Hotel Dreams: Luxury, Technology, and Urban Ambition in America, 1829-1929 (Studies in Industry and Society)
A very informative and entertaining read.(David Lee PorembaPast In Review)Complements and expands on A.K. Sandoval-Strausz'sHotel.(Choice)[Berger's]nuanced interpretation of technology makes her work so important to design historians... Hotels have served as realms of the fantastic that permit guests to escape the everyday and enter into a world of dreams where service and splendour define new experiences. It is this dream world that Berger successfully evokes in this important book and others should follow her lead by exploring this remarkably rich topic.(David BrodyJournal of Design History)A rigorously researched and elegantly written study of the role of the hotel in shaping and embodying ideals of progress, luxury, and technology in a consumer capitalist society. Berger's monograph is a welcome contribution to the growing scholarly literature on the history of hotels in modern America, and is a must-read for scholars of business history, the history of technology, architectural and urban history, and the history of consumer culture.(Robin F. BachinAmerican Historical Review)A salutatory and important book.(Richard GassanReview Symposium)A worthwhile addition to the growing scholarly literature on hotels.(Journal of American History)In a relatively compact study, Berger has provided a rich, revealing portrayal of her subject that is likely to remain a basic source for scholars examining the history of the city no less than of the hotel itself for some years to come.(Richard LongstrethJournal of Social History)