Halcyon Days: An American Family Through Three Generations

Through previously unpublished correspondence and memoirs, and more than 300 striking sepia-toned photographs, the authors reveal the rarefied world of steel mogul Henry Phipps Jr. (18391934) and his oldest son Jay, who died in 1958. If this effort by Jay's daughter and Gachot (a sculptor who helped to restore Old Westbury Gardens, Jay's estate on Long Island) is basically a paean to the Phipps family and the American dream, it is nonetheless appealing and interesting. Included are pictures of sumptuous architecture, gardens and period clothing, as well as excerpts from letters and diaries describing Henry's placating relationship with his partner Andrew Carnegie; his wife's transformation from an insecure bride, unaware of her husband's wealth, to a confident matriarch; and Henry's solicitude toward his children. (April)