Book cover of The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

Book description

A “captivating portrait” (The Wall Street Journal), both “poignant and intriguing” (The New Republic): from award-winning author Paulina Bren comes the remarkable history of New York’s most famous residential hotel and the women who stayed there, including Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion.

Welcome to New York’s legendary hotel…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Barbizon as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is a deeply researched account of one of the most famous women-only hotels, the go-to place for ambitious, aspiring career women from writers like Joan Didion and Sylvia Plath to actresses like Ali MacGraw and Jaclyn Smith. It is my favorite kind of history, a journey through the twentieth century told through the lives of fascinating women.

From Julie's list on strong New York women.

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Book cover of A Block in Time: A New York City History at the Corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Third Street

A Block in Time by Christiane Bird,

This is the story of New York City, told through the prism of one block. It’s a story of forest and cement, bird cries and taxi horns, theaters and brothels, hotels and factories, gambling dens and gourmet foods. 

It’s also the story of high life and low life, immigrants and…

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