Our Crowd -- The Great Jewish Families Of New York

Cover blurb: "New York’s great Jewish banking families--aloof, mysterious, clannish; even arrogant. Considering themselves an elite, for generations the families married only within ‘our crowd’. Today, the branches of the family trees interlace endlessly. ‘Our Crowd’ provides a fascinating insider's view of one of the richest segments of a rich city: Jewish upper-class life in New York--vibrant, exotic, romantic, special. A city within a city: where sixty sat down for dinner attended by as many footmen; chateaux on Long Island, castles in Westchester; private railway cars, vast art collections; power, culture and the determination never to invade, or seem concerned to invade, the gentile 'Establishment'. Remarkable individuals, resplendent dynasties--out of the opulent fabrics of their lives Stephen Birmingham has fashioned a superb social history."