Yaddo offers a fascinating glimpse of this famously private institution and the lives and historical circumstances of the artists who lived and worked there. A richly illustrated examination of America's premier artists' colony and its relationship to the ideals of democracy and individuality, the book shares the stories of those who visited this quiet haven and the debates and controversies that threatened to shatter its tranquility. With essays by Marcelle Clements, David Gates, Allan Gurganus, Tim Page, Ruth Price, Barry Werth, Karl Emil Willers, and Helen Vendler, Creative Power composes a history that is itself a work of art, a collaborative project that both reflects and incorporates the major moments of a century.