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740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building
 
 
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740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building [Hardcover]

Michael Gross (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Of all Manhattan's fabled East Side dwellings of the super-rich, 740 Park Avenue has perhaps the best pedigree. Designed by Rosario Candela and developed by James T. Lee, Jackie O's maternal grandfather, as a cooperative haven for the elite, it had the misfortune to open just as the stock market crashed in 1930 and was forced to operate partly as a rental for some decades. The last sale was to Lee himself, for son-in-law "Black Jack" Bouvier, his wife and daughters Jackie and Lee. John D. Rockefeller Jr. signed a rental lease in 1936 for a massive apartment (more than 20,000 square feet), and Marshall Field III took another. Gross (Model) has solidly researched the denizens of the building, who they were, what they did, and who and how many times they married. This information, while exhaustive, is also exhausting. Things perk up as we approach the modern era, and the old rich give way to a newer cast of sometimes dubious billionaires. Ron Perelman, Henry Kravis, Steve Ross and Steve Schwartzman are cited among the newer tenants. A bit of a bore for average readers, this will be a useful tome for those interested in New York's social history.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A riveting book....It’s a big box of chocolates." -- nysocialdiary.com, October 4, 2005

"Epic...truly, the story of American capitalism...a fascinating glimpse inside...the most fabulous living spaces known to man. -- Hartford Courant, Nov 4, 2005

"Great read...a gossipy history with revealing tales." -- People, November 14,2005

"Jaw-dropping apartment porn." -- Fortune, October 31, 2005

"Life after folly-filled life flashes forward like Park Avenue canopies viewed from a speeding town car." -- New York Times, October 9, 2005

"Lifting brows among the swells." -- Liz Smith, New York Post, August 18, 2005

"Shocking and sometimes tragic." -- Star, October 31, 2005

"The book offers a narrative look at the 20th-century American aristocracy through one legendary residence." -- New York Observer, October 7, 2005

The curb appeal is clear. The reader is designated ogler; the writer's job is to celebrate wealth and savor schadenfreude. -- New York Times, October 17, 2005
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway; 1St Edition edition (October 18, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385512090
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385512091
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #478,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

Michael Gross
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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New York, Park Avenue, East Seventy, World War, Fifth Avenue, Standard Oil, John Hughes, Cholly Knickerbocker, David Thorne, Wall Street, Long Island, Douglas Gibbons, East Sixty, Geoffrey Gates, Morris Hadley, American Superpower, East Hampton, Civil War, New Jersey, Rockefeller Center, Alice Mason, Warner Communications, Webb Knapp, Central Park, Landon Ketchum Thorne
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Customer Reviews

55 Reviews
5 star:
 (25)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (55 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
82 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Yawn..., December 18, 2005
By DLP (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building (Hardcover)
Don't be fooled by the exciting sounding "apartment porn" review by Forbes -- this is one tedious book. While there were some very interesting sections (on the building's architect Candela, a brief history of cooperative apartments in NYC, and John D. Rockefeller), they were few and far between. The majority of the text is dull and repetitive. The author was able to get dirt on a number of current and former residents of 740 Park, but he could not get his hands on a floor plan or any decent photos of these luxurious apartments? All in all, quite a disappointing read.
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77 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars No Photos and Plodding Writing, November 17, 2005
By Jery Tillotson "author" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building (Hardcover)
When I read a book like this one, that describes the history of a building or how the rich are very different from you and I, I want photos to help fill out the story. This book contains two mediocre pictures of two different rooms in the fabled structure on Madison where only the super rich can reside. I pass by this building every day and was naturally curious to see what all the shouting was about. To me, it looks like hundreds of other bland, brick structures that line Park and Fifth Avenue. Perhaps that's the first tip-off that the ultra-rich want to live quietly behind barricades of stone and marble. I wish there were pictures of the some of the residents and the interiors. Word descriptions can only go so far.
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50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A 500+ Page Gossip Column, November 8, 2005
This review is from: 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building (Hardcover)
The author seems to be fond of hyperbole. While it is difficult to quantify social prestige in a republic, the notion that 740 Park is New York's most prestigious Cooperative is laughable at best. There are plenty of other buildings (998 & 960 Fifth, River House, at the risk of being indiscreet) that have a better claim to that title, and it makes one wonder if Mr. Gross turned his pen on the residents of 740 because they were more willing to talk than others.

It's true many of the tales have been told before and Mr. Gross' writing style will never equal the acerbic wit of Andrew Alpern or the folksy storytelling of Jerry Patterson and Stephen Birmingham in their chronicles of the apartment-dwelling rich and the book reads like an extended gossip column, which some may adore and others may loathe. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a gossipy read about the rich and shameless this book will not disappoint.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars More fun than a brain tumor
This is one of the most boring and annoying books to have ever come off of a printing press, going all the way back to the time Guttenburg printed his first Bible. Read more
Published 1 month ago by emg55

1.0 out of 5 stars Schizophrenic and Boring
This book presents itself as being about a building and its inhabitants, but cannot manage to stay on topic for more than a few paragraphs. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Heidi Hansen-young

5.0 out of 5 stars a Park Avenue Must
The most fascinsting review on the most fascinating building on Park Avenue and it's fascinating inhabitants by the fascinating New York City (Vassar) author Michael Gross... Read more
Published 3 months ago

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much detail, too hard to slog through - reading shouldn't feel like work unless it is your work!
I hardly ever fault a book for being too detailed, as I usually love a lot of description and tidbits, but this was just way.too.much. Read more
Published 3 months ago by GadgetChick

5.0 out of 5 stars 740 Park Avenue
I purchased this book as a gift for a friend, having read it a couple of years ago. It's one of the most compelling books I've come across in a long time. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Robert E. Dinardo

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating read! I couldn't put it down...
Usually, I tend to read books that come recommended by friends or acquaintances, or that somehow find me. Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Schneider

5.0 out of 5 stars 740 Park
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live in the most beautiful apartment building in NYC, read this book, it's fascinating. *****
Published on February 16, 2008 by Rick

4.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
It's a great book to read if you are interested in the History of New York that most people don't know about. Read more
Published on November 7, 2007 by Lara Picaso

2.0 out of 5 stars My head is spinning
I'm on pg 184, and vow to get to the end, but I don't expect it to be easy. Like the other comments, I agree that pictures would have been wonderful to include, just so I could... Read more
Published on June 26, 2007 by Sharon Magner

3.0 out of 5 stars No One Does NY Dish Better
Michael Gross has been living in New York City his entire life. That's a nice way of saying that he comes by his real estate obsesssion naturally. Read more
Published on May 23, 2007 by C. Nolan

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