Download or read book Madness Under the Royal Palms written by Laurence Leamer and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2009-01-20 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling history of the glamour and debauchery of the ultra-wealthy Palm Beach community--from The Breakers to Trump's Mar-a-Lago. For more than a hundred years, Palm Beach has been an exclusive and exotic universe of wealth and privilege in America. And until Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme devastated its eternally sunny world, the reality of this affluent enclave has rarely been exposed to outsiders. Now, in Madness Under the Royal Palms, resident insider Laurence Leamer reveals the secrets and scandals of this South Florida island via a cast of characters that includes social climbers, trophy wives, sugar daddies, glamorous widows and their "escorts," sociopathic multimillionaires, and elegant society queens. Dive into the unbelievable true story of love, lust, money, and murder in a uniquely American paradise.
Download or read book The Price of Justice written by Laurence Leamer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A nonfiction legal thriller that traces the fourteen-year struggle of two lawyers to bring the most powerful coal baron in American history, Don Blankenship, to justice Don Blankenship, head of Massey Energy since the early 1990s, ran an industry that provides nearly half of America's electric power. But wealth and influence weren't enough for Blankenship and his company, as they set about destroying corporate and personal rivals, challenging the Constitution, purchasing the West Virginia judiciary, and willfully disregarding safety standards in the company's mines—in which scores died unnecessarily. As Blankenship hobnobbed with a West Virginia Supreme Court justice in France, his company polluted the drinking water of hundreds of citizens while he himself fostered baroque vendettas against anyone who dared challenge his sovereignty over coal mining country. Just about the only thing that stood in the way of Blankenship's tyranny over a state and an industry was a pair of odd-couple attorneys, Dave Fawcett and Bruce Stanley, who undertook a legal quest to bring justice to this corner of America. From the backwoods courtrooms of West Virginia they pursued their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and to a dramatic decision declaring that the wealthy and powerful are not entitled to purchase their own brand of law. The Price of Justice is a story of corporate corruption so far-reaching and devastating it could have been written a hundred years ago by Ida Tarbell or Lincoln Steffens. And as Laurence Leamer demonstrates in this captivating tale, because it's true, it's scarier than fiction.
Download or read book Mar a Lago written by Laurence Leamer and published by Flatiron Books. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where Trump Learned to Rule To know Donald J. Trump it is best to start in his natural habitat: Palm Beach, Florida. It is here he learned the techniques that took him all the way to the White House. Painstakingly, over decades, he has created a world in this exclusive tropical enclave and favorite haunt of billionaires where he is not just president but a king. The vehicle for his triumph is Mar-A-Lago, one of the greatest mansions ever built in the United States. The inside story of how he became King of Palm Beach—and how Palm Beach continues to be his spiritual home even as president—is rollicking, troubling, and told with unrivaled access and understanding by Laurence Leamer. In Mar-A-Lago, the reader will learn: * How Donald Trump bought a property now valued by some at as much as $500,000,000 for less than three thousand dollars of his own money. * Why Trump was blackballed by the WASP grandees of the island and how he got his revenge. * How Trump joined forces with the National Enquirer, which was headquartered nearby, and engineered his own divorce. * How by turning Mar-A-Lago into a private club, Trump was the unlikely man to integrate Palm Beach’s restricted country club scene, and what his real motives were. * What transpires behind the gates of today’s Mar-A-Lago during “the season,” when President Trump and assorted D.C. power players fly down each weekend. In addition to copious interviews and reporting from inside Mar-A-Lago, Laurence Leamer brings an acute and unparalleled understanding of the society of Palm Beach, where he has lived for twenty-five years. He has written an essential book for understanding Donald Trump’s inner character.
Download or read book King of the Night written by Laurence Leamer and published by Saint Martin's Paperbacks. This book was released on 1990 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's best-known talk-show host and TV's most phenomenal success is completely revealed in this spicy, and scandalous biography written by the acclaimed author of As Time Goes By. The most authoritative of the unauthorized Carson surveys.--Kirkus Reviews.
Download or read book Palm Beach Babylon written by Murray Weiss and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1995 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only 12 miles long, Palm Beach has become America's Riviera, with grand Arabian Nights mansions and lavish champagne and caviar parties. The island has turned into the playground of influential industrialists, politicians, aristocrats and diplomats.
