The Guest List: How Manhattan Defined American Sophistication---from the Algonquin Round Table to Truman Capote's Ball
Although chock-full of irresistible tidbits and juicy anecdotal morsels, the marvelously giddy mélange dished up by Manhattan cultural guru Mordden will leave readers hungry for more. Between 1920 and 1960, New York City defined the parameters of wit, sophistication, and style for a Middle America torn between admiration and revulsion. Though it was not necessary to be born with a touch of class, it was necessary to possess a certain combination of intelligence, talent, and chutzpah to break into the rarefied inner circles of Manhattan’s often vicious but always entertaining artistic, social, and political elite. The Guest List pays tribute to, among others, Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, Jimmy Walker, Fiorello La Guardia, Ethel Waters, Dorothy Thompson, Cole Porter, and Truman Capote. The intimate stories of these formidable sophisticates are fascinating in and of themselves, but Mordden elevates the lighthearted tone with the very serious and credible assertion that African Americans; women; gay men; Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants; and a host of other heretofore undesirables of this era stood society on its ear, permanently redefining and diversifying the nation’s cultural scene. Raucous, gossipy, and enlightening from start to finish. --Margaret Flanagan