[O5P]≫ [PDF] Gratis Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune eBook Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell

Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune eBook Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell

Download As PDF : Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune eBook Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell

Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune eBook Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell

Last year, I read two books about the downside of great wealth that were so poorly written that I was annoyed with myself not only for having paid for them, but also for having read - and finished - both of them. As a precautionary note only (and certainly not to encourage you to read them, they were "Crazy Rich" by Jerry Oppenheimer (about the founding family of Johnson & Johnson) and "The Prince of Paradise" by William Glatt (about the family that built the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach).

However, I will confess to the guilty pleasure of reading books that point out the perils of great wealth, so after several attempts at resistance I finally succumbed and got "Empty Mansions." It's another work of schadenfreude (one of my favorite words), but it's well written and scrupulously researched. While the book clearly elicits various emotions (not all of them positive) about the eccentricities of Huguette Clark, it does not paint her as a lunatic. It also does not paint the people to whom she gave millions as being bloodsucking leeches - it raises appropriate questions about them, but it doesn't really judge. It's this balanced approach that makes this book unique.

I also believe the book is scrupulously researched. Unlike the two abominations mentioned above, I did not come acoss any blatant errors or even typos in "Empty Mansions," and it contains extensively detailed notes (many of which are actually informative) and a thorough index.

I don't agree with Janet Maslin's view that this was one of the 10 best books of 2013; it's not THAT good. However, for its type, it's well done - and held my interest throughout.


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Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune eBook Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell Reviews

This book is well researched and spans the lives of W. A. Clark, his second wife, Anna, and their surviving daughter Huguette. It is an inside look at the making and spending of an inconceivable fortune. It is also introduces the reader to the fairy-like, in many ways, Huguette who lived her life as she chose to live it.
Yes, she was very generous to those she cared about, and to some charitable causes. However, she could have done so much, to better the world, with the millions she gave to her private nurse, doctors who were, IMO, taking advantage of Huguette's fears, and eccentricities.
At the end of reading, I don't feel sad for Huguette. She isolated herself so that she didn't have to deal with anything that might make her feel uncomfortable or sad. She only wanted to think about things that were beautiful, things that made her happy to do. In that sense, she seemed selfish and immature.
I think that Huguette Clark's life disproves the adage that, "Money can't buy happiness." I believe that she was absolutely content with the restricted world she created, no matter how stunted it was. I did not find myself admiring Huguette, despite her generosity to those with whom she was loyal.
What I loved most about Empty Mansions was the history. As interesting & puzzling as it may be to have an elderly lady happily living in a hospital by choice, the history of the family, trying to imagine owning paintings by artists from whom you almost exclusively, see reproductions, is a world unto itself.

Then there was Huguette. What I found sad was the way the hospital hit her up for cash, yet made fun of her eccentricity. By all accounts, she was a kind person. She may have been eccentric, yet she did not abuse anyone who came in to contact with her, and by all accounts, she did provide for those she cared about.

Empty Mansions does raise questions on ethics, whether it be the lawyer, accountant, the hospital... Even her own relatives who challenged her will. I was glad to see an investigation to determine whether elder abuse had occurred—under the circumstances, it makes complete sense. That said, I was angered by the greed of her family... If one can use that term at all.

In the end, while we never receive concrete answers about how/why Ms. Clark was so isolated, it's almost beside the point. Perhaps most fascinating is this one woman outliving her family by an extraordinary number of years. At nearly 105 at the time of her death, she saw more of history than most people. While I'd have loved to see a diary or journal of some kind to possibly understand Huguette's mindset, as an artist myself, the mystery is also part of the beauty. Nothing is necessarily clean & wrapped in a bow. We can choose to interpret the words on the page in multiple ways. I can't help but imagine that although her privacy was violated following her death, in the end, her story is that of an artist, through & through. Much is still left to the imagination, a world we may create. Perhaps that is the true gift the authors deliver to the readers, as well as Huguette in the end.
Last year, I read two books about the downside of great wealth that were so poorly written that I was annoyed with myself not only for having paid for them, but also for having read - and finished - both of them. As a precautionary note only (and certainly not to encourage you to read them, they were "Crazy Rich" by Jerry Oppenheimer (about the founding family of Johnson & Johnson) and "The Prince of Paradise" by William Glatt (about the family that built the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach).

However, I will confess to the guilty pleasure of reading books that point out the perils of great wealth, so after several attempts at resistance I finally succumbed and got "Empty Mansions." It's another work of schadenfreude (one of my favorite words), but it's well written and scrupulously researched. While the book clearly elicits various emotions (not all of them positive) about the eccentricities of Huguette Clark, it does not paint her as a lunatic. It also does not paint the people to whom she gave millions as being bloodsucking leeches - it raises appropriate questions about them, but it doesn't really judge. It's this balanced approach that makes this book unique.

I also believe the book is scrupulously researched. Unlike the two abominations mentioned above, I did not come acoss any blatant errors or even typos in "Empty Mansions," and it contains extensively detailed notes (many of which are actually informative) and a thorough index.

I don't agree with Janet Maslin's view that this was one of the 10 best books of 2013; it's not THAT good. However, for its type, it's well done - and held my interest throughout.