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Real Lace: America’s Irish Rich (Irish Studies)
by Stephen BirminghamExtraordinary true stories of the Irish in America, their remarkable rise from urban poverty, and the powerful dynasties they engendered Author Stephen Birmingham, who chronicled the rise of Jewish immigrants to extraordinary wealth and success in "Our Crowd", now turns his attention to the Irish. Real Lace tells the colorful and fascinating true stories of America's most renowned Irish-Catholic families. Scions of courageous, driven, and resilient men and women who escaped starvation during Ireland's terrible potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, they battled their way out of the slums of Boston and New York, overcoming prejudice and poverty to achieve great wealth, fame, and political power. Here are the remarkable tales of the Kennedys and Cuddihys; the astonishing rise and tragic fall of the McDonnells of Wall Street; thrilling yarns of Floods, Mackays, O'Briens, and other so-called Silver Kings of California; and unforgettable stories about brilliant, if not always scrupulous, Irish politicos who learned how to retain enduring power by perfecting the urban political machine. Birmingham's enthralling history celebrates the pluck, blarney, and unshakeable spirit of a remarkable group of achievers.
The Rest of Us: The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews (Modern Jewish History Ser.)
by Stephen BirminghamA remarkable history of the Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland who altered the American landscape from New York to Hollywood The wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who swept into New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by way of Ellis Island were not welcomed by the Jews who had arrived decades before. These refugees from czarist Russia and the Polish shtetls who came to America to escape pogroms and persecution were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the "old country" to be accepted by the more refined and already well-established German-Jewish community. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined, and in no time they were moving up from the ghetto tenements of New York's Lower East Side to make their marks and their fortunes across the country in a variety of fields, from media and popular music to fashion, motion pictures, and even organized crime. Among the unforgettable personages author Stephen Birmingham profiles are radio pioneer David Sarnoff, makeup mogul Helena Rubinstein, Hollywood tycoons Samuel Goldwyn and Harry Cohn, Broadway composer Irving Berlin, and mobster Meyer Lansky. From the author of "Our Crowd", comes this treasure trove of fascinating tales and unforgettable "rags-to-riches" success stories that celebrates the indomitable spirit of a unique community.
The Right People: The Social Establishment in America
by Stephen BirminghamAn enlightening and entertaining inside look at the lifestyles of America's extremely wealthy from the bestselling author of "Our Crowd" It's no secret that the rich are different from the rest of us. But the rich, as author Stephen Birmingham so insightfully points out, are also different from the very rich. There's Society, and then there's Real Society, and it takes multiple generations for families of the former to become entrenched in the latter. Real Society is not about the money--or rather, it's not only about the money--it is about history, breeding, tradition, and most of all, the name. The Right People is an engrossing and illuminating journey through the customs and habits of the phenomenally wealthy, from the San Francisco elite to the upper crust of New York's Westchester County. It is a marvelously anecdotal, intimately detailed overview of the lives of the American aristocracy: where they gather and dine; their games and sports, clubs and parties, friendships and feuds; their mating, marriage, and divorce rituals--a potpourri of priceless true stories featuring the Astors, Goulds, Vanderbilts, Vanderlips, Dukes, Biddles, and other lofty names from the pages of the Social Register.
The Right Places: (for the Right People)
by Stephen BirminghamThe Right Places is Stephen Birmingham's witty 1973 exploration of where the other half lives--the other half being the elite, of course. The legendary chronicler of the rich shows that the wealthy reside well beyond the tony New York suburbs: the tide of money has reached such far-flung places as Sun Valley, Idaho, and Kansas City, Missouri.
The Rothman Scandal
by Stephen BirminghamLong-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.
Shades of Fortune: A Novel
by Stephen BirminghamA gripping tale of the secrets and dark dealings that threaten the future of a prominent family and their prosperous business <P><P> 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. <P> 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.
Those Harper Women
by Stephen BirminghamThose Harper Women is an intimate portrait of the treacherous web weaved by immense and inherited wealth. Three generations of Harper women grapple with the family patriarch and the travails of self-discovery.
The Towers of Love
by Stephen BirminghamThe Towers of Love is a suspenseful family drama set among the well-to-do schemers of a Connecticut suburb. When Hugh Carey moves home to take stock of his failing marriage, he is reunited with Edrita Everett Smith, the girl next door who got away. But his cold, manipulative and fascinating mother Sandy has never liked Edrita, and she is not about to let Hugh out of her grasp now.
