Empty Mansions: the Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark And the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Shadowing says:
Fascinating story! W. A. Clark was such an interesting person. He owned the land that became downtown Las Vegas. I was reading it on vacation in Vegas. While touring the Mob Museum we saw pictures of Las Vegas history including W. A. Clark. Another interesting historical connection is the sad story of Andree Clark. She was the older daughter from the 2nd marriage. She was not doing well and had back problems. A gym teacher was brought in who said she needed to make decisio...ns and do things for themselves. This was a super rich family and everything was done for the child. She joined an early Girl Scout troop and was very happy. Unfortunately she died at 17. Her family donated Camp Andree Clark to the Girl Scouts in her memory. I camped there as a girl. This family's story covers over 100 years of history. I could not put it down!
melonhun says:
What a different read---I grew up in Montana, visited Butte, the town my cousins lived in, often and remember being told that some house was the Copper King's house. I remember lots of Butte in the 1950's--a big city compared to my tiny hometown of Nashua in NE Montana. But, living in Las Vegas and Clark County Nevada for the past 42 years, I never had a clue that this county was named for the very same Copper King from Butte. This book is a window into wealth---wealth that the average person cannot possibly "wrap their head around". When I read about how Ronald Reagan's reduction of taxes for the wealthy saved Hugette a million dollars the first year in taxes, leaving her with hundreds of millions still, I recalled that time in politics---the day the common man once again fell for the spoof of "let me reduce your taxes" and the reality was saving the rich more money than most of us ever see! Anyway, I loved reading this story; I do not think it is the best ever writing I've read but it was intriguing. Huguette was a recluse but yet she communicated in letters and notes with more people than most of us ever do--reminds me of those who today communicate with tons of people they don't see but all through social media. I'm curious about where her fancy doll houses are today---and sad to think how many truly needy people could have been helped by the massive Clark fortune.MoreLess
Fascinating story! W. A. Clark was such an interesting person. He owned the land that became downtown Las Vegas. I was reading it on vacation in Vegas. While touring the Mob Museum we saw pictures of Las Vegas history including W. A. Clark. Another interesting historical connection is the sad story of Andree Clark. She was the older daughter from the 2nd marriage. She was not doing well and had back problems. A gym teacher was brought in who said she needed to make decisio...ns and do things for themselves. This was a super rich family and everything was done for the child. She joined an early Girl Scout troop and was very happy. Unfortunately she died at 17. Her family donated Camp Andree Clark to the Girl Scouts in her memory. I camped there as a girl. This family's story covers over 100 years of history. I could not put it down!
melonhun says:
What a different read---I grew up in Montana, visited Butte, the town my cousins lived in, often and remember being told that some house was the Copper King's house. I remember lots of Butte in the 1950's--a big city compared to my tiny hometown of Nashua in NE Montana. But, living in Las Vegas and Clark County Nevada for the past 42 years, I never had a clue that this county was named for the very same Copper King from Butte. This book is a window into wealth---wealth that the average person cannot possibly "wrap their head around". When I read about how Ronald Reagan's reduction of taxes for the wealthy saved Hugette a million dollars the first year in taxes, leaving her with hundreds of millions still, I recalled that time in politics---the day the common man once again fell for the spoof of "let me reduce your taxes" and the reality was saving the rich more money than most of us ever see! Anyway, I loved reading this story; I do not think it is the best ever writing I've read but it was intriguing. Huguette was a recluse but yet she communicated in letters and notes with more people than most of us ever do--reminds me of those who today communicate with tons of people they don't see but all through social media. I'm curious about where her fancy doll houses are today---and sad to think how many truly needy people could have been helped by the massive Clark fortune.MoreLess
Read book Empty Mansions: the Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark And the Spending of a Great American Fortune for free
Guest 8 years ago
i liked the book a lot.Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
9 / 10
User Reviews: