The Annenbergs

"This is the colorful and dramatic biography of two of America's most controversial entrepreneurs: Moses Louis Annenberg, 'the racing wire king, ' who built his fortune in racketeering, invested it in publishing, and lost much of it in the biggest tax evasion case in United States history; and his son, Walter, launcher of TV Guide and Seventeen magazines and former ambassador to Great Britain."--Jacket.

The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, watercolors, and drawings constitutes one of the most remarkable groupings of avant-garde works of art from the mid-19th to the early 20th century ever given to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A revised and expanded edition of the 1989 publication Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection, this volume presents more than fifty masterworks by such luminaries as Manet, Degas, Morisot, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Matisse, accompanied by elucidating texts and a wealth of comparative illustrations. -- From publisher.

Sunnylands, the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, California, is one of America's great estates. This richly illustrated book chronicles its extensive history, and individual essays by distinguished specialists document each major collection and the home's significance as an example of California midcentury modernist architecture.

The father fled East Prussia to escape the 1880s pogroms and, as a penniless immigrant boy, hawked newspapers on the streets of Chicago. The son, who lives on Philadelphia's Main Line and on a palatial California estate, is a multibillionaire and America's most generous living philanthropist. This is the epic saga of how Moses and Walter Annenberg built a vast publishing empire and one of the nation's greatest family fortunes.

From the bestselling biographer of Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman comes a multi-generational saga of one of America's wealthiest and most controversial families--the Annenbergs.

David Bruce (1898-1977) was a prominent American diplomat, who served in France, Germany, and the UK. His work is examined here to provide an in-depth look at the practice of diplomacy and the role of the ambassador as diplomatic actor. This thorough survey aims to investigate the relevance of the resident embassy to modern diplomacy. To do so, it focuses on the ambassador's daily work as a diplomat, looking at his role in promoting friendly relations, his political reporting, policy advising, as well as the role of his staff and his relations with others in the Foreign Service. It also addresses major issues such as the debate over the 'death of the embassy,' showing that ambassadors remain vital actors in the relations between major powers. The work integrates theoretical material on diplomatic practice and the case study of a highly regarded diplomat. This unique, readable study will appeal to students in diplomacy, international relations, American politics, as well as to trainee and junior diplomats.

The acclaimed chronicler of America’s upper classes reveals their preferred enclaves and secret hideaways across the country. Where are the “Right Places,” those exclusive locations where the privileged live and play? You may be in for a surprise. For as Stephen Birmingham shows, in the same witty, penetrating style that characterizes his other studies of the elite, the right places could be just about anywhere, from exclusive chalets in Sun Valley, Idaho, to the traditionally swank estates of Fairfield County, Connecticut, to the nascent avant-garde art scene in Kansas City, Missouri. Birmingham goes to great lengths to unveil these privileged locales: the secret hideaway of Maria Callas after Aristotle Onassis deserted her for Jacqueline Kennedy; Elizabeth Taylor’s habits at home, including her favorite recipe for chili; and more. With colorful anecdotes and intimate details, Birmingham gives us a glimpse into the private worlds of the very rich.

American art museums flourished in the late twentieth century, and the impresario leading much of this growth was J. Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, from 1969 to 1992. Along with S. Dillon Ripley, who served as Smithsonian secretary for much of this time, Brown reinvented the museum experience in ways that had important consequences for the cultural life of Washington and its visitors as well as for American museums in general. In Capital Culture, distinguished historian Neil Harris provides a wide-ranging look at Brown’s achievement and the growth of museum culture during this crucial period. Harris combines his in-depth knowledge of American history and culture with extensive archival research, and he has interviewed dozens of key players to reveal how Brown’s showmanship transformed the National Gallery. At the time of the Cold War, Washington itself was growing into a global destination, with Brown as its devoted booster. Harris describes Brown’s major role in the birth of blockbuster exhibitions, such as the King Tut show of the late 1970s and the National Gallery’s immensely successful Treasure Houses of Britain, which helped inspire similarly popular exhibitions around the country. He recounts Brown’s role in creating the award-winning East Building by architect I. M. Pei and the subsequent renovation of the West building. Harris also explores the politics of exhibition planning, describing Brown's courtship of corporate leaders, politicians, and international dignitaries. In this monumental book Harris brings to life this dynamic era and exposes the creation of Brown's impressive but costly legacy, one that changed the face of American museums forever.

Covering the period 1938 to 2008, The Embassy in Grosvenor Square explores the role of the embassy in the Anglo-American 'special relationship', both in terms of transatlantic affairs and issues of international relations.