A Writer Writes: A Memoir
by Stephen BirminghamA memoir by the New York Times–bestselling author and longtime chronicler of America&’s wealthy elite. Born in Connecticut in 1929 and educated at Williams College, Stephen Birmingham went on to create a literary niche with his numerous nonfiction works about New York&’s—and the nation&’s—upper class, particularly focusing on Jewish, African American, and Irish communities, as well as old-money WASPs. He also drew on his &“intimate knowledge of the private lives of the rich and famous&” to write bestselling works of fiction such as The Auerbach Will (The New York Times Book Review). In this book, Birmingham&’s attention is turned to his own life, both personal and professional, allowing us to learn about the man who created such compelling portraits of glittering parties, exclusive addresses, and, in some cases, rags-to-riches sagas that epitomize the American dream—and the American struggle. In the end, his story is as fascinating as those of the aristocrats he documented. &“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
The Wrong Kind of Money: A Novel
by Stephen BirminghamA gripping novel of dark family secrets, bigotry, lust, and lies set in the world of the phenomenally wealthy 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--especially since it's common knowledge that patriarch Jules Liebling built the powerful Ingraham Corporation from the profits he made selling liquor during Prohibition while in cahoots with dangerous mobsters. Jules is long dead and his widow, Hannah, runs the business with a tyrannical hand. Hannah is reluctant to turn over the reins to the heir apparent, her capable son Noah, despite the fact that she is now well into her eighties. But when Noah's wife, Carol, meets Georgette Van Degan for lunch at Le Cirque, gossip circulates around Manhattan about a thaw between the families and, quite possibly, a partnership. As rumors fly, family skeletons on both sides are exposed, leading to jealousy, betrayal, and even violence. Author Stephen Birmingham explores the dark side of wealth, family, and privilege in The Wrong Kind of Money, brilliantly displaying his phenomenal storytelling skill along with his intimate knowledge of the lives of America's aristocrats.
Young Mr. Keefe
by Stephen BirminghamBestselling author Stephen Birmingham's debut novel Young Mr. Keefe is the deftly plotted story of a young New England man who decides to find his fortunes out west, in 1950s California.
Peripheral Nerve: Health and Medicine in Cold War Latin America (American Encounters/Global Interactions)
by Anne-Emanuelle Birn Raúl Necochea LópezBuenos Aires psychoanalysts resisting imperialism. Brazilian parasitologists embracing communism as an antidote to rural misery. Nicaraguan revolutionaries welcoming Cuban health cooperation. Chilean public health reformers gauging domestic approaches against their Soviet and Western counterparts. As explored in Peripheral Nerve, these and accompanying accounts problematize existing understandings of how the Cold War unfolded in Latin America generally and in the health and medical realms more specifically. Bringing together scholars from across the Americas, this volume chronicles the experiences of Latin American physicians, nurses, medical scientists, and reformers who interacted with dominant U.S. and European players and sought alternative channels of health and medical solidarity with the Soviet Union and via South-South cooperation. Throughout, Peripheral Nerve highlights how Latin American health professionals accepted, rejected, and adapted foreign involvement; manipulated the rivalry between the United States and the USSR; and forged local variants that they projected internationally. In so doing, this collection reveals the multivalent nature of Latin American health politics, offering a significant contribution to Cold War history.Contributors. Cheasty Anderson, Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Katherine E. Bliss, Gilberto Hochman, Jennifer L. Lambe, Nicole Pacino, Carlos Henrique Assunção Paiva, Jadwiga E. Pieper Mooney, Raúl Necochea López, Marco A. Ramos, Gabriela Soto Laveaga
Icelandic Heritage in North America
by Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, Höskuldur Thráinsson and Úlfar BragasonA celebration of cultural inheritance and the evolution of language. Mapping the language, literature, and history of Icelandic immigrants and their descendants, this collection, translated and expanded for English-speaking audiences, delivers a comprehensive overview of Icelandic linguistic and cultural heritage in North America. Drawn from the findings of a three-year study involving over two hundred participants from Manitoba, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and the Pacific West Coast, Icelandic Heritage in North America reveals the durability and versatility of the Icelandic language. Editors Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, Höskuldur Thráinsson, and Úlfar Bragason bring together a range of interdisciplinary scholarship to investigate the endurance of the “Western Icelander.” Chapters delve into the literary works of Icelandic immigrant writers and interpret archival letters, newspapers, and journal entries to provide both qualitative and quantitative linguistic analyses and to mark significant cultural shifts between early settlement and today. Icelandic Heritage in North America offers an in-depth examination of Icelandic immigrant identity, linguistic evolution, and legacy.
Dorothy's Derby Chronicles: Woe of Jade Doe
by Alece Birnbach Meghan DoughertyWhen times get tough, just keep skating...Ever since Dorothy joined the Slugs & Hisses Derby team, her life has been one adventure after another. Dorothy's onetime enemy Alex is now a friend, while her friend Jade keeps missing practices. Then the skating rink shuts down, and Dorothy's life becomes as jumbled as a derby jam. And that's not to mention the bizarre things happening to anyone who enters the rink (maybe it's haunted?)...Can Dorothy restore order to the new life she's finally settling into, or will her world become a crazy mess she can't skate away from?
Dorothy's Derby Chronicles: Rise of the Undead Redhead
by Alece Birnbach Meghan DoughertySkating in circles doesn't exactly make you Miss Popular...or does it?Dorothy Moore has never been outgoing. In fact, she's downright shy. So when she and her sister Sam are forced to move in with their pink-haired, hearse-driving grandma, Dorothy's not sure she can survive as the new kid in school. When she reaches into her gym bag to find her sweats replaced with a sequined spandex body suit courtesy of Grandma Sally, she's sure she won't. Dorothy just wants to fit in at school, and learning how to skate from Grandma Sally seems like the wrong way to go. But meeting new friends Jade and Gigi--who save Dorothy from super embarrassment--makes all the difference, and Dorothy finds that skating in circles might be the path to happiness and adventure.
True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World
by Lisa Birnbach Chip KiddFrom Lisa Birnbach, the author of The Official Preppy Handbook, comes True Prep, which looks at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapts to the new order of the Internet, cell phones, rehab, political correctness, reality TV, and . . . polar fleece.
The Politics of Sustainability: Philosophical perspectives (Routledge Studies in Sustainability)
by Dieter Birnbacher May ThorsethResponsibility for future generations is easily postulated in the abstract but it is much more difficult to set it to work in the concrete. It requires some changes in individual and institutional attitudes that are in opposition to what has been called the "systems variables" of industrial society: individual freedom, consumerism, and equality. The Politics of Sustainability from Philosophical Perspectives seeks to examine the motivational and institutional obstacles standing in the way of a consistent politics of sustainability and to look for strategies to overcome them. It argues that though there have been significant changes in individual and especially collective attitudes to growth, intergenerational solidarity and nature preservation, it is far from certain whether these will be sufficient to encourage politicians into giving sustainable policies priority over other legitimate concerns. Having a philosophical approach as its main focus, the volume is at the same time interdisciplinary in combining political, psychological, ecological and economic analyses. This book will be a contribution to the joint effort to meet the theoretical and practical challenges posed by climate change and other impending global perils and will be of interest to students of environmental studies, applied ethics and environmental psychology.
The Rise of NonProfit Investigative Journalism in the United States (Routledge Research in Journalism)
by Bill BirnbauerWith a foreword from Michael Schudson, The Rise of Nonprofit Investigative Journalism in the United States examines the rapid growth, impact and sustainability of not-for-profit investigative reporting and its impact on US democracy and mainstream journalism. The book addresses key questions about the sustainability of foundation funding, the agendas of foundations, and the ethical issues that arise from philanthropically funded journalism. It provides a theoretical framework that enables readers to recognize connections and relationships that the nonprofit accountability journalism sector has with the economic, political and mainstream media fields in the United States. As battered news media struggled to survive the financial crisis of 2007-2009, dozens of investigative and public service reporting startups funded by foundations, billionaires and everyday citizens were launched to scrutinize local, state and national issues. Foundations, donors and many journalists believed there was a crisis for investigative journalism and democracy in the United States. This book challenges this and argues that legacy editors acted to quarantine their investigative teams from newsroom cuts. It also demonstrates how nonprofit journalism transformed aspects of journalistic practice. Through detailed research and practical discussion, it provides a comprehensive study of this increasingly important genre of journalism. The Rise of Nonprofit Investigative Journalism in the United States is an important text for academics and students of journalism, communications theory, media and democracy-related units, as well as journalists worldwide.
