Newport Revisited (RI) (Images of America) Review

Newport Revisited   (RI)  (Images of America)
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My family has its roots in Rhode Island since its original founding and I was born and raised in Newport. This compendium is stunning and well worth the purchase price.


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Cornelius Vandermouse: The Pride of Newport Review

Cornelius Vandermouse: The Pride of Newport
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A charming gem of a book. My son is a huge fan, the illustrations are georgeous too!

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Kids learn about the architecture and history of one of America's most famouse port city, home of the Vandermouses! Follow Cornelius on his quest fof a good luck charm as he enters an exciting sailboat race.

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Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport '56 Review

Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport '56
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The following review appeared in issue 315 of Jazz & Blues Report (April 2009). My star rating is being conservative or stingy.
The last few years have seen a spate of books centered around a record album, telling the story about the artists and how the specific album came about and its impact. For example, Ashley Kahn has provided wonderful volumes devoted to "Kind of Blue" and "A Love Supreme." John Fass Morton's new book, "Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport 56" is on one level the story of the classic live recording by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, but it goes even deeper into social history to examine not simply how the recording happened, but also discuss the impact of the Festival performance.
The performance at Newport is recognized as helping revive Ellington's prominence in the American music scene and Morton provides a valuable and concise sketch of Ellington's career, including his emergence in New York during the twenties; the prominent part he played in the Swing era; how he was affected by the decline of the big bands and the shift in the direction of popular music; and the recording career including Ellington's aspirations which related to the writing and performance/recording of longer compositions. Yet no longer enjoying the financial success allowing him to maintain the same level of a band, by 1955 Ellington had to accept a six week stint at the Aquacades in Flushing Meadows, the site of the 1939 World's Fair, which also led to him having to replace several band members lacking a local union card.
At this time Ellington was also frustrated with the record companies. While Columbia, which was popularizing the new LP form, enabled Ellington to record extended works including the now highly regarded "Masterpieces" and "Ellington Uptown," they were not commercial successes. And frustrated with the two major labels, Victor and Columbia, he signed with Capital but again met little success. Ellington was an emcee at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, foreshadowing his performance the next year and by then had resigned with Columbia where he was reunited with George Avakian who had produced "Masterpieces" and had also produced successful recordings by Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong, and was behind the recording of Ellington and others at the 1956 Festival.
Morton weaves together Avakian's biography along with that of the members of the 1956 Ellington Band, the most interesting of which was tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves (of Cape Verdean descent), the birth and early history of the Newport Jazz Festivals and the story of Elaine Anderson, the blonde lady whose dance during Paul Gonsalves' tenor solo was part of the musical magic generated that July 1956 evening. It is fascinating to read how Elaine Lorillard, wife of an heir of a tobacco fortune, helped establish the festival in this most unlikely setting, a high society community. Then she helped sustain the festival against local opposition towards the earliest Newport Festivals. This is where George Wein first started producing festivals, and there were a number of interesting tidbits including the fact that Wein created the Photographer's Pit for the first Newport Jazz Festival, something many working press at festivals take for granted.
We get to the magic evening and the performance of Ellington and others on the bill that night. Ellington's long-extended original work, Newport Jazz Festival Suite, had received lukewarm applause, and recognizing this he launched into Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue, with an interval where he would play piano before calling forth Gonsalves who launched into one of the most celebrated tenor saxophone blues solos of all time with the band spurred on as Jo Jones whacked a roll newspaper into his hand. As the audience reaction got more enthusiastic, Elaine Anderson started dancing in the aisle near the stage while Gonsalves kept preaching the blues. Her dance was captured by the photographers in the Photo Pit and were included in coverage of the event as well as on the back cover of "Ellington at Newport 56." At the time her identity was not known, but Morton was able to uncover her story of a one-time Hollywood hopeful starlet who had settled into the somewhat frustrating live of a wife and mother. And while this is going on, we learn how Avakian and others are dealing with the fact Gonsalves is not playing directly into the mike being used to record his performance, but fortunately into a microphone used by Voice of America for foreign broadcast and the recording of which years later would be used in some reissues of the album in the digital age. Morton then discusses the aftermath of that night including the release of the recording, the impact of the album and press coverage of Ellington's performance on the revitalization of his big band, and what happened to the participants subsequently.

