Great Fortune - by Daniel Okrent (Paperback)

About the Book

An acclaimed author and journalist weaves together themes of money, politics, art, architecture, business, and society to tell the story of the majestic suite of buildings that came to dominate the heart of midtown Manhattan.

Book Synopsis

In this hugely appealing book, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, acclaimed author and journalist Daniel Okrent weaves together themes of money, politics, art, architecture, business, and society to tell the story of the majestic suite of buildings that came to dominate the heart of midtown Manhattan and with it, for a time, the heart of the world. At the center of Okrent's riveting story are four remarkable individuals: tycoon John D. Rockefeller, his ambitious son Nelson Rockefeller, real estate genius John R. Todd, and visionary skyscraper architect Raymond Hood. In the tradition of David McCullough's The Great Bridge, Ron Chernow's Titan, and Robert Caro's The Power Broker, Great Fortune is a stunning tribute to an American landmark that captures the heart and spirit of New York at its apotheosis.

Review Quotes

A great book. Nuanced, clever and rollicking, itÆs nonfiction as a work of art. (The New York Observer)

Altogether stirring and vivid and enjoyable. (The New Yorker)

Puckish good humor and elegant prose. (The Wall Street Journal)

Delightful and exhaustive (but never exhausting)à the dazzling, complex story of how New YorkÆs acropolis came to be. (The Smithsonian)

About the Author

Daniel Okrent is a prizewinning journalist, author, and television commentator. For many years he was a senior editorial executive at Time Inc. In 2003 he was appointed the first Public Editor of the New York Times.