America's Secret Aristocracy by Stephen Birmingham

America's Secret Aristocracy by Stephen Birmingham

America has always been a constitutionally classless society, yet an American aristocracy emerged anyway--a private club whose members run in the same circles and observe the same unwritten rules. Renowned social historian Stephen Birmingham reveals the inner workings of this aristocracy and identifies which families in which cities have always mattered and how they've defined America. America's Secret Aristocracy offers an inside look at the estates, marriages and financial empires of America's most selective club and a gallery of vivid portrait of its members: the William Randolphs, the first of the first families of Virginia; the Carillos and Ortegas, the premier ranchero families of California; Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt; the Boston Brahmins, including the Lowells, who speak only to Cabots, and the Cabots, who speak only to God. With countless anecdotes about our nation's elite, including interviews with their modern-day descendants, this is a social history both insightful and entertaining. Scores of social chroniclers have tried to define America's aristocracy with various Social Registers and Who's Whos. Stephen Birmingham outdoes these lists as his colorful portraits go far beyond simply naming names; they capture the true definition, essence and customs of America's aristocratic families.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780316096508
ISBN 10	0316096504
Title	America's Secret Aristocracy
Author	Stephen Birmingham
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Book
Publisher	Little Brown and Company
Year published	1987-01-01
Number of pages	334
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.