There is so much in this rich and varied story for Morton to tell us. Given the rich historical tapestry, there are places one might feel one is bogged down in detail, but not only would one be hard-pressed to find anything extraneous, but at a certain point the story told here takes over and you settle in for the ride. Washington post book critic Jonathan Yardley authored the book's introduction and he notes that "I have been blessed in many ways, probably more than I deserve, with a richly rewarding private life and a small but gratifying public one, but that night in Newport stands alone and apart." It is to Morton's credit that he is able to convey some sense of the magic that made that night so unique and memorable. This book will make those having the album listen to it a new, and for others hopefully lead them to discover that one magical evening in Newport, Rhode Island.


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It may be that the song most baby boomers identify from July 1956 is a simple twelve-bar blues, hyped on national television by a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley and his handlers. But it is a very different song, with its elongated fourteen-bar choruses of rhythm and dissonance, played on the night of July 7, 1956, by a fifty-seven-year-old Duke Ellington and his big band that got everybody on their feet and moving as one. More than fifty years later, "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," recorded at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, still makes a profound statement about postwar America - how we got there and where it all went."Backstory in Blue" is a behind-the-scenes look at this epic moment in American cultural history. It is the story of who and what made Ellington's composition so compelling and how one piece of music reflected the feelings and shaped the sensibilities of the postwar generation. As John Fass Morton explains, it was music expressed as much by those who performed offstage as by those who performed on.Written from the point of view of the audience, this unique account draws on interviews with fans and music professionals of all kinds who were there and whose lives were touched, and in some cases changed, by the experience. Included are profiles of George Avakian, who recorded and produced Ellington at Newport 1956; Paul Gonsalves, the tenor sax player responsible for the legendary twenty-seven choruses that enabled the rebirth of Ellington's career; and the "Bedford Blonde," Elaine Anderson, whose dance ignited both the band and the crowd.Duke Ellington once remarked, "I was born at Newport." Here we learn that Newport was much more than the turning point for Ellington's career. It was the tipping point for a generation and a musical genre.

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Murder Stalks A Mansion: A Newport Mystery Review

Murder Stalks A Mansion: A Newport Mystery
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In this case, the country house is one of the so-called "cottages" in Newport, R.I.
Caroline Kent is a widow and with her mother-in-law she is trying to save her husband's family home by turning it into the Inn at Kenwood Court.
The description of the inn makes you want to go and stay there for awhile, walk the Clift Path, maybe tour The Breaker's, just down the street. But not at the same time as this particular group of guests, the Hargreaves family. They are gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Lionel and Emily. Included in the party are their sons and daughters-in-law, an unmarried son, as well as Lionel's brother, Maurice, the financial patriarch of the family and first victim. Caroline finds his body in the gazebo where he'd gone to do some uninterrupted paperwork.
The police are called, of course, and are represented by Lt. Hank Nightingale and Sgt. Davies. Caroline wants to help get the case cleared up so she can get on with her innkeeping. At first, Lt. Nightingale is resistant but comes to recognize her ideas as valid.
This book meets all the requirements of a good mystery. The first crime occurs early on, there are many interesting suspects, the setting is fabulous and there is just a hint of romance as the Lt. becomes attracted to Caroline. The denunciation at the end is worthy of a Poirot. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic mysteries.

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The Lion and the Lamb Review

The Lion and the Lamb
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Extensive coverage of the methods of interpreting Revelation. The author started out as dispensational and gradually changed to historical-premil. Quotes other good authors on Revelation such as Mounce, Johnson as well as Hal Lindsey. Includes short essays on important topics. As one who has read the more academic commentaries on Revelation I recommend this for the layman. Excellent value for money.

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Captain Christopher Newport Review

Captain Christopher Newport
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A fascinating and belated book! Christopher Newport is much better known in his home country of England than in the nation he helped found 400 years ago. An outstanding and successful privateer in Queen Elizabeth's navy in spite of being one-armed, he led the colonists who settled Jamestown in 1607. Yet even here, in the city named for him, he is a virtual unknown. Unknown that is when compared to John Smith, who of course wrote the books and preferred himself to any other potential hero. As a previous reviewer noted, Bryant Nichols has meticulously researched his subject, and has at last lit Christopher Newport with the spotlight he so richly deserves.