Download or read book The Natural History of the Rich A Field Guide written by Richard Conniff and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2003-10-17 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tantalizing, droll study of the idiosyncratic existence of the very rich, through the unexpected lens of the naturalist. Journalist Richard Conniff probes the age-old question "Are the rich different from you and me?" and finds that they are indeed a completely different animal. He observes with great humor this socially unique species, revealing their strategies for ensuring dominance and submission, their flourishes of display behavior, the intricate dynamics of their pecking order, as well as their unorthodox mating practices. Through comparisons to other equally exotic animals, Conniff uncovers surprising commonalities.
Download or read book Three Chords and the Truth written by Laurence Leamer and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1997 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the passionate life of country music, its entire spectrum and the process of making stars.
Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by Steven Gaines and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-12-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the acclaimed bestselling author of Philistines at the Hedgerow comes a remarkably revealing profile of the Miami Beach no one knows–a tale of fabulous excess, thwarted power, and rekindled lives that will take its place among the decade’s best works of social portraiture. Created from a mix of swampland and dredged-up barrier reef, Miami Beach has always been one part drifter-mecca and one part fantasyland, simultaneously a catch basin for con men, fast-talk artists, and shameless self-promoters, and a Shangri-La for sun worshippers and hardcore hedonists. In Miami Beach it’s often said that "if you’re not indicted you’re not invited." But the city’s mad, fascinating complexity resists easy stereotyping. Fool’s Paradise is more than just a present-day profile of a dark Eden. Gaines journeys back into the city’s social and cultural history, unearthing stories of the resort’s past that are every bit as absorbing–and jaw-dropping–as those of its present. The book begins with a snapshot of the city’s current excess (this is, after all, a sun-washed hamlet that boasts, on a per capita basis, more bars–and breast implants–than any other place in America), then plunges into the Beach’s origins, chronicling the audacious rise of such hoteliers as the Fontainebleau’s Ben Novack and the Eden Roc’s Harry Mufson, the sharp-elbowed tactics of Al Capone and Frank Sinatra, and the Mac-10 shooting sprees of the Marielito and Colombian drug lords. From there, the narrative shifts to two wildly eccentric souls who gave their lives to preserving the city’s architectural dazzle and creating its color palette, introduces us to "the Most Powerful Man in Miami Beach," and arrives finally in the modern day, where we meet, among others, a kinky German playboy who once owned a quarter of South Beach and publicly flaunts his sexual escapades; a fabulously successful nightclub promoter whose addictive past seems to have given him a portal into the night world’s id; and a gaggle of young sexy models, dreamers, and schemers on a mission to achieve significance. Evoking the Beach’s surreal blend of flashy Vegas and old Hollywood glamour, as well as its manic desperation and reckless wealth, Gaines persuasively demonstrates that though the Beach is–in the words of its most famous drag queen–"an island of broken toys . . . a place where people get away with things they’d never get away with anyplace else," it casts an irresistible spell.
Download or read book Capote s Women written by Laurence Leamer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-08-29 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DON’T MISS FX’s FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS—THE ORIGINAL SERIES BASED ON THE BESTSELLING BOOK—NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON HULU! New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans." "There are certain women," Truman Capote wrote, "who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich." Barbara "Babe" Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy's sister)—they were the toast of midcentury New York. Capote befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and ingratiated himself into their lives. Then, in one fell swoop, he betrayed them in the most surprising and shocking way possible. Bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer delves into the years following the acclaimed publication of Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1958 and In Cold Blood in 1966, when Capote struggled with a crippling case of writer's block. While enjoying all the fruits of his success, he was struck with an idea for what he was sure would be his most celebrated novel...one based on the remarkable, racy lives of his very, very rich friends. For years, Capote attempted to write what he believed would have been his magnum opus, Answered Prayers. But when he eventually published a few chapters in Esquire, the thinly fictionalized lives (and scandals) of his swans were laid bare for all to see, and he was banished from their high-society world forever. Laurence Leamer recreates the lives of these fascinating women, their friendships with Capote and one another, and the doomed quest to write what could have been one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.
