America's Gilded Age: Intimate Portraits from an Era of Extravagance and Change, 1850-1890

by Milton Rugoff

Examines the climate of excess that grew out of a period of rapid growth in America

Genres: History, Nonfiction

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Dana Kaplan]

A closer look at some of the personalities of the era, those just beyond the familiar inner circle of Carnegie, Morgan, etc., organized by categories such as “The Money Kings” and “The Parvenus and Their Pleasures.” The author is particularly interested in “Critics and Cassandras” such as Charles Eliot Norton, Walt Whitman and Mark Twain.

[Garth]

Stories about the personalities who defined the time.