty who arguably played a role in Stanford's murder, I'll just say she wasn't the first girl to ride in his red velvet swing. Finally, two notes. This author presents architecture, and its impact on the human psyche, in a beautiful, moving way; she breathes life into the bricks of Stanford's buildings. And her depiction of the Gilded Age is superb. It's the stuff of a great trashy Summer novel. Except it's real. And probably still goes on today. I should also warn future readers that there's a fair amount of incest in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: American History, Angst, Sex, Scandal
Review: This book defies a brief explanation. I sensed deep passion in the author as I read her words, a passion for her family's weaknesses and strengths, a passion for knowing herself, a passion for the power of architecture, and a passion for her great-grandfather, the infuriatingly complex architect, Stanford White. Stanford was generous and careless, creative and self-destructive, maniacally disciplined and utterly irresponsible. While he selflessly gave his heart and soul to his massive stone buildings, he thoughtlessly shattered the hearts and lives of the people around him. Even while he was racked by ill health, he drove himself in his work life AND his recreational life as if he were immortal. He either believed he could never die, or knew he surely must and so didn't care. The sexual portrait of Stanford can be rather harrowing: The countless love nests he set up around New York; his systematic debauchery of young women (many of whom fell in love with him); the attorneys he hired to hush things up; the endless supply of cronies he found to join him in his nocturnal plundering--his appetites--and his ability to feed his appetites--knew no limits. As for Evelyn Nesbit, the celebrated beauty who arguably played a role in Stanford's murder, I'll just say she wasn't the first girl to ride in his red velvet swing. Finally, two notes. This author presents architecture, and its impact on the human psyche, in a beautiful, moving way; she breathes life into the bricks of Stanford's buildings. And her depiction of the Gilded Age is superb. It's the stuff of a great trashy Summer novel. Except it's real. And probably still goes on today. I should also warn future readers that there's a fair amount of incest in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story of a mixed legacy
Review: What would it be like to be descended from one of America's most celebrated architects? For that matter, what would it be like to be descended from a man whose lurid, predatory sexual practices were once front-page news? Members of the Stanford White family have had to deal with those issues for almost 100 years now, since White was gunned down at Madison Square Garden in 1906. For the most part, the White family did not discuss their illustrious pater familias, but Stanford White is ever-present, in all respects, in their collective lives. How the family did (or did not) deal with this mixed legacy would manifest itself over the next four generations. Suzannah Lessard, a great-granddaughter of Stanford White, addresses this legacy squarely. She does not attempt to suger-coat White's personality, which combines breath-taking artistic genius with a self-indulgent predatory streak that ultimately led to his destruction. Through the book, she weaves multiple tales about her family, which includes stories of mental illness, sexual abuse, and emotional repression. She does this with remarkable candor. This is a Social Register family. They are related to the Astors, the Winthrops, the Chanlers, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, etc. They own a magnificent property, designed by Stanford White, on Long Island. On the surface, it would appear that this family has the world as its oyster. Suzannah Lessard shows that no amount of social prominence and privelage can protect a family from the problems that can face us all.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story of a mixed legacy
Review: What would it be like to be descended from one of America's most celebrated architects? For that matter, what would it be like to be descended from a man whose lurid, predatory sexual practices were once front-page news? Members of the Stanford White family have had to deal with those issues for almost 100 years now, since White was gunned down at Madison Square Garden in 1906. For the most part, the White family did not discuss their illustrious pater familias, but Stanford White is ever-present, in all respects, in their collective lives. How the family did (or did not) deal with this mixed legacy would manifest itself over the next four generations. Suzannah Lessard, a great-granddaughter of Stanford White, addresses this legacy squarely. She does not attempt to suger-coat White's personality, which combines breath-taking artistic genius with a self-indulgent predatory streak that ultimately led to his destruction. Through the book, she weaves multiple tales about her family, which includes stories of mental illness, sexual abuse, and emotional repression. She does this with remarkable candor. This is a Social Register family. They are related to the Astors, the Winthrops, the Chanlers, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, etc. They own a magnificent property, designed by Stanford White, on Long Island. On the surface, it would appear that this family has the world as its oyster. Suzannah Lessard shows that no amount of social prominence and privelage can protect a family from the problems that can face us all.
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