Book Review | Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was absolutely horrifying and engrossing at the same time. I could not put it down.

In 1928 NYC purchased an island in the East River and called it Blackwell's Island. For the next hundred years the complex of buildings were supposedly a safe-ish place for the insane, poor, sick, and criminal. The author shows us what daily life was like for those living on the island, as well as those who worked there. We hear from the people trapped there, city officials who sent them away, reformers who knew it was not the solution, and journalists trying to shed light on the abusive and inhumane practices. We also are taken on a deep dive of the politics surrounding the on-going use of the island, how 'charity' was put into practice, and all of the horrific 'therapies' patients were subjected to.

Different facilities were built to care for each of the groups mentioned above. Great in theory, but not entirely accurate in practice. Due to funding (or lack of), staffing (or lack of), food (or lack of), and/or medication/supplies (or lack of), these populations often mixed together and the results are as awful as you would expect. With massive overcrowding, sometimes inmates were assigned to a different facility than was appropriate. And as a cost-saving measure, convicts were assigned jobs as attendants in one of the other buildings. It went as well as you would expect.

That was not the vision the city had for this project when it first began. Originally the plans were, naturally, to find humane ways to care for these populations with the highest needs. The initial plan was for a facility to house up to 200 people. There was no intention of mixing any of the populations, especially not those in the penitentiary with the mentally ill, One can see right away why that would be a receipe for disaster, a situation ripe for further abuse of those least able to defend themselves. When the building was nearly at capacity in the first few weeks, the city realized they had a much bigger problem on their hands. The asylum had to be enlarged repeatedly, and still there was never enough room for everyone. And for the doctors and nurses truly trying to do good and help those in their care, it must have been overwhelming to know that there was never enough of anything to truly help - not enough money, not enough staff, not enough supplies and food and medications. Of course, you also had those who did not care about treating patients humanely, which made an already-unbearable situation infinitely worse.

We might think we are doing so much better today, but let's be realistic. The mentally ill and the criminal are still housed together, only now it's in jails and prisons, where those with metal illness get zero treatment and they are subject to abuse again at the hands of fellow inmates. While treatments in psychiatric facilities are better now, prisons are not. Prisons are the new asylums for those who do not have access to treatments and medications and money/insurance to pay for these things that the psych facilities can provide.

The author did a fantastic job showcasing each facility on the island and how they operated. As we all know, people (mainly women) could be committed for pretty much anything, and that's exactly how Blackwell Island found itself at capacity so soon after opening. For a century, people sent to the island were subjected to absolutely disgusting living conditions. Food was often spoiled and rotting, and there was much physical abuse. It will also surprise no one that racism was also at work, and while conditions were terrible for everyone, it was usually even worse for Black patients and inmates. Plus we all know how well-liked the Irish were at this time, so their treatment was also as awful as you would expect.

This is a very well-researched and interesting read. The author had access to surviving documents and really brought to life individuals who lived and died on the island. It is a difficult read, but an important one. The complete disregard for human life over the decades of operations is heartbreaking and something that stayed with me long after I finished this one. There were certainly bright spots in the story, reformers who saw what was happening and tried to stop it, but were met with resistance at nearly every turn.

The author ends with a look at Rikers Island now, and asks if we are really doing much better today. You can probably draw your own conclusion.

Highly recommended.

Book Review | Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am beyond obsessed with NYC so this book was perfect for me. One downside is that it was written in 1979 and I would love to see an updated version that details the history of the building up to now. My first exposure to this magnificent building came when I was in elementary school and devoured Baby-Sitters Club books like there was no tomorrow. Stacey moved from NYC to Stoneybrook, and her best friend Laine lived at the Dakota. I remember thinking how amazing and intriguing it sounded, this fancy building in the coolest city in the world.

Edward Clark, of Singer sewing machine fame which he partnered with Isaac Singer on to build their empire, commissioned to have the Dakota built in the 1880s. It was not named as such by him initially. He had intended to call it the Clark Apartments, but at first given its location, society referred to it as Clark's Folly. A friend even went so far as to say the building was so far north and west on Manhattan's Upper West Side (and so far from the city's active center), Clark might as well have been building it in Dakota. "And so, in gesture of airy defiance to the critics and skeptics and naysayers, he announced that its name would be the Dakota" (9%).

The Dakota became one of the first true luxury apartment and despite its location and those critics, it was an immediate success from the moment it was ready for tenants.

Here the author details the first one hundred years of the building's life. We get the history of the place and its people - from Boris Karloff to John Lennon. We learn the ins and outs of the building - the secret passages, labyrinth-like interior, and of course GHOSTS.

