The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Our Crowd shares an intimate social history of America’s elite Black society in the 1970s. From New York to Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington, DC, Stephen Birmingham met with members of Black America’s upper crust—those old families of money and lineage who send their children to boarding schools and make business alliances over charity dinners. Invited into their homes, he became acquainted with their private world: their traditions and customs, their networks and conflicts, and, of course, their many stories. In Certain People, Birmingham presents a panoramic social history of upper-class Black society, one full of anecdotes and telling observations. From the Palmer Memorial Institute of North Carolina, where the best families sent their children, to the halls of the Johnson Publishing Company, creator of Ebony and Jet magazines, Birmingham provides an intimate glimpse of this exclusive crowd.
The #1 New York Times bestseller that traces the rise of the Guggenheims, the Goldmans, and other families from immigrant poverty to social prominence. They immigrated to America from Germany in the nineteenth century with names like Loeb, Sachs, Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. From tenements on the Lower East Side to Park Avenue mansions, this handful of Jewish families turned small businesses into imposing enterprises and amassed spectacular fortunes. But despite possessing breathtaking wealth that rivaled the Astors and Rockefellers, they were barred by the gentile establishment from the lofty realm of “the 400,” a register of New York’s most elite, because of their religion and humble backgrounds. In response, they created their own elite “100,” a privileged society as opulent and exclusive as the one that had refused them entry. “Our Crowd” is the fascinating story of this rarefied society. Based on letters, documents, diary entries, and intimate personal remembrances of family lore by members of these most illustrious clans, it is an engrossing portrait of upper-class Jewish life over two centuries; a riveting story of the bankers, brokers, financiers, philanthropists, and business tycoons who started with nothing and turned their family names into American institutions.
New York Times bestselling author Stephen Birmingham takes readers into a dazzling world of wealth and violence in a high-society suspense thriller about a fabled family -- and the murder that threatens their future.The Liebling family emerged from the depths of poverty to build the profitable liquor company that has made them one of the most powerful clans in Manhattan. But now a family member brings an enigmatic stranger into their midst, resulting in a scandal even the Lieblings cannot keep hidden!-- "Sizzling, scandalous, ultimately triumphant!" -- New York Times Book Review-- "Upper-class intrigues sure to generate the right kind of money from Birmingham's fans". -- Publishers Weekly-- "A titillating novel that reads like a dream!" -- Kirkus Reviews
The New World’s earliest Jewish immigrants and their unique, little-known history: A New York Times bestseller from the author of Life at the Dakota. In 1654, twenty-three Jewish families arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York) aboard a French privateer. They were the Sephardim, members of a proud orthodox sect that had served as royal advisors and honored professionals under Moorish rule in Spain and Portugal but were then exiled from their homeland by intolerant monarchs. A small, closed, and intensely private community, the Sephardim soon established themselves as businessmen and financiers, earning great wealth. They became powerful forces in society, with some, like banker Haym Salomon, even providing financial support to George Washington’s army during the American Revolution. Yet despite its major role in the birth and growth of America, this extraordinary group has remained virtually impenetrable and unknowable to outsiders. From author of “Our Crowd” Stephen Birmingham, The Grandees delves into the lives of the Sephardim and their historic accomplishments, illuminating the insulated world of these early Americans. Birmingham reveals how these families, with descendants including poet Emma Lazarus, Barnard College founder Annie Nathan Meyer, and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, influenced—and continue to influence—American society.
Recipient of the 2015 PEN New England Award for Nonfiction “The arrival of a significant young nonfiction writer . . . A measured yet bravura performance.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times James Joyce’s big blue book, Ulysses, ushered in the modernist era and changed the novel for all time. But the genius of Ulysses was also its danger: it omitted absolutely nothing. Joyce, along with some of the most important publishers and writers of his era, had to fight for years to win the freedom to publish it. The Most Dangerous Book tells the remarkable story surrounding Ulysses, from the first stirrings of Joyce’s inspiration in 1904 to the book’s landmark federal obscenity trial in 1933. Written for ardent Joyceans as well as novices who want to get to the heart of the greatest novel of the twentieth century, The Most Dangerous Book is a gripping examination of how the world came to say Yes to Ulysses.
Long-held and terrible family secrets threaten to destroy the Rothmans, New York’s premier publishing dynasty, in this witty and suspenseful novel by one of America’s foremost chroniclers of the wealthy.
