Blood Rich: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough [Hardcover]

Jane Wolfe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993

A look at the fortunes and misfortunes of the Wyatt/Sakowitz family describes how the heir to a department store fortune sued his rich uncle and began a family feud that involved murder, drugs, adultery, and divorce. 65,000 first printing. $65,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chronicling the rise and fall of the Sakowitz family of Houston department store renown in this tale about life among the miserable rich, the former society editor of the Dallas Morning News offers few thrilling revelations. Despite Wolfe's efforts to keep the tale lively, the story of the making and breaking of the Sakowitz fortune and its cast of unappealing characters with their unpleasant marriages, divorces, connivances, venomous internecine vendettas and court fights, which may have enthralled Houston society in the late 1980s, do not translate into a page - turner here. Even gossip about the affair between Fergie, the Duchess of York, and Steve Wyatt, one of the players in the Sakowitz story, comes off lamely. Ditto the plentiful intrigues in the Texas oil industry, the detailed description of the clothes worn by Sakowitz heir, Lynn Wyatt, and the hint--unpursued--of a murder. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Gossipy saga of the Wyatt/Sak0owitz clans, whose power-plays and peccadilloes have titillated tabloid readers both in their native Texas and, more recently, across the globe. Wolfe (The Murchisons, 1989), former society editor of the Dallas Morning News, presents a thin-as-gold-leaf account of the curdling of the American Dream and of the agonies and absurdities that seem to attend immense wealth and vaulting ambition. The author traces the Sakowitz family history back to the late 19th century, when a pair of Russian-Jewish brothers immigrated to the US and quickly established a women's clothing emporium in the then-booming port town of Galveston. Through hard work and scrupulous business practices, the brothers built a merchandising empire that elevated them and their offspring into the highest reaches of American society. By contrast, the background of boorish oil billionaire Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr., who married Sakowitz granddaughter Lynn in 1963, is murkier; moreover, says Wolfe, ``with the possible exception of...Santa Anna, whose soldiers killed every last Texan at the Alamo in 1836, no one is more hated in San Antonio than Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr.'' Even so, Wyatt's shadily acquired billions enabled Lynn to enter the Concorde-and-caviar empyrean inhabited by the likes of Princess Grace of Monaco and Truman Capote. At the core of the author's narrative is her account of how Wyatt attempted to wrest control of the Sakowitz business from Lynn's brother, Robert, whose ill-advised policies drove the corporation into bankruptcy. Also included: how Lynn's first husband--a drug-addicted exhibitionist--went to prison for killing a prostitute, was released, and disappeared; and how Lynn's son, Steve, has been photographed cavorting with the Duchess of York, provoking a tempest among the Windsors. Wolfe makes like Robin Leach in a skirt here, with breathless prose and far more fluff than substance. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 346 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1st edition (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316950920
• ISBN-13: 978-0316950923
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars texas at its best!, November 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Rich: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough (Hardcover)

amazon came through for me by finding this out of print book, and it only took them 3 days to find it. i am an admirer of lynn wyatts and was a loyal customer to the sakowitz store. this book shows us inside two very powerful families and reminds us that money is thicker than blood. i recommend this book to anyone into the social scene. thanks amazon for finding this for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Purchase Review, January 12, 2011

By 

B. Coyle (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blood Rich: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough (Hardcover)

I ordered the book Blood Rich during the Holiday shopping rush. Never the less, the book dealer filled my order quickly and accurately. The book was in great condition just as was described in Amazon. I will continue use this service.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine writing about an uninteresting bunch of people, March 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Rich: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough (Hardcover)

A friend recommended this book as I've been reading a lot about Sarah, Duchess of York, and I was interested in Steve Wyatt's background.

The author writes in an easy style as she tells the history of these families who are a large part of Texas history. I had not heard much about any of them. Texas folks probably would like to read about them, but I found them boring. I've given it five stars for her writing.

There are some interesting things about how retail stores have changed over the years and how customer service has deteriorated.

I think that only Texans would be interested in the parts about oil and gas companies.