The author brings the building itself to life, which was helpful given the lack of photos. The author goes into great detail regarding the tenants - famous or not. There's actually way more than we would ever need to know about them, which does make for some uncomfortable reading sometimes. He definitely used language/had a not-okay attitude we would never used today about certain groups of minorities - LGBTQIA+, African-American, and Jewish people. It doesn't make any of it okay, but at least keep in mind this was written in 1979. We've come a long way since then (mostly). I also hope the building is not as discriminatory today as it was then, despite Roberta Flack being the first African-American resident in the 70s.

I love books about buildings with history such as the Dakota, and that's what made this one such a draw for me, despite the negative aspects of the book. And not only did it give a beautiful history of such a unique place, but we also get some history of the immediate surrounding area, which includes Central Park. Any history of NYC is like manna from Heaven to me, so I loved this aspect, too. The earliest days of the building remained the most interesting to me - partiall due to my love for all things Gilded Age NYC. I find the development of the city fascinating as it inched along, slowly becoming what we know it as today.

There were so many anecdotes that I found endearing or interesting. I've included those here along with the point they were discussed in the Kindle version of the text.

(26%) William Henry Pratt, more widely known as Boris Karloff, lived in the building for years and would tell the tale of how every Halloween he would set out a bowl of candy for the children living there. Yet he never had an Halloween visitors, because the children were too scared to even ring the doorbell.

(28%) The Clarks certainly knew how to take care of their tenants. When one gentleman was away for the summer, a water pipe burst, destroying an irreplaceable panel of wallpaper. Instead, the building's painting crew replicated the wallpaper pattern down to the last detail and the tenant could not tell the difference upon his return.

(29%) At one point the building had it's own destructive phantom, referred to as the Mad Slasher - unknown whether it was ghostly or otherwise. For whatever reason, this person was determined to damage the passanger elevators soon after they were installed. Deep gouges were repeatedly carved into the paneled walls constantly. They were determined to be too high for a child to reach and so deep that someone incredibly strong would have had to have made them. It made the living situation incredibly uncomfortable, as neighbors became suspicious of one another. Piles of shredded paper were also found in various corridors, which were thought to be attempts to light fires. One of the biggest events occurred when a can of paint was thrown from the roof of the building into the courtyard below, just barely missing a tenant. Despite attempts to catch whoever was up to know good, no one was ever apprehended. There were no clues even as to who the culprit might have been.

Lastly, this one hits the hardest and makes me so sad for all the history lost. The Dakota has rooftop storage rooms (at least at the time of the writing). Unfortunately, they're all empty now. Decades ago Edward Downes, a resident, discovered a handyman carrying stacks of old file folders. Turns out he was clearing out the room of one hundred year's worth of documents pertaining to the building. Downes was able to save a few documents, but most of it was gone, just like that. All kinds of records - from past tenants, complaints, births and deaths, and so on, were all gone just like that. Jo Mielziner, another resident, had kept years' and years' worth of records of the Dakota in various files and scrapbooks. Unfortunately when Mielziner had passed away a few years earlier in 1976, the files were never found. More history, just gone.

Despite the negative aspects of the book, I truly loved the history of the building and would love to know so much more.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

I probably would have given this four stars, or at least three and a half, if I would not have had to read about the journey of the mother of the worst president in the history of the United States.

Aside from that drivel, this was a book packed with tons of interesting anecdotes and gossip and I feel the author did a fantastic job portraying life at sea for these women and how their work evolved over time.

I enjoy this period of travel. I love that the author focuses specifically on women and how they made a living on the massive liners that once ran regularly between the US and Europe.

I appreciate that she focused on a a wide variety of women, from all walks of life. We read of celebrities, artists, and the wealthy travelling for pleasure, migrants and refugees seeking safety and a new life, as well as the women who worked for the great shipping companies, sending their wages back home to help care for parents and siblings.

I found women on the crew to be of the most interest to me. I admire these women who worked these long, hard hours at sea to provide for their families. Violet Jessop is mentioned here and I absolutely recommend her autobiography, which I wrote about HERE. Not only did Violet survive the sinking of Titanic, but not long after she survived the sinking of the Britannic (Titanic's sister ship) as well. Her book is a wonderful look into her life, in which the famous and not-so-famous shipwrecks play but a small part. She had even been aboard the Olympic in 1911 when it collided with the HMS Hawke.

There were times when the narrative was very slow and felt like a slog. This could be a personal thing, as we learn plenty about those who travelled by liner because they had the money to do so, sailing back and forth between the Old World and the New. Still, it did take me a bit to finish this one and some passages and stories were not nearly as interesting as others.

There were times when the book became a bit repetitive as well, especially when stories were similar. Not always, but enough to be noticeable.

I never really thought about until this book, just how critical this work was for women who sought independence and a way to support themselves. To say that it changed countless lives would not be an overstatement. Slowly but surely, as women began travelling more, the need for stewardesses arose to help tend to them aboard the ships. That role of stewardess even evolved over time as some women were able to become conductresses and coordinate activities for the passengers. And then as two world wars came, women were able to stay aboard as nurses and continue to make a life for themselves.