Green Eyes (Family Storytime)
by A. BirnbaumCaldecott Honor winning illustrator, A. Birnbaum has captured the childlike wonder of each season in this 1953 picture book. Green Eyes, the curious kitten, ventures beyond his familiar big red box and greets spring, summer, fall, and winter--each with their unique colors, scents, and feelings. Children will delight in discovery with Green Eyes as he ventures out and cozies up to the familiar warmth of home upon his return.A Caldecott Honor BookA New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book "Spectacular." --The New Yorker"This genius among caricaturists, Birnbaum, brings the essence of his art to the eyes of small children." --New York Herald Tribune"Here is everything a small looker wants and needs in a first picture book." --The Chicago Tribune
Burmese Design & Architecture
by Alfred Birnbaum Luca Invernizzi Tettoni Daniel Hahrs Elizabeth Moore John FalconerBurmese design, heavily influenced by its proximity to China and India, is a many-layered thing, interwoven with spiritual, religious and political messages. Burmese Design & Architecture takes an in-depth look at the entire span of Burmese design, from arts and crafts to both religious and secular architecture. With over 500 full-color photographs and expert insights provided by leading archaeological authorities, this is a must-have for serious connoisseurs of architecture, design or Burma itself.
Universal Beauty: The MISS UNIVERSE Guide to Beauty
by Cara BirnbaumThe MISS UNIVERSE® Pageant represents the international ideal of beauty, and this unique beauty guide has the inside tips from all over the world that only members of this very exclusive club can tell. Beauty writer Cara Birnbaum and former Miss Universe winners bring together the diverse tips, insights, and secrets that have set these women apart and brought them to the pinnacle of beauty. Former title holders will share their beauty regimens as will the professionals who work with contestants to achieve the Miss Universe look. Readers with busy schedules will benefit from tips that will take them from daytime looks to ultraglamour in a matter of minutes. Because Miss Universe is international, all races, skin tones, hair types, and body types will be included. Former title holders of different ages will address how personal care and beauty regimens change over time to continue to achieve a fantastic appearance.
Dr. B.: A Novel
by Daniel BirnbaumThe former director of the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm makes his literary debut with this dramatic and riveting novel of book publishing, émigrés, spies, and diplomats in World War II Sweden based on his grandfather’s life.In 1933, after Hitler and the Nazi Party consolidated power in Germany, Immanuel Birnbaum, a German Jewish journalist based in Warsaw, is forbidden from writing for newspapers in his homeland. Six years later, just months before the German invasion of Poland that ignites World War II, Immanuel escapes to Sweden with his wife and two young sons.Living as a refugee in Stockholm, Immanuel continues to write, contributing articles to a liberal Swiss newspaper in Basel under the name Dr. B. He also begins working as an editor for the legendary German publisher S. Fischer Verlag. Gottfried Bermann Fischer had established an office in Stockholm to evade German censorship, publishing celebrated German writers such as Thomas Mann and Stefan Zweig.Immanuel also becomes entangled with British intelligence agents who produce and distribute anti-Nazi propaganda in Stockholm. On orders from Winston Churchill, the Allied spies plan several acts of sabotage. But when the Swedish postal service picks up a letter written in invisible ink, the plotters are exposed. The letter, long a mystery in military history accounts, was in fact written by Dr. B. But why would a Jew living in exile and targeted for death by the Nazis have wanted to tip them off? Daniel Birnbaum’s novel will intrigue readers with its fascinating portrayal of the astonishing connections and often mysterious players illuminated by his grandfather’s remarkable wartime life.
Books on Asia from the Near East to the Far East
by Eleazar BirnbaumThis is a selected, annotated list of some 2,000 books on Asia in English and French currently in print, chosen with the aim of providing a long-term historical perspective for the general reader. The list is presented in four main parts: Asia as a whole; the Islamic world; India, South and Southeast Asia; the Far East. Subdivisions cover such topics as: general and reference works; history, social science, and law; history of literature; literature in translation; religion and ideas; arts, crafts, architecture, and science; and the lands in modern times.
Life Begins at 60: A New View on Motherhood, Marriage, and Reinventing Ourselves
by Frieda BirnbaumDr. Frieda Birnbaum made headlines eight years ago when she gave birth to twin boys at the age of sixty. And despite being a psychotherapist who had counseled other mothers for decades, Birnbaum secretly wondered: What have I gotten myself into? Can I keep up?It turned out she could, and then some. Like so many people who take on new things at age sixty and older, Birnbaum discovered a new lease on life. She felt more energized than ever (on most days, anyway) to run after twins Josh and Jaret. She parlayed the fame into TV and radio appearances, commenting on subjects from Bill Cosby to Hillary Clinton. Her psychotherapy practice flourished. And as she reinvigorated her career, her relationships with her family, including her husband of more than forty years, grew even stronger. To be incredible mothers (and partners), Birnbaum believes women must be fulfilled and challenged as people first. The secret, she discovered, was to welcome growing older rather than fear it.This captivating and inspiring memoir is complemented with practical advice for a positive outlook and staying active while aging. As Birnbaum reveals, it’s possible, even easy, to look and feel fabulous-and glamorous-in our sixties and well beyond.