Palm Beach Houses

Growing up in Palm Beach in the 1950's-60's was an amazing time. Old, inherited wealth, people with elegant demeanor & civilized appearance...not the Palm Beach of today's nouveau riche & rudeness. On the cover is Mar A Lago as it looked when Mrs. Post was the owner-in-residence & the only time civility was its watch word. As a florist, I had the opportunity, on several occasions, to walk upon the grounds & view some of the interiors interiors. This book is a gem in my growing collection on the subject matters of Mrs. POST & Palm Beach. My father was a general contractor in Palm Beach for 50-years. He did remodeling & maintenance on numerous homes in this publication all of which are elegantly displayed throughout.

This is an easy book to navigate, the text is informative, and the photographs are nicely done. I was a bit disappointed that some of the grandeur mansions where absent, but the largest, Mar-A-Lago was included, and that was appreciated. None of the homes are explored in great detail and though every home has an image, I would have liked to have seen more visuals, but as I have stated above the images are well done and the book does cover an impressive list of homes. I recommend this book as a good sampling of Palm Beach homes, but hardly definitive, maybe someone will be able to gain access at some point to some of the grandest private estates, and here's hoping they bring a camera with plenty of gig's.

I received my book in good condition and in a timely manner. I appreciate the packaging and promptness.

My boss has this book to get ideas for designing custom homes for high-profile clients. I have read the book from cover to cover but every time I open it, it seems like I discover anew more pictures & details of these beautiful homes. These Palm Beach houses were built as if they were competing with one another for the title of 'most splendid work of art'. Most are not sprawling mansions or overly complicated expressions of the wealth of their owners. They are, however, fine examples of the architecture of Palm Beach summer homes of the 1920's priveleged upper class. I love this book. Of course It would be nice if there were floorplans. And as usual one closes the book wishing he could see more photos of each of the houses. But there are many stunning photos. Kudos to the photographer. It is well worth the money and I will get it someday if I can no longer borrow it from my boss.

This fine coffee table book is filed with wonderful photographs of a small selection of some of the finest mansions in the country. The ranges of houses from Adam and Regency, to simple clapboard, to Spanish/Moorish is excellent. The text is informative, accurate and well written. If interested in South Florida fine architecture, this book is a must.