Overall I appreciate the author's work and the research that went into the book. She's given a voice to many women who otherwise might remain unknown to us today.

NetGalley ARC | Gilded Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from America's Golden Age

 

I received a free digital ARC from NYU Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

First let's take a moment and admire that cover, shall we? So simple and elegant, but very powerful. I don't even like martinis and the moment I saw this one I thought, "Sure why not?"

This gem of a book makes me want to through a Gilded Age themed dinner party and serve each and every one of these delicious treats. I can't of course, because of COVID, but some day, right? We can dream at least.

The books is divided into sections that touch on various aspects of life/society of the time, and the many drinks that went along with them. My personal favorite was the section related to signature drinks of the Ivy League schools. You don't have to go to an elite East Coats school to drink like it, as the recipes for each drink discussed is produced here for the reader.

One thing I really loved about this book was the history - big surprise. I thought it was so fascinating how the various drinks came to made, how bartenders' experimented with their craft in order to come up with new drinks to satisfy patrons. Seeing the evolution or creation of so many of the drinks we know and (sometimes) love today - such as the Manhattan - was a fun bit of history to read about.

I really love books like this, that focus on a specific micro history and encourage anyone with similar interests to give this one a read. You might just find a new favorite drink!

Book Review | The Trial of Lizzie Borden

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I truly am baffled by the low rating this book has on Goodreads right now, a 3.41. I know to some people that seems decent, but I am a bit more strict in my own ratings, and so anything under 3.5 gives me pause before I read it. I am also confused by the readers claiming this was too much about Lizzie's trial, or it was too legal or boring and not enough narrative. Um, what the hell? First of all, the title should have given you a clue on that 'trial' part. Second of all, nothing about the Borden trial could ever be boring. Third, it's NON-FICTION, not a novel. People who call non-fiction texts 'novels' are seriously the bane of my reading existence.

Personally, I thought this book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. It is yet another book that appears to be true crime, but that I also feel transcends the genre (I have said that a lot lately, haven't I?) because the case is so well-known, so huge that we are still talking and writing about it well over a century later.

I knew quite a bit about the case already, as I find Lizzie Borden such a confounding enigma. On one hand, there is simply no way that her father and step-mother could have been murdered such a length of time apart, that neither Lizzie nor the family's maid, Bridget, would not notice something was amiss. One of the biggest hurdles for me in any attempt to believe in Borden's innocence is the story Lizzie told about Abby receiving a note to visit an ill friend. No one ever found, or came forward, to say that they had delivered the note, or that they had been the ill friend who sent it. On top of that, the note itself was never found.

On the other hand, if we are to believe that Lizzie Borden is this criminal mastermind who managed to murder both her father and step-mother in cold blood without being caught by Bridget, or even seen through the window from someone outside as she murdered her father, isn't this something she would have anticipated, and thus created evidence in the form of a note?

I feel like for whatever piece of evidence is presented to prove her guilt, it does - but then there is a tiny little thread left dangling that you can pull at to discover a little bit more to prove she is innocent.

To say that this story has captivated the nation is kind of an understatement. It seems that everyone had an opinion on the case, and still does, but in all of that the victims get lost. This happens often, and I have mentioned so in other books of this nature. While we spend so much time deciding if we think Borden is innocent or guilty, we forget that while her life hung in the balance, two had already been taken away. I can't imagine too many more horrible ways to die than to be hacked at multiple times and not being able to defend one's self from the onslaught of the ax.

I feel some deep sympathy for Abby especially. I imagine the living arrangements got rather uncomfortable, considering the fact that her step-daughters openly despised her by the end of her life, for the property deal her father went through with for Abby's sister. The women were then given their own holding of land, because they demanded Andrew Borden make things equal in some way...yet Emma and Lizzie never forgave them anyway, and refused to eat their meals together. It's all just incredibly messy and I think the key to finding out who the killer was depends on truly understanding the dynamic in the house at the time of the murders. There are so many conflicting accounts of the tension, or lack-of. Some witness testified that Emma and Lizzie hated Abby and said mean things about her, were still harboring anger toward their father, and so on. Others said there were no problems that they were aware of. 

What makes this book on the topic so important, and the low rating again a surprise, is that there is a lot of new information here - even if that information does not directly point to the killer (except possibly for the attorney files which are still under lock and key, but more about that later). The author has clearly devoted much time and energy to telling the most complete story she can about the murders and life for Borden during and after the trial. Here she draws from many documents never seen before by the public, such as unpublished journals from attorneys. There is also a treasure trove in the form on Lizzie Borden's own letters that were recently discovered. In addition, information comes from transcripts from the legal proceedings, previously unpublished local reports, and news articles from the day.