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In this first full-length biography of Christopher Newport (1561-1617), Nichols portrays, in carefully researched detail, the adventurous life on the high seas of the courageous sea captain who founded the Jamestown Colony in Virginia.As a young man, Newport sailed with Sir Francis Drake in the daring attack on the Spanish fleet at Cadiz and participated in England s defeat of the Spanish Armada.During the war with Spain, Newport seized fortunes of Spanish and Portuguese treasure in fierce sea battles in the West Indies as a privateer for Queen Elizabeth I.He led more attacks on Spanish shipping and settlements than any other English privateer.After leading his men aboard an enemy ship off the coast of Cuba, his right arm was cut off, and Newport was referred to thereafter as,Christopher Newport of the one hand. Admiral of Virginia, Newport led the fleet of colonists who established the first permanent English settlement in the New World.He chose the site for Jamestown, led the initial exploration for King James, and negotiated peacefully with Chief Powhatan's Indian tribes.Newport repeatedly rescued the colonists from famine with four resupply voyages.When the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on Bermuda during a hurricane, Newport organized 150 colonists to build two new vessels for their deliverance to Jamestown.In his later career, Newport led three long trading voyages to the Far East for the East India Company.He brought the first English ambassadors to Persia and India.His many voyages laid the foundations for the evolution of the British Empire.Captain Christopher Newport was an outstanding navigator, stern but compassionate sea captain, and legendary leader of men.

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How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) Review

How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out)
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I initially stumbled upon Cal's blog six months ago, searching for techniques that might help my kids. In fact, what I found was a veritable treasure chest of techniques, that could be applied by individuals of any age. I have since adopted many of his approaches and have found them useful in my work.
I suspected that this book would not have much substance beyond what could be found on the Study Hacks website. After all, even a person like Cal, can only have so many great ideas. Regardless, I ordered the book if for no other reason to support and reward Cal's hard work in writing useful and original content.
I read the entire book in one sitting of a few hours. As I expected, much of the substance is already on the website.
However, it is still worth buying this book. Cal pulls the whole message together into an overall framework, and elaborates on many of his points with relevant examples. Even loyal Study Hacks readers will be better able to execute on the approach after reading the book.


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How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students Review

How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students
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I wish I'd had this book in college. There seem to be a million breezy, humorous books about college life on the shelves, but they're all about cooking, cleaning, reducing stress and buying futons. This one is better than most at breezy humor, but it gets five stars because it's about COLLEGE: the core tasks of getting good grades, an employable resume, and the critical thinking skills necessary for a richer appreciation of life. My little brother is starting Harvard next year, and I've bought him a copy. Hard to believe the college-survival genre has been around so long and this book is just being published now.

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How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less Review

How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less
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I'm currently a student at Tufts University, and before reading this book I was a real "grinder" when it came to trying to get a good GPA. I really didn't have a stellar social life because, due to my previous study methods, I needed to study for hours on end in order to excel academically. I did well, but not insanely well, and it always felt like I was under a time crunch to finish my work.
But the most frustrating aspect of my early college career was the sacrifices I had to make to my social life to get an above-average GPA. Every time I tried to make time to go out and have fun, my grades suffered.
Enter Cal's book. After reading this book and applying his techniques, I was able to take the hardest course load I ever took (5 science/engineering courses), play rugby, and go out, on average, 3 times a week while pulling off a 3.8 GPA for the semester.
The techniques in this book will vastly improve your quality of life in college. His time management techniques are worth the price of admission alone. I HIGHLY recommend it, Two thumbs up.

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Looking to jumpstart your GPA? Most college students believe that straight A's canbe achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don't study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to:Streamline and maximize your study time Conquer procrastinationAbsorb the material quickly and effectivelyKnow which reading assignments are critical—and which are notTarget the paper topics that wow professorsProvide A+ answers on examsWrite stellar prose without the agonyA strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, How to Become a Straight-A Student is the only study guide written by students for students—with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.


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A Death in Newport Review

A Death in Newport
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Michael Hogan's new novel is a police thriller of a different sort. The main character, Gary Regan, starts his journey from Guadalajara to Newport, RI, his hometown, in order to attend the funeral of his father, Michael Regan, a well known left-wing intellectual and activist in town for an international conference, who has died of a fall from the cliffs of Rough Point. Along the way, Gary also looks into his own past and takes stock of prior problems with alcohol and drugs, his lack of success beyond his present job as tennis instructor in Guadalajara, and his poor relationship with his father the past ten years. Once he arrives in Newport, he soon finds himself entangled in an increasingly complex web of mysteries regarding his father's death and his own family history. He also meets and befriends a homeless alcoholic, Tommy Sullivan, who starts his own quest to stop drinking and along the way becomes a integral part of the plot. Readers will enjoy seeing beneath the surface of Newport into the shadow world of politics, power, money, drugs, and international intrigue that links Newport with Latin America. They will learn about some of the problems in Bolivia with deforestation, worker abuse, violent gangs, and will be surprised to see how these ultimately connect with people and business practices in Newport. The novel is a real page turner, and once they start, readers will want to keep going until they see the pieces of the puzzle fall into place in surprising and interesting ways. As the characters develop and learn more about themselves and the way things work in a complex world, readers will feel privileged to share the journey.

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When Michael Regan falls off the rocks to his death on the Ocean Drive, it is first seen as an accident. Regan's son Gary, a washed-up tennis pro living in Mexico, returns home to Newport, RI, for the funeral. He connects with an old friend who suspects Gary's father was murdered and that evidence is being suppressed. The death of a Latino teenager at Fort Adams State Park also seems to be related. Soon the underside of Newport is exposed as Gary discovers other deaths unresolved going all the way back to the 1960s with Doris Duke, the tobacco heiress a prime suspect. Full of the richness of an island paradise with the colorful vistas of Cliff Walk, Rough Point, and the Breakers' Mansion, this detective novel also explores the dark side of a resort town with its undesirables and socially marginal, as well as the super-rich, and powerfullandowner-politicians. Meanwhile, for tennis fans, it also contains a compelling and action-filled match with sizzling serves and volleys.

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Newport Through Its Architecture: A History of Styles from Postmedieval to Postmodern Review

Newport Through Its Architecture: A History of Styles from Postmedieval to Postmodern
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Very well researched and written, but I was continually nagged by the persistent thought "I wish the pictures were bigger."
When I say "small" I mean "small."

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A remarkable coincidence of unplanned historical events has preserved Newport, Rhode Island's architectural heritage in a way that is rare among American cities. Newport has the largest number of pre-Revolutionary War buildings in North America, with some 800 in its old historic districts. In the nineteenth century, Newport was the summer home to America's most prominent families and patrons of outstanding architecture. With a diverse range of styles, Newport exemplified the greatness of mid-nineteenth-century American architecture. As Newport gained social importance in the 1880s, the Bellevue Avenue and Ochre Point neighborhoods became the sites of lavish Beaux-Arts palatial residences. Newport's twentieth-century architecture explored all modern currents, ranging from progressive Bauhaus functionalism as it evolved into the International Style of the 1950s to more conservative Art Deco and Scandinavian Modernism. After 1975, the postmodern era gave rise to a spirit of preservation and adaptive reuse, inspiring the Modern Traditionalism of architects such as Robert A. M. Stern. In a more vernacular vein, postmodern shopping centers, restaurants, and commercial establishments provided fertile ground for an especially well-informed postmodern kitsch.

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The Gods of Newport (Signet Novel) Review

The Gods of Newport (Signet Novel)
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A master of historical fiction has given us yet another engaging storyline, this time set just before the turn of the last century.
At its core is Sam Drubermann of Ohio, who worked his way up through the ranks of railroad barons and above-the-law capitalists to become one of the exalted, the upper crust of American society. Changing his last name to Driver to escape some past nastiness, Sam vows to live by a quote he once saw posted in Jay Gould's office: "Never let them get the best of you." To clear his dead wife's name and to establish a legacy for his daughter Jenny, Sam commissions a 20-room cottage to be built at the summer playground of the elite: Newport, Rhode Island. Jenny is intrigued by the promise of being accepted in such a world, but her head is simultaneously turned by a common Irish boy named Prince Molloy. Sam attempts to thwart any relationship between Jenny and Prince, preferring his daughter to marry someone more respectable, like architect Dickie Glossop or Russian emigrant Count Ismail Orlov, an antique dealer. And Sam must also continually deal with the machinations of his old nemesis, William King Brady III. Newport society itself is a main character here. A symbol of decadence and opulence, the coastal town was a place where the "swells" could go to be amongst themselves; a place where the attention of a good woman could be won or lost over the outcome of a tennis match, and where passing another lady's carriage out of turn could be considered the most unforgivable of social gaffes. Even as Sam gets himself and Jenny more firmly enmeshed in Newport, he experiences disturbing and metaphoric nightmares. Is this level of life truly worth the cost?
The title of the book comes from the admonishment of Jenny's Grandfather Penny, who warned her about the dangers of disobeying the First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." It takes a while for Jenny to realize that Newport offers several such gods disguised as the trappings of high society: namely money, fashion, and reputation. Both she and her father learn a lot about class, about appearances, and about themselves by the close of the book.
"The Gods of Newport" is among Jakes' better novels, combining just the right amount of historical reality and ficticious invention. It provides not only entertainment, but much food for thought. Why are we still in awe of the rich and famous? Would any of us really want to trade places with someone in the upper class? Perhaps Sam Driver would have done well to heed another familiar saying: Be careful what you wish for.

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Newport: A Lively Experiment 1639-1969 Review

Newport: A Lively Experiment 1639-1969
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This is a beautiful art book quality edition of the history of Newport, Rhode Island. I can't think of many small towns that deserve such a lavishly produced volume, especially one with a present-day population of fewer than 30,000 people. However, this small community had a very large impact on the ideas of religious freedom and civil government.
While this book has many beautiful reproductions of paintings of the town, portraits of people who played a part in Newport's history, maps, photographs, and other illustrations, it is also a book of well-written text. The author is Rockwell Stensrud whose background as a novelist and journalist has prepared him well for this project. "Newport - a Lively Experiment" is published by the Redwood Library, which is more than 250 years old and the oldest lending library in the United States. This is a volume to be proud of. Anyone interested in Newport, Rhode Island, Colonial America, and the how this town came through its ups and downs from its founding in 1639 until today should get a copy for their library.
The founding of Newport is fascinating and covered well in this book. The subtitle of the book, a lively experiment, comes from the charter granted by Charles II on July 8, 1663. It refers to its being a living experiment that "a most flourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments; and that true piety rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty ..."
As noted earlier, Newport was founded in 1639 by nine men who are still well remembered in the history the city today (all the streets and places named after them sure help). There were jealousies, conflicts, and lots of energy. About half of this book covers the colonial and Revolutionary periods. Newport flourished until the destructive activity of the Revolutionary War heavily involved the city. It had recovered by the mid-nineteenth century and near the turn of the twentieth, it had become favored among the ultra wealthy. There are still many beautiful mansions there today. However, the structures of the founding were fast disappearing. There was also a hurricane in 1938.
About this time, Doris Duke and others decided to do what they could to preserve and restore what they considered to be treasures. At the time, not many others did. Now we all enjoy seeing the fruits of their hard work and expenditures.
This is a very richly done, informative, and enjoyable book of American history.

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A narrative history that examines what made Newport an important city starting in the colonial era and leading on to today.

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Newport Villas: The Revival Styles 1885-1935 Review

Newport Villas: The Revival Styles 1885-1935
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If you go to Newport, Rhode Island, you can find one of the most dramatic footpaths in the world. Look seaward along the three miles of Cliff Walk and you see the Atlantic Ocean and waves breaking on the rocks. Look landward and you see some of the greatest architectural whimsies of the Gilded Age, the vacation houses erected by the gentry when Newport was a fashionable spot for retreat. Not all the houses are there on Cliff Walk; some fancy ones are inland, and others don't exist any more. You can get an idea of all the finest ones in _Newport Villas: The Revival Styles, 1885 - 1935_ (Norton) by Michael C. Kathrens. The author is an expert in American residential architecture of those years, and having written _The Great Houses of New York_, he now looks at where the residents of those houses summered. This is a big book that is devoted mostly to photographs, typically black and white ones of many decades ago. Some thirty homes all have their own chapters, describing the original builder, the architect, the subsequent owners, and the house's fate. Each chapter has floor plans to go along with the photographs and the description of the interiors and exteriors. The houses were for rich people at play, so they combine playfulness with a historic conservatism. This book is a lovely and loving look at a specialized but extraordinary architectural outpouring.
Newport was the most fashionable of sites for an exodus of urban industrialists. Those who could afford to build rather than rent started building what were called "cottages", but this term must have been jocular, for a cottage might have seventy rooms. A season in Newport might cost such a family $100,000, and there was competitive entertaining just as the houses themselves were competitive architecture. The opulence was not to last. Life sped up and other places became more fashionable, and the great hostesses who had held magnificent domestic entertainments could not live forever. Some of the houses depicted here proved as ephemeral as the Gilded Age social whirl, closed up and simply forgotten, or damaged by vandals, or razed to take advantage of lower tax rates on undeveloped land. When a commercial developer threatened in 1962 to destroy The Elms, preservationists rebelled, and "The Battle of The Elms" reversed the trend toward destruction. Newport remains a showplace.
It is often strange to read how rich people behaved in this environment. James Van Alen eloped with an Astor girl, resulting in a happy but short-lived marriage. She died at age 28, and to console Van Alen, his father gave him a plot of land and instructions to build whatever sort of house he wanted. Wakehurst, a mock-Elizabethan manor, was the result. The magnificent Marble House was a fortieth birthday present for the wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt. The couple had two seasons in the cottage before they acrimoniously divorced in 1895. Miramar was a project of Mrs. George Widener to distract her from tragedy; she had been rescued from the _Titanic_, but her husband and son drowned. At Crossways, Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish rebelled at the hours required to eat the typical eight-course meal of the time, and set a record with her meal that was served in less than thirty minutes: "Guests at that meal remembered having to hold the plate down with one hand while eating with the other in order to keep a footman from removing it."
The wonderful photographs here depict the mansions outside and inside. The rich people who built them were conservative and their architects harked back to Europe for inspiration. Frederick Vanderbilt's Rough Point is from the Cotswolds with Arts and Crafts elements. The Harold Brown Villa has the rough, untamed look of Scottish baronial. There are Tudor beams in The Waves. Parts of Marble House look as if they came from Versailles, and the pavilion of Villa Rosa came from Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon there. Only a few of the houses show American historical architecture, like the Colonial Revival style shown at Crossways. _Newport Villas_ is a tribute to all of these fine homes. Its photographs and detailed descriptions are a welcome documentation of a small but glittering part of American architectural and social history.


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Secret Providence & Newport: The Unique Guidebook to Providence & Newport's Hidden Sites, Sounds & Tastes (Secret Guide series) Review

Secret Providence and Newport: The Unique Guidebook to Providence and Newport's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes (Secret Guide series)
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This is a smashing little book! I picked it up, looking for a few little interesting tidbits to help me plan a surprise weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. The authors are clever, witty and know all the best little secrets. If you're looking for a great way to find those little known hideaway moments, this is it!

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Private Newport: At Home and In the Garden Review

Private Newport: At Home and In the Garden
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Private Newport features page after page of gorgeous homes--those that only we mere mortals can only dream about! The photography is spectacular and I love the way the exterior of the homes and their grounds are included, as well as the amazing interiors. This is a great gift for anyone who has visited Newport or who desires to. You won't see these homes on the mansion tour as they are privately owned and not open to the public.

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A Guide to Newport's Cliff Walk (RI): Tales of Seaside Mansions and the Gilded Age Elite Review

A Guide to Newport's Cliff Walk (RI): Tales of Seaside Mansions and the Gilded Age Elite
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This is more of a travel book. It is an informative book and perfect for someone that is planning to visit Cliff Walk and the homes on the tour. However, it does not give a lot of background information of the homes or the people who built and lived in them. It only has some general stories about for example the Vanderbilts and Astors. But I was hoping for more history as well as more photos. There are exterior photos of all of the mansions and no interior photos. What is good- is that it gives ideas for where to park and where to walk which would be helpful to someone visiting Newport for the first time.

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Where the salty air mingles with the far-off laughter of women in ball gowns, the houses of Newport's Cliff Walk preside in grandeur over the crashing waves below. Walking along the gravel trail, it's easy to imagine the faintest hint of a waltz coming from the windows of Beechwood, or to envision the Duchess of Windsor's carriage arriving for a visit at Fairholme. Ed Morris takes you on a tour of twenty-four historic mansions and landmarks, entertaining along the way with tales of splendor and style, social maneuvering and matchmaking.

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