Afbeelding van de auteur.

Stephen Birmingham (1932–2015)

Auteur van "Our Crowd": The Great Jewish Families of New York

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Over de Auteur

Stephen Gardner Birmingham was born in Andover, Connecticut on May 28, 1929. He received a degree in English from Williams College in 1950. Before becoming an author, he worked as an advertising copywriter in New York for Needham Harper Steers. His non-fiction books included Our Crowd: The Great toon meer Jewish Families of New York, The Right People: A Portrait of the American Social Establishment, The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite, The Rest of Us: The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews, Certain People: America's Black Elite, Real Lace: America's Irish Rich, and Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address. He also wrote nine novels including Young Mr. Keefe. He died from cancer on November 15, 2015 at the age of 86. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder
Fotografie: Stephen Birmingham (1929-2015), American author By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53927032

Werken van Stephen Birmingham

America's Secret Aristocracy (1987) 132 exemplaren
The Auerbach Will (1983) 127 exemplaren
Real Lace: America's Irish Rich (1900) 99 exemplaren
Shades of Fortune (1989) 79 exemplaren
The Grandes Dames (1982) 73 exemplaren
The LeBaron Secret (1986) 61 exemplaren
California Rich (1980) 48 exemplaren
The Wrong Kind of Money (1997) 44 exemplaren
Carriage Trade (1993) 42 exemplaren
Those Harper Women (1964) 35 exemplaren
Fast start, fast finish (1966) 16 exemplaren
Young Mr. Keefe (1958) 11 exemplaren
The Power of Black: A Novel (1961) — Auteur — 6 exemplaren
Barbara Greer (1959) 5 exemplaren
LES SECRETS DE FAMILLE (1985) 3 exemplaren
The towers of love (2016) 3 exemplaren
Heart troubles short stories (1969) 2 exemplaren
LA SOMBRA DE LA FORTUNA (1990) 2 exemplaren
Heart Troubles (1986) 2 exemplaren
Veien til Helen 1 exemplaar

Gerelateerde werken

All the Right People (1986) — Voorwoord — 13 exemplaren

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Officiële naam
Birmingham, Stephen Gardner
Geboortedatum
1932-05-28
Overlijdensdatum
2015-11-15
Geslacht
male
Nationaliteit
USA
Geboorteplaats
Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Plaats van overlijden
New York, New York, USA
Woonplaatsen
Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Opleiding
Williams College, English (AB ∙ 1953)
Beroepen
professor
raconteur
novelist
Organisaties
University of Cincinnati
New England Society of the City of New York
Coffee House (New York)
Prijzen en onderscheidingen
Phi Beta Kappa
Agent
Carol Brandt
Korte biografie
Stephen Birmingham, born May 28, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is an author.

Born to Thomas Birmingham and Editha Gardner Birmingham, he received a BA from Williams College in 1953. He is a former teacher of writing at the University of Cincinnati. He has written over thirty books and is now retired. Birmingham has written extensively about the upper classes in America.

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Besprekingen

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.
**

About the Author
Stephen Birmingham (1929–2015) was an American author of more than thirty books. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he graduated from Williams College in 1953 and taught writing at the University of Cincinnati. Birmingham’s work focuses on the upper class in America. He’s written about the African American elite in Certain People and prominent Jewish society in Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York, The Grandees: The Story of America’s Sephardic Elite, and The Rest of Us: The Rise of America’s Eastern European Jews. His work also encompasses several novels including The Auerbach Will, The LeBaron Secret, Shades of Fortune, and The Rothman Scandal, and other non-fiction titles such as California Rich, The Grandes Dames, and Life at the Dakota: New York’s Most Unusual Address.
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
kent23124 | May 19, 2023 |
#152. [Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address], [[Stephen Birmingham]]

When this apartment building was built 1880-84 it was said in New York City to be so far west it must be in the Dakota Territory and the Clark family named it thus. The Dakota was extremely unique in its architecture, construction and the layout of the apartments but it had two major issues to overcome. New York society was settled in large mansions on the east side, led by Mrs. Astor and secondly although apartments (flats) were common in Europe they weren’t in America and the Dakota was trying to set a new trend. One that took some time to be accepted.
Birmingham, in a long, slow style, goes into great detail on the history of the Dakota up to the late 1970’s: the various tenants, the decor of different apartments, the renovations and the removal of much of the original wood and plaster work, the turning of an original elevator car into a bar, the turning of it into a co-operative in the early 1960’s and much more.
The detail was more than I expected. Perhaps if I were an American instead of a Canadian perhaps the family names would have meant more, although I expect one needs to be from New York City to fully appreciate the ‘who’s who’ details. He even goes into the accounts and the accompanying correspondence. By the end of it I was scanning the chapters. I think most readers would find it dense.

Reviewed September 4, 2022

📚📚1/2
… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
pmarshall | 8 andere besprekingen | Sep 4, 2022 |
I read this book when it first came out, and now, 54 years later, it was interesting to listen to the audio version of this book and realize that most of the great banking institutions set up by this close knit group of German Jews residing in New York City are no more, and how these proud people’s way of life is now as extinct as the dodo bird.
 
Gemarkeerd
etxgardener | Jul 12, 2021 |
I give this book three stars, but it would be 3 1/2 if possible. I wasn't expecting much when I started the book on a whim. While it dragged in some spots (sometimes Mr. Birmingham didn't seem to know when to rein it in), the history of the building and it's residents was quite entertaining. The book was nicely formatted in a way that I could read it in bits over several days without losing the thread of the story. (Mostly because there wasn't much of a thread to lose.)

I recommend this book, if for nothing other than the omg, really!? history of Isaac Singer, inventor of Singer sewing machines and the 1970's-tastic description of Roberta Flack's apartment.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
tiasreads | 8 andere besprekingen | Dec 11, 2019 |

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Statistieken

Werken
40
Ook door
1
Leden
2,403
Populariteit
#10,675
Waardering
½ 3.5
Besprekingen
26
ISBNs
173
Talen
3
Favoriet
1

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