Now, back to these files I mentioned above. At the very end of the book the author discusses the files kept by Borden's attorney after the case was over. The files have never been seen by anyone outside the law firm, and I am so incredibly curious as to why. All of the participants have long since passed away, there is no danger anymore in showing these records to the public. And yet...

"So there, in Springfield, Massachusetts, locked in a five-drawer file cabinet, the file languishes, more than 125 years after Lizzie Borden, gloved hand on Robinson's arm, walked out of the New Bedford courtroom a free woman" (page 289).

I can't possibly be the only one who wants to know once and for all if Lizzie was guilty or not and I believe something in those files will tell the truth. Why else might they be kept sealed, away from anyone outside the firm? Perhaps I should see if they have any job openings...

I feel like looking at the case today, people will think almost without doubt that she must have been guilty, there are too many little things that do not quite add up. But we must remember that Lizzie Borden lived in a very different time. The Bordens were a well-to-do family, possibly the wealthiest family in Fall River. Based on class alone, it would have been unfathomable to the upper reaches of society to believe for one moment that a person of Lizzie's station could have even committed such a crime. it was simply inconceivable, in a time when it was thought that one could tell if someone was a criminal by their features, ethnicity, etc. Not surprising for the time, but also totally wrong in its assumption. it would have been very difficult, given the actual evidence presented, for the all-male jury to convict Lizzie Borden. So much of it is circumstantial, there is no 'gotcha' that firmly points to the younger Borden sister.

Not only did Lizzie's class matter in the minds of the jury and her society circles, but gender was important too. The tiny speck of blood found on the inner part of one of her dresses was explained away in that Lizzie was menstruating. This is also set up as a way to explain the rags in the basement at the sink, where Lizzie was observed standing for quite some time, though due to the high window, the officer who did observe Lizzie later that night could not see what she was doing. Perhaps she was trying to wash the blood out of the dress she had worn when she had committed the murders? Or perhaps she was only washing said rags commonly used by menstruating women in the 19th century (side note: I am so glad I live in the 21st century). The theories at the time concluded that women who were menstruating lacked self-control and were prisoners of their hormones, unable to think or act clearly. If Lizzie did indeed have her period, and really did murder Andrew and Abby, this would have been an accepted 'insanity' defense. It would also be the only reason the upper echelons of society could have understood as a reason for one of their own to have committed such a heinous and brutal crime. I really think this social commentary that the author provides is critical to understanding why, even when given enough circumstantial evidence to lean toward guilt, those twelve men serving simply could not bring themselves to say she'd done it.

One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is because of the author's own background. Robertson used the Borden trial as the subject of her undergraduate thesis while at Harvard. Instead of taking her professor's advice and turning the thesis into a book then, she went off to Oxford to earn her PhD in English, then her law degree from Stanford. I think those elements in her background bring the story together superbly. Robertson also does not show any bias as she lays out the case. She gives the facts that we know and provides the reader with ample opportunity to make up their own mind. I never felt like she favored the prosecution or defense, and she truly leaves it up in the air. The research is so thorough, and the details add to the big pictures to create a stunning portrait of the murders and their aftermath. Then there are the literal pictures, the photographs that Robertson chose to include. They added further depth to the story and are valuable to it.

After all is said and done, there is no mystery at all - if you hear hoof beats, you think horse, not zebra. Lizzie Borden murdered her father and step-mother, right? She had the means - several axes found in the basement, yet none deemed to be the murder weapon. She had the opportunity - Bridget was sent out to wash the windows and Emma was out of town. (However, all this fuss was made about Lizzie not hearing a sound while she was in the barn looking for irons to go fishing - couldn't the same be said about Bridget? Did Bridget not hear cries for help?) And then what about motive? Understanding the motive seems difficult and easy all a the same time. Why then? The property deal that Lizzie and Emma were so upset about had occurred five years prior to the murders. Mr Borden was very tight-fisted with money it was said, but his daughters rarely wanted for anything - except for their father to finally move out of that home on Second Street to the more fashionable district as befitting a family of their station. He refused. So did Lizzie just finally get so frustrated one day at the thought of it, she decided to kill them?

Yes.

No.

I can't help it. I continue to waver back and forth over this, and will do so I am sure for quite some time.

Highly, highly recommended.

Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's King of Beer

Rating: 4 Stars

Well color me shocked that once again, wealth does not equal happiness. Or common sense. And any kind of personal management skills.

I loved Budweiser - Bud heavy, NOT Bud Light. When I was in college, that is what was flowing from the kegs and I drank many a free red Solo cups worth of the delicious liquid - until I turned 21 and then it was off to the bars downtown, conveniently just a couple blocks from campus. So, when I saw this book for sale, I knew it would be something I needed to read. I really enjoy these kind of micro-histories, and this is kind of three micro-histories in one. We get the history of the Busch family, the city of STL, and the company as well. The three go together and there's no way to tell one history without the other two, there simply isn't.

