Customer Reviews

Big Alma: San Francisco's Alma Spreckels

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A well researched history of Alma Spreckles, of the Spreckles sugar fortune. The life of Alma, a determined woman, active arts patron, and socalite, is told in a fast moving story. I bought this for my mother, who enjoyed it and sent it back for me to read too.

Alma Spreckles led a life most of us only associate with heroines
in novels - but she was the real deal. Ordinarily, I'm not a huge fan of biographies, but author Bernice Scharlach brings vivid life to her subject and the times she lived in. Outside of the SF bay area, how many people are aware of this great lady and the role she played on an international scale in bringing not only fine art to the masses, but help and comfort to thousands in need over the decades? Alma de Brettville Spreckles was truly one of the great "characters" of the past century, anyone with an interest in history, art, or just a great story will enjoy this book - where's the movie?

Bernice Scharlach may not be quite the writer her subject deserves. But never mind. Nothing, not even Scharlach's sometimes pedestrian prose could flatten Alma deBretteville Spreckles, who was easily -- hands down -- one of the most vivid personalities associated with a State, and a time, that took the concept of "vivid personality" to a whole new level.
And give Scharlach her due. She's a thorough, and -- importantly -- a level-headed researcher. God bless her for interviewing some of the people, now very old, who knew Alma personally. God bless her for keeping a detached look at the sometimes highly personalized views of who, and what, Alma really was. It's not hard to understand why Alma could be loved by some and reviled by others. She was an amazing amalgam of vulgarity and class, the likes of which we seldom get to witness. Scharlach accurately portrays the complex woman Alma was, who could never neatly be slotted into some category or other. Item: the De Young girls never missed a chance to cut Alma dead at society functions, and Alma had enormous fun with this. She'd usually respond by saying to her companions, in her loud, raspy voice, "Never mind. They haven't spoken to me since my husband shot their father." Read this book and discover what that was all about!

Very interesting book. I recently visited the Legion of Honor and saw it with a whole new perspective.

I havent started this book, but a friend tells me I will love and enjoy.
It came is great condition and very quickly thanks.

poor citations, rendered with myth, not researched very well. Little about how her fortune was won.