Download or read book The Kennedy Women written by Laurence Leamer and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1996-09-29 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A FRESH AND UNVARNISHED PORTRAIT OF A FASCINATING, TALENTED, AND DEEPLY FLAWED FAMILY." —Boston Herald Laurence Leamer was granted unheralded access to private Kennedy papers, and he interviewed family and old friends, many of whom had never been interviewed before, for this incredible portrait of the women in America’s "royal family." From Bridget Murphy, the foremother who touched shore at East Boston in 1849, to the intelligent, independent Kennedy women of today, Laurence Leamer tells their unforgettable stories. Here are the private thoughts of Kathleen, the flirtatious debutante in prewar England . . . the truth behind Joe Kennedy’s insistence that his mildly retarded daughter, Rosemary, be lobotomized . . . the real story behind Joan and Ted’s whirlwind romance . . . Jackie’s desire for a divorce from JFK in the 1950s . . . Pat Lawford’s disastrous Hollywood marriage . . . how Caroline discovered her cousin David’s death by overdose, and more. Tough enough to withstand the unimaginable, these Kennedy women soldier on in the name of their extraordinary family and what they believe is right. "MASTERFUL . . . AN ENDLESSLY FASCINATING READ . . . A wealth of beautifully rendered social detail, at times reading like a realist novel by Edith Wharton . . . [A] page-turner from start to finish." —The Dallas Morning News
Download or read book Make believe written by Laurence Leamer and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Filthy Rich written by James Patterson and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2016-10-10 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a #1 Netflix documentary series. Get the full shocking story about billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in this #1 New York Times bestselling and definitive book, updated with the latest headline-making news and new photos. Jeffrey Epstein rose from humble origins into the New York City and Palm Beach elite. A college dropout with an instinct for numbers -- and for people -- Epstein amassed his wealth through a combination of access and skill. But even after he had it all, Epstein wanted more. That unceasing desire -- and especially a taste for underage girls --resulted in sexual-abuse charges, to which he pleaded guilty and received a shockingly lenient sentence. Included here are police interviews with girls who have alleged sexual abuse by Epstein, details of the investigation against him, and a new introduction with up-to-the-minute developments on the case, including Epstein's death by suicide. An explosive true story from the world's most popular thriller writer, FILTHY RICH is a riveting tale of wealth, power, and the easy price of justice for America's wealthiest citizens.
Download or read book Madness a Memoir written by Kate Richards and published by Penguin Group Australia. This book was released on 2013-01-19 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature 2014 nonfiction prize. Shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards 2013 nonficiton prize. It's not every day you get to admit you're mad. The thing with psychosis is that when I'm sick I believe the delusional stuff to the same degree that you might know the sky is above and the earth below. And if someone were to say to me that the delusional thinking is, in fact, delusional, well that's the same as if I assure you now that we walk on the sky. Of course you wouldn't believe me, and that's why it's sometimes so hard for people who are sick like this to know that they need treatment. Psychosis and severe depression have a huge effect on how you relate to other people and how you see the world. It's a bit like being in a vacuum, or behind a wall of really thick glass . . . you lose any sense of connectedness. You're cast adrift from everyone and everything that matters. I've lived with acute psychosis and depression for the best part of twenty years. This is the story of my journey from chaos to balance, and from limbo to meaning. Kate Richards is a trained doctor currently working in medical research. 'Demands to be read' Sunday Age 'Heart wrenching, mind bending' Daily Telegraph 'A mysteriously beautiful book' Michael McGirr, The Age 'A gifted writer and storyteller' Courier-Mail 'Astonishing' Herald Sun
Download or read book Summary of Laurence Leamer s Madness Under the Royal Palms written by Everest Media and published by Everest Media LLC. This book was released on 2022-07-24T22:59:00Z with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The hostess, Barbara Wainscott, had a fastidious sense of detail. She set out mirrored dinner tables that reflected the richly appointed place settings and the glittering jewels on the ladies. She ordered a nursery’s worth of roses, lilacs, crocuses, and lilies of the valley to festoon every empty space. #2 Barbara had been preparing her whole life for this party. She came from a family that had lost everything in the Great Depression. Her father had made a good living as a project manager on major buildings in Manhattan, but Barbara grew up learning that her family had once known rich, advantaged times that seemed forever lost. #3 Palm Beach was the most exclusive resort community in the world, and the most socially segregated town in America. When David was a young man, he could not have joined two other clubs on the island, the Sailfish Club and the Beach Club, but when faced with legal and political challenge, they changed their policies. #4 Palm Beach is the most controlled and exclusionary town in America. It is a costume party where people can wear whatever outfit they want as long as the mask never falls.
Download or read book The President s Butler written by Laurence Leamer and published by . This book was released on 2016-09-07 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just when you thought you couldn't take it any longer comes The President's Butler, a novel that will make you laugh out loud about politics and maybe cry a little. You'll join Vincent V. Victor on the most wildly improbable journey of our time. Although Victor is a fictional character, he sounds much like Donald Trump. The flamboyant New Yorker evolves from the most hated businessman in America to a populist hero. When Victor falls on financial hard times, he decides to run for president and sets off on a campaign that changes America forever. And who's there to tell the story but the man who knows Victor best, his butler Billy Baxter. The butler sees it all, forgets nothing, and tells everything. Laurence Leamer has written fifteen books, five of them New York Times best sellers. He has spent forty years observing American politics in preparation for this portrait of a Manhattan hillbilly reaching the White House. And it isn't only politicians who are savagely skewered in this searing fictional portrait of American politics and culture gone wrong. American journalists are portrayed as every bit as self-serving as the politicians they report upon. The President's Butler is one of the funniest novels in years, but it is also drop dead serious. It is a book that no one who reads it will ever forget. Early praise for The President's Butler "The President's Butler cannot be read without thinking of....well, you know who. But a reader won't know whether to laugh or cry at this spot-on satirical romp deftly eviscerates modern-day politics that are almost too absurd to parody yet also too frightening to ignore. " David Corn, Washington bureau chief, Mother Jones "Laurence has produced not just another political story with a short shelf space. This is a wonderful read and he has combined all the elements of some of the greatest American novels. There is a whole lot of Gatsby here along with much that is something reminiscent of bestselling Fletcher Knebel's Dark Horse. The narrator talks to us in the voice of Jack Burden, the haunted and dark soul who suffered through his years with Willie Stark, the Huey Long type in Robert Penn Warren's classic All the King's Men. While the relevance to the 2016 Presidential campaign is obvious, this novel is really for the ages."John Zogby, founder of the Zogby Poll and author of We Are Many, We Are One: Neo-Tribes and Tribal Analytics in 21st Century America "A wickedly funny, astute, acerbic and well developed parody about a ruthless and incredibly politically incorrect billionaire running for president" Splash "Beautifully written, The President's Butler will make readers groan and roar with laughter, and puts Leamer in heady company, as the worthy inheritor of Sinclair Lewis, Robert Penn Warren and Tom Wolfe. Leamer's protagonist, Vincent Victor, is the new Gatsby, reflecting all that compels our era's rendezvous with inanity: ambition, class, politics and greed." Mark Perry, bestselling author of The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Making of Douglas MacArthur "Parts of The President's Butler may be laugh-out-loud funny, but this is a serious and important book that must be read. Laurence Kotlikoff, presidential candidate at Kotlikoff2016.com "Damn-well written, racy, readable, funny and sharp, with a glorious mix of snobbery meets the American bottom line. Reminds me of A Confederacy of Dunces!" Nigel Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of Commander in Chief
Download or read book In Peace Lies Havoc written by Amo Jones and published by . This book was released on 2020-01-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My name is Dove Hendry.Mine is Kingston Axton.I was captured by darkness.She has always been ours...They groomed me for Midnight Mayhem. Like a trained possession, weak against their control.She has been conditioned with our blood for years. She just doesn't know it yet...But Midnight Mayhem was the stained glass that concealed a very dark culture.A culture that she is about to become the center of.The Brothers of Kiznitch come in fours, and they're not happy about me being hustled into their acts.Or are we? Careful, Little Bird. A warning is a warning for a reason...Mind-tricks.Stunts.Deceit.Power.But there's something uglier that has been haunting me for years upon years. So ugly that I have never seen its face. I never had to. I'd hear his whispers through my internal screams, feel his shadow brush against my nightmares. He was my the monster that tormented me.And maybe lived under your bed...When I started Midnight Mayhem, his presence faded.His whispers were silenced.His shadow dissolving without a trace.I wondered why that was.She didn't have to wonder for long...
Download or read book Book Review Index 2009 Cumulation written by Dana Ferguson and published by Book Review Index Cumulation. This book was released on 2009-08 with total page 1304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Book Review Index provides quick access to reviews of books, periodicals, books on tape and electronic media representing a wide range of popular, academic and professional interests. The up-to-date coverage, wide scope and inclusion of citations for both newly published and older materials make Book Review Index an exceptionally useful reference tool. More than 600 publications are indexed, including journals and national general interest publications and newspapers. Book Review Index is available in a three-issue subscription covering the current year or as an annual cumulation covering the past year.