So, I was quite pleased to find it was a book I actually enjoyed. This is the first I have read about the Busch family, but from what I know and further researched as I was reading and when I finished the book, things seem to be accurate for the most part. I did notice a few reviewers make note of incorrect names, but otherwise I did not find anything else that was cause for concern.

This story is just as intriguing as any other family coming up in this time, making their fortunes like the robber barons we are so familiar with. It truly boggles the mind when one thinks about the wealth these families possessed, in the days before that pesky little thing called income tax.

My only real complaint about the book has less to do with the words and more to do with the photos included. I would have found it extremely helpful if the photos of the various generations of Busch men would have been scattered throughout the sections most having to do with them. Instead the photos were at the end and it took me a bit to figure out who was who, given the fact that everyone was named August or Adolphus. In the grand scheme of things, however, this was a minor issue and nothing a quick Google search could not solve instead of having to go back and forth throughout the text. This is one of my frustrations with Kindles, but alas, there's not much I can do about it.

This story truly is a remarkable one and I was especially interested in the parts that dealt with how the growing company survived during Prohibition. To see how the company survived and thrived makes the downfall that much harder to see. The men who built the company and made it what it became at its height...only to see that sense of the family business gone with the stroke of a pen when InBev took over in 2008. It also bums me out when businesses, even ones that have grown as large as Anheuser-Busch did - lose that sense of hometown feel, if that makes sense. However dysfunctional or downright ridiculous some members of the family might have been, or still are (I'm lookin' at you, August IV...), there was still that sense of family, and ownership (or, that they were able to keep that sense of family appearance, even when things behind the scenes were falling apart, relationship-wise). Now Anheuser-Busch is just another facet of a huge conglomerate and within days of the takeover, some 1000-1400 workers were laid off. While the author is brutally honest (with a possible bias against the family, though I personally did not see it - maybe because I have not read as much about the Busch dynasty yet?) about all the problems within the family, he also makes it very clear that InBev is all about the money; quality of product is secondary at this point. But hey, as long as the rich get richer though, right?

The unfortunate truth here though is that the company didn't have to be sold. At various times throughout it's long and storied history, Anheuser-Busch was run by intelligent, forward-thinking CEOs who continued to build on the foundation put down over a century ago. Yet the problem with inheriting something so important is that sometimes one simply thinks they're entitled to it, while doing nothing to prove they have the capabilities required to maintain the business. Perhaps had August IV not been allowed so many indulgences (and by indulgences I mean all the cover-ups for deaths and drugs. You know, usual kid stuff), he would still be at the helm today. My sympathy does not lie with him, so much as it does those who came before him, and built the company into the prize it became. Even so, it is a shame to see the company no longer in the hands of the family who created it. I can only imagine some of those men absolutely rolling in their graves with what befell the company with the Fourth leading the way, when InBev came in and was able so easily to takeover the company.

I'd like to touch on the point again of the suggested bias of the author against the family. I noticed this in a review I read before I picked up the book (I know, I know, reading reviews beforehand is a terrible idea). I didn't really get that impression at all, but as I was writing this review I decided to go back and see if other reviewers touched on this and more than a couple mentioned it. I am definitely interested then in reading other books about the Busch family to compare author treatment of the subject. Perhaps I don't see it because I don't know anything but what I have read here. My personal opinion was that some of these CEOs were pretty awful people (this time I'm looking at you, Busch III. Tossing your dad out of the business was low, any way you look at it. And as always, there's IV, who is lucky to still be alive at this point, given the multitudes of guns and drugs he seems to hoard). So, it makes sense that the 'warts and all' approach was used. Nothing is held back. We see time and again how the family was able to cover up so many things that would have become huge scandals - something that's not even an issue now that the company is out of the family's control. Busch IV is free to be as out of control as he wants and it no longer has the potential to impact the bottom line.

There were enough comments about a bias that I will be looking for further reading materials. Even so, I still highly recommend this look at the true rise and fall of one of the great American companies.

Queen of Thieves: The True Story of "Marm" Mandelbaum and Her Gangs of New York

EDIT: 10-3-19

Rating: 0 Stars

Author Behaving Badly Alert

I love when authors throw around 'credentials', as if that somehow exempts others from having opinions about their trash books. As for the movie option...hopefully they have a great screen writer to deal with horribly sexist and repetitive source material 😂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original review posted 12-4-18
Rating: 1.5 Stars

Such a wholly fascinating woman deserves a much better book.

Prior to reading this, I had never heard of Fredericka Mandelbaum, described as a "poor Jewish woman who rose to the top of her profession in organized crime during the Gilded Age in New York City" (from the book page on Goodreads). When I found this one, it was a no-brainer, OF COURSE I would read it. Gilded Age New York is on of my favorite periods to read about and I am always on the lookout for new subjects from the era.

The problem then, is literally everything else. I can not count the number of times her appearance is referenced. We are told as many ways as possible that she was a large and unattractive woman. Finally the author gave in on what he seemed to be waiting for the whole time and simply called her fat. It was truly gross how often her physical characteristics were mentioned - as though it is somehow unusual that supposed ugly people find success in whatever avenue they pursue for their career of choice? Whatevs, I've no time for that. And normally, I would have chucked this to the DNF pile after the fifth, twelfth, zillionth time her appearance was mentioned. But I persevered because I know of no other books about "Marm" and wanted to glean as much information as I could, despite a completely sub-par attempt to give this woman a proper biography. One might be able to shrug this off despite the ABSURD amounts of repetition, except the author then goes on and does the same thing to one of Mandelbaum's proteges, Sophie Lyons, who he mentions time and again as being beautiful, using her looks to get out of trouble, etc. The complete and utter reliance on talking about appearances was not only ridiculous, but repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Like, almost word-for-word repetitive sometimes, as we will get to in a moment in regards to the other colorful characters who fill the pages.

I am trying to not be a total negative nelly in reviews because writing is hard, and authors pour so much of themselves into their books. But said book has to be edited, it just does, there is no way around it. I feel like perhaps another couple of rounds with a good editor could drastically improve the text. I was at first impressed by the use of contemporary sources, but for quite a stretch there it seemed that those sources were taking up more room than the author's own commentary and/or analysis of said sources. I feel like this book has potential, but will never see that as long as the book remains as-is. Mandelbaum's story is practically THEE American Dream. She reached a height of wealth that others could only dream of, with the protection of the police, judges, and Tammany Hall. While it was not by honest means, for a Jewish woman to do so, while her husband turned a blind eye and knew "nothing" of her fencing stolen goods, is an honest to goodness miracle.

Despite all the repetitiveness, I did learn quite a bit about Mandelbaum's life, family, and her career. Her trial is covered as well, and on top of that, her escape to Canada. We are also, again REPEATEDLY, reminded of who her attorneys were, that they are partners, that she retained them for several thousand dollars a year, that she aided her circle of thieves in getting out of charges, who her attorneys were, that they are partners, that she retained them for several thousand...oh wait, sorry, I just realized I was REPEATING MYSELF.

I did select a few quotes of interest, because I do feel like Mandelbaum's story is worth telling, worth knowing. It just needs to be in the hands of a better editor, and possibly writer as well.

"At the height of her criminal career, every New Yorker knew their best chance to realize a profit from their ill-gotten gains was to trust "Marm" Mandelbaum. She was also partial to helping young women get a foothold in the criminal world. She was once quoted as saying that she wanted to help ant women who "are not wasting life being a housekeeper." Because of her efforts to help women find work, even if it was in the world of crime, some contemporary feminist historians view Mandelbaum as a Gilded Age heroine for her willingness to assist women finding work and helping them make more money than they could have as housekeepers, maids, seamstresses, or factory workers" (2%).

More than a couple times, the author mentions that Mandelbaum opened a "school for crime". How would this even work? Like, seriously, the logistics simply are not there. How does one go about opening a school for crime, and operating la-di-da like it is no big deal. Obviously police officers on the beat would have to be paid, but how was this ever a thing? We are given almost zero other information about it, which I expected because it would have had to have been pretty secretive - but how do we then have any knowledge of it to begin with? The story concludes with the author stating Mandelbaum "...allegedly had to close the school when it was discovered that that son of one of the city's most prominent police officials was enrolled in it" (3%). Really? Later the author comes back around to this topic, as he often and repetitively did, but this time at least added further information about this so-called 'crime school'. He detailed the 'courses' offered and marveled at the fact that the school was quite near the police headquarters. Mandelbaum apparently offered all kinds of classes to any aged pupil, and both male and female students. They learned about burglaries, safe-cracking, and blackmailing rackets. Additional advanced classes were taught as well in those areas, while supposed "doctoral level" classes were offered in confidence schemes and blackmail. Students who were particularly astute were given free advanced courses, and the "best and brightest graduates were offered salaried positions with Mandelbaum, but they had to turn over everything they stole directly to her and no one else". The school operated for roughly six years according to the author, until again we are told that the son of a police official was discovered as being enrolled, and thus Mandelbaum closed the school. I suppose when you pay the right people, anything is possible.

I did appreciate the author really setting the backdrop for how and why a life of crime might be necessary for survival in this period. it might sound a little sensational to someone unfamiliar with the city at the time, but I do feel like this quote sums up quite accurately what life what like at that time for those not part of the 'gilded' set.

