J
Justin Kaplan
American writer and editor, best known as a biographer, particularly of Samuel Clemens, Lincoln Steffens, and Walt Whitman.
When the Astors Owned New York
Synopsis
This anecdotal history brings to life a glittering, bygone age of New York society. It details the rivalry between cousins John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor, who built grand hotels that transformed American social behavior. The book explores this period from the 1890s to the Roaring Twenties, blending biography, history, and architectural appreciation.