From the New York Times–bestselling author of “Our Crowd”: A novel of a powerful family, a cosmetics empire, and the dark secrets that could destroy both. Mireille “Mimi” Myerson took her grandfather’s struggling cosmetics company and turned it into an empire. But suddenly, as she prepares to launch a new perfume line, Mimi is faced with hidden threats at every turn. Her efforts to further expand the enormously successful Miray Corporation could be sabotaged from within by her own treacherous family, for there is a dangerous rot beneath the surface of the wealthy and aristocratic “Magnificent Myersons”: a dark tradition of lies, sexual perversity, and criminal activity that could undermine everything Mimi hopes to accomplish. With the discovery of her husband’s affair and the return of real estate magnate Michael Horowitz, her first and most enduring love, Mimi must determine whom she can trust—especially in light of the shocking revelations that are about to emerge regarding the birth of the Miray Corporation. In both his bestselling nonfiction (“Our Crowd”, The Right People) and fiction (Carriage Trade, The Auerbach Will) author Stephen Birmingham has demonstrated an unparalleled understanding of the ways of America’s extremely rich. This unique knowledge comes into glorious play in his blistering novel Shades of Fortune, a thrilling and unforgettable breakneck ride through the darkest passageways of wealth and success.
A quartet of novels from the New York Times–bestselling author of “Our Crowd” and master chronicler of Manhattan’s rich, famous, and deceitful. These four gripping novels prove that “when it comes to the folkways of the rich, the powerful, and the privileged, Stephen Birmingham knows what he’s talking about” (Los Angeles Times). Carriage Trade: One of New York’s most elegant and exclusive retail establishments, Tarkington’s has been the preferred shopping experience of Manhattan’s elite for decades. But the unexpected death of founder Silas Tarkington raises serious doubts about the future of the enterprise. At the reading of his will, disturbing questions arise about the tycoon’s past, and suggestions of a dark, secret life threaten to tear the family apart. The truth could destroy much more than the family business—especially as it becomes more and more likely that Silas’s death was no accident. “[A] page turner . . . [that] offers a little bit of the best of everything” (The New York Times). The Wrong Kind of Money: The Liebling family is among the wealthiest in New York, but in the eyes of “old money” gentile aristocrats like the patrician Van Degans, they will always be lower-class Jewish nouveau riche. Jules Liebling got his start selling liquor during Prohibition while in cahoots with dangerous mobsters, and his widow, Hannah, now runs the family business with a tyrannical hand. But when her daughter-in-law meets Georgette Van Degan for lunch at Le Cirque, gossip circulates about a thaw between the families and, quite possibly, a partnership. As rumors fly in this “fast and wonderful” novel that has “something for everyone,” family skeletons on both sides are exposed, leading to jealousy, betrayal, and even violence (Cincinnati Enquirer). The Auerbach Will: The daughter of poor immigrant Russian-Jewish parents on the Lower East Side, Essie Litsky married Jack Auerbach, and together, they rose from poverty and amassed a fortune that dwarfed their wildest dreams. But money could never buy the affection of family or compensate for the true love Essie let slip away. And now, as she nears the end of her life, she must contend with blackmail and heartless legal assaults coming at her from all sides—the result of the ugly, persistent greed of her own children and grandchildren. But Essie is not dead yet, and those who underestimate the remarkable old woman are in for a shocking and powerful surprise. This New York Times bestseller is full of “delicious secrets” drawn from the “gossipy, Uptown/Downtown milieu Birmingham knows so well” (Kirkus Reviews). Shades of Fortune: Mireille “Mimi” Myerson took her grandfather’s struggling cosmetics company and turned it into an empire. But suddenly, as she prepares to launch a new perfume line, she is faced with hidden threats at every turn. Her efforts to further expand the company could be sabotaged from within by her own treacherous family. With the discovery of her husband’s affair and the return of real estate magnate Michael Horowitz, her first and most enduring love, Mimi must determine whom she can trust—especially in light of the shocking revelations that are about to emerge regarding the birth of the Miray Corporation.
A poignant and unforgettable rags-to-riches family saga following three generations of a remarkable clan from downtown ghetto to Park Avenue opulence Marrying Jack Auerbach was Essie Litsky’s salvation, enabling her to break free of her strict Russian-Jewish immigrant parents and escape New York’s poor, dirty, overcrowded Lower East Side. Together with her husband, Essie amassed a fortune that dwarfed their wildest dreams: She was living in a grand mansion on Park Avenue, collecting priceless art, even conferring with a US president. But money could never buy the affection of family or compensate for the true love Essie let slip away. And now, as she nears the end of her life, she must contend with blackmail and heartless legal assaults coming at her from all sides, the result of the ugly, persisting greed of her own children and grandchildren. But Essie is not dead yet, and those who underestimate the remarkable old woman are in for a shocking and powerful surprise. In this New York Times bestseller, Stephen Birmingham, acclaimed chronicler of the lives of the super-rich and author of “Our Crowd”, introduces three generations of a singular family as it moves from poverty to privilege over the course of a cataclysmic century, led by one of the most endearing and unforgettable heroines in modern American fiction.