"The worst of all the slums was the villainous Five Points in the Lower East Side, a den of almost unspeakable gore and horror. It was the home to the city's most vicious criminals, robbers, prostitutes, and confidence men. Five Points derived its name from the crisscrossing intersection of Anthony, Cross, Mulberry, Orange, and Water Streets. There were no legitimate businesses in Five Points except for a very few grocery, dry goods, and clothing shops. It was filled with narrow streets alleys running every which way...the nearly falling down tenements and sheds there housed hundreds of poor immigrants who were at the mercy of the gangs, many of whom worked for absentee landlords collecting rent...Day or night Five Points was the scene of an uncontrolled abundance of murder, mayhem, robbery, and theft. No one, including the police, dared to venture into this den of thieves and murderers..." (7%).

Here I have also chosen to include some of the many instances where the author refers to Mandelbaum's appearance. I did not include all of them, as there were so many. By 8% her height and weight had been referenced three times.

"At close to six feet tall and 250 pounds, she was a formidable presence. She was easy to pick out of any crowd" (8%) Not so bad, right? But then...

"...her clients, both sellers and buyers, knew that this huge, dark-eyed, corpulent woman didn't question whether the merchandise she traded in was legitimately or illegitimately acquired" (10%).

Also: "...as an outcast herself, both physically (her height and weight making her stand out)..." (10%)

And "Already an imposing physical presence, she kept her outward appearance unobtrusive...despite her criminal vocation and her height and her girth..." (20%)

And still more. "Mandelbaum saw in the young and beautiful Lyons the image of how she wished she had been. Mandelbaum, tall, fat, and unattractive was drawn to the waif-like beauty of Lyons" (37%). There are others also, but I think by this time one gets the point. The author is utterly fixated on what he perceives as her grotesque appearance and can not leave it for a moment. It is a constant throughout and totally unimportant.

While on the whole, this book is in need of some serious changes for it to be a worthwhile read, there is valuable information in there if you have the patience to wade through the rubbish and find it. Mandelbaum was no saint, but she was an unique woman living in difficult times. She managed to stay out of jail throughout her entire career, not for lack of trying on the part of reformers seeking to end the corruption at all levels. Even during the trial that would effectively end her career in NYC, she managed to elude the Pinkerton detectives who had so painstakingly built a case against her for months. Mandelbaum was highly intelligent and a more than capable foe for those seeking to put her and similar operations out of business for good.

"On February 26th, 1894, Fredericka Mandelbaum died in her home in Hamilton surrounded by her family and Stoude. The cause of death was reported as Bright's Disease, described in modern medicine as a chronic form of nephritis or kidney disease. She was sixty-five years old.  Although the obituary notice that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator took note of her criminal past, it called her 'a woman of kindly disposition, broad sympathies, and large intelligence'".

Mandelbaum deserved a much better biography than this.

Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge

Rating: 4 Stars

I first learned of Selfridge from a PBS documentary in the last couple years and was forever intrigued by his story - particularly the part where he was eventually banned from his own store, the one he had worked so hard for decades to make into the ultimate shopping destination. He lived an incredible and interesting life, but came to a sad end in being forced out of his store. Selfridge's would not exist or have been as successful as it was without him, that much is obvious from the text. To have someone so forward-thinking, building his empire from the ground up, what a journey.

I not only learned about Selfridge and his own business, but a bit about the time period before he ventured out on his own when he worked at Marshal Field's in Chicago. Seeing Field's store in Chicago during and after the World's Fair in 1893 must have been amazing; Selfridge was very much the showman and the displays he put on must have been just amazing. I think about these times when the World's Fair was still a thing people went to see and department stores were still an all-day destination, and wonder if it would mean as much today? Now with news literally at our fingertips and social media galore, I don't know if these things would hold the same kind of wonder. I think technology has deprived us of a lot of really cool experiences, we are so desensitized to everything - not to mention the Mall of America and other mega malls kind of negate the whole 'department store experience'.

As an aside, which I seem to do a lot in my reviews recently, this book sparked my interest in the fair of 1893. My only knowledge of it thus far comes from this book and Erik Larson's fantastic Devil in the White City. Here I gained a bit more information though, and I will have to look into info about George Ferris, who debuted his Ferris Wheel at the fair, yet had to fund plans and construction costs himself. Due to that heavy burden, Ferris died just three years later alone in a hospital.

My only real gripe about this book has to do with photographs. I loved the ones that were included at the end of the text and being able to see the store and Selfridge in their primes was really cool. I only wish there had been MORE photos, and that they had been included within the text itself wherever the subject of the photo was being discussed, instead of all lumped together at the end. Looking back at my notes, I was already complaining about this in my notes, and that for all the fuss about how grand Selfridge's window displays were, there were zero photos. Given his positive relationship with the press, you know the photos have to exist in an archive somewhere. The author stated at one point that many of the displays "wouldn't look out of date today" (29%). Okay, so...where are they? I was also bothered by the fact that there were numerous mentions of these 12,000 architectural plans for the London store, yet no prints of the plans. Those would have been so cool to see and given the fact that there were so many of them, surely it would have been interesting to explore the differences in some of the plans.

