Beginning in the Gilded Age and extending through the 1930s, American millionaires constructed flamboyant and conspicuously opulent dream palaces to establish their prestige. With more than 80 full-color photographs, this volume is a spectacular tour through some of North America's most, lavish, exotic. and legendary palatial residences.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Beginning in the Gilded Age and extending through the 1930s, American millionaires constructed flamboyant and conspicuously opulent dream palaces to establish their prestige. With more than 80 full-color photographs, this volume is a spectacular tour through some of North America's most, lavish, exotic. and legendary palatial residences.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
American Castles,
By a1angie@webtv.net (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Castles: A Pictorial History (Hardcover)
A variety of architectural styles are represented in this full color book, including gothic castles, victorian mansions and palazzos. Each building represented contains a brief history and beautiful photographs. A few of the castles highlighted are the monumentous Hearst Castle, the Winchester Mystery House and Ca'd'Zan. Newport's mansions are well represented also. It is an absolute bargain for the price. Short and sweet it is a great way to start a library of castles. I would highly recommend.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bargain price for wonderful pics of Architecture & Interiors,
By Michael J. Kissimmee (Kissimmee, FL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Castles: A Pictorial History (Hardcover)
For $10.36 you simply cant beat the value of the beautiful photos in this book. Grand 'modern' castles & mansions of the Guilded Era with pictures of their interiors also. My favorites are the Hearst mansion/castle & the Hammond castle. I gave it less than 5 stars because it is only 80 pages long. I gave it more than 3 stars for the exquisite photos.See other books I have reviewed if you want more suggestions for books on castles & architecture.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction,
By MartinP "MartinP" (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: American Castles: A Pictorial History (Hardcover)
Though I greatly enjoyed a visit to Hearst's "Castle" in San Simeon some years ago, as a European one tends to be unaware that it isn't the only building of its kind in the USA. This book provides an excellent overview of what's on offer, and for me truly opened up whole new perspectives on architecture. The shameless display of wealth is very much to the fore in several of the houses that are documented. Though the results are sometimes in questionable taste, or even childishly naïve, and architects apparently weren't always able to articulate the difference between a hallway in a private dwelling and an opera house lobby, there is also an exhilarating buoyancy to it all that's rarely found in European buildings, weighed down as they are by historical and stylistic consciousness (barring maybe a few Victorian extravaganzas in the UK and of course Ludwig II's castles in Bavaria). Confections like the dining room at The Breakers or the ballroom at Marble House might have been cooked up in Hollywood as sets for some million-dollar fairy tale movie and are simply mind-blowing.
Still, of even greater interest than these would-be Versailles' are quintessentially American buildings like the Carson House in Eureka or the bizarre Winchester "Mystery" House. All of these are shown to excellent advantage in this book, with an occasional Italianate Palazzo and the odd gothic monstrosity thrown in for good measure. Both interiors and exteriors are (selectively) documented. Texts are brief and to the point. The photography is more than serviceable, though of somewhat variable quality and rarely quite top-notch. Still, at the price nobody interested need hesitate to pick up this slim volume. If you are seriously interested in the subject I would however urge you (also) to invest in the McAlister's more comprehensive, scholarly, and visually stunning "Great American Houses", which includes floor plans, unfortunately missing in the present book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
