Reflections in a Silver Spoon: A Memoir

Born in 1907 to the wealthy Pittsburgh, Pa., banking family, the author as a young man resisted his father's efforts to channel him into a business career, choosing instead to become a philanthropist. Written with art dealer Baskett ( The Horse in Art ) this chronological, somewhat prosaic account of Mellon's privileged existence is enlivened by a discussion of his parents' scandalous divorce in 1912, which eventually drove the son into therapy, first with C. G. Jung and later, more successfully, with a Freudian analyst. Mellon describes his chief passions--fox hunting, collecting impressionist art and horse racing--and discusses his involvement in the National Gallery and environmental causes. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)