I really kind of feel bad for Selfridge in regards to his personal life, especially in regards to his relationship with Jenny Dolly; what a horrible human being. Reading about some of his female companions and that aspect of his life was difficult, especially because he was so much older than him. On one hand, he made these decisions himself to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on them, but on the other hand given his advanced age, one has to wonder if he really was of sound mind. If not, these women were taking advantage of him. If he was, then I suppose he had the right to spend his money as he wished.

As the book neared its end, I felt bad for him, because I knew what was coming. For so many decades he was on the cutting edge of retail, built this magnificent empire, and made shopping an experience. The firing by his board still makes me angry, he built the place from nothing. Imagine how different things might have turned out for Marshall Field's, and Selfridge himself, had Field approved the name change to include Selfridge.

Overall, I found this an informative and interesting read. I have a bit of a soft spot for Selfridge because of how things ended, and I definitely recommend this read.

The Richest Woman in America: The Life and Times of Hetty Green

Rating: 3 Stars

I went back and forth on this one for a while. At times I felt like 4 stars were deserved, but after taking some time away from the book I really can't give it more than three. That reason stems from the fact that there are factual inaccuracies that I noticed and if there are ones that I noticed, it is usually safe to say there were others I did not know were inaccurate, because I do not have as much knowledge of Hetty as I do of her contemporaries.

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the on page 173. There it was stated that McKinley was in the White House in 1896. But previously in the photo section, the was a picture with the caption stating that she was 26 and on her way to a dinner party at the home of former President McKinley. Yet, Hetty could not have been 26 and McKinley a former president at the same time. Hetty was born in 1834 and died in 1916. McKinley began his term in 1897 and was assassinated in 1901. He never had the chance to be a former president because he was killed while in his second term. It makes me wonder which former president she was actually visiting, and how such an obvious and glaring mistake could have escaped the attention of editors. To some this may not seem like a big deal, but as someone who reads non-fiction almost exclusively, it is huge. I have thought about this a long time, thinking perhaps I am the one who is in error, but I don't think that is the case. And if something so easy to fact-check is wrong, how many other errors are there that are not as obvious and may be accepted as truth?

While the issue above is huge for me, that is not to say this book was awful. One thing the author did very well, that I appreciated, was that it was just as much about the time that Hetty lived, as Hetty herself. I appreciated this because it really set the tone for the story and painted the backdrop of New York in the Gilded Age. I can see how some would not like that as much as I do, especially those looking for a biography solely of Hetty. But to understand her, you have to understand her era and why she was unique and worthy of future generations knowing who she was.

As for Hetty herself, what a character. Her childhood was not one that anyone would want. Her parents did not want her, as she was not the boy they longed for. Her dad was just such a jerk, but again, the mentality fit with the times. Hetty learned early on that the only way she was going to prove her worth was to amass a fortune based on the investing rules set out by her father. Hetty followed those rules exactly and grew her own fortune very quickly. She was very independent and did not follow the rules that everyone else on Wall Street seemed to. When people were panicking and selling, Hetty stayed calm and bought more and more shares. She was intelligent and capable of managing her money, even when her own husband made several bad decisions and investments - using some of the very money that Hetty worked so hard to earn. While they never divorced, Hetty kicked him to the curb for a time, though they remained friends and close in their old age.

Hetty was fiercely independent and did not care one iota about what the newspapers said about her or society, for that matter. She cared about the money she made and ensuring that her children were taken care of after her death. But unfortunately her two children had no heirs of their own and the great fortune (estimated at $2.5 billion today) she worked so hard to amass was divided as her will stipulated.

One of my favorite quotes came at the very end of the book, the last paragraph in fact. It sums up Hetty quite perfectly:

"Hetty Green's money is long gone, and with it, her fame. what remains is her legacy: a woman who stood her ground, who defied the crowd and refused to follow its whims. Making her way in a hostile male world, she was never hesitant to look a man in the eye, never reluctant to say what she thought, never afraid to act as she saw fit" (page 228).

Following the main text of the book was a section called 'The Wisdom of Hetty Green', which includes some of the rules of money-making that she followed, and her general thoughts on investments, deals, etc. I found these interesting and a good addition to the text. Some were scattered throughout the text itself but it was nice to have them all in one place, quotes that could be directly attributed to Hetty.

The Gilded Age and New York are endlessly fascinating to me. It was refreshing to read about Green, when I have read so much already about the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, Morgans and so on. My concern of course is the accuracy of the facts presented, given the glaring inaccuracy about McKinley. However, she is a worthy subject and I will be looking for more information about her. Give this one a try, but be cautious.