Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu (2019)

Mar-a-Lago

Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu by Les Standiford

I love non-fiction that reads like fiction! Author Les Standiford makes this history of Palm Beach and the people who created it come to life. Central to much of the story is Marjorie Merriweather Post, who built Mar-a-Lago and her incredible influence on many of the ways the world has changed. Fascinating and great research makes for a excellent read! Even as I was engrossed, the History Channel was showing a program that reinforced many things in the book.: "The Food That Built America".

FIRST LINE: "On May 25, 1914, about two weeks after its subject had dressed himself in his Sunday finest, laid himself down in the master bedroom of his Santa Barbara manse, and blown off the top of his head with a hunting rifle, the will of cereal magnate C.W. Post was filed for probate in Washington, D.C.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I found it interesting that as Marjorie grew older, she attempted to find a buyer for Mar-a-Lago. She first approached the state, then the Federal Government with the idea that it would serve as the Winter White House. Ultimately no one was willing to commit to the enormous expense of maintaining the house as a private home until Donald Trump stepped forward.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended. I've even considered reading it again to better absorb all the information. Standiford has also written several other books about the area but readers may know him better as the author of crime fiction featuring Detective John Deal set in southern Florida. Here is a list of all his books.

Disclaimer: A copy of Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu was given to me by Atlantic Monthly Press/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (November 5, 2019)
ISBN-10: 0802128491
ISBN-13: 978-0802128492

Les Standiford is the author of the bestselling Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean, Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles, and Meet you in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America, among many other works of fiction and nonfiction. He lives with his wife, Kimberly, in Florida. (From Amazon.com)