{"product_id":"american-hotel-the-waldorf-astoria-and-the-making-of-a-century-9780813594392","title":"American Hotel: The Waldorf-Astoria and the Making of a Century","description":"Completed in 1931, New York's Waldorf-Astoria towers over Park Avenue as an international landmark and a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture. A symbol of elegance and luxury, the hotel has hosted countless movie stars, business tycoons, and world leaders over the past ninety years. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerican Hotel \u003c\/i\u003etakes us behind the glittering image to reveal the full extent of the Waldorf's contribution toward shaping twentieth-century life and culture. Historian David Freeland examines the Waldorf from the opening of its first location in 1893 through its rise to a place of influence on the local, national, and international stage. Along the way, he explores how the hotel's mission to provide hospitality to a diverse range of guests was put to the test by events such as Prohibition, the anticommunist Red Scare, and civil rights struggles. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Alongside famous guests like Frank Sinatra, Martin Luther King, Richard Nixon, and Eleanor Roosevelt, readers will meet the lesser-known men and women who made the Waldorf a leader in the hotel industry and a key setting for international events. \u003ci\u003eAmerican Hotel\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles how institutions such as the Waldorf-Astoria played an essential role in New York's growth as a world capital.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDAVID FREELAND is a historian and journalist who has written for the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York History\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTime Out New York\u003c\/i\u003e. His books include \u003ci\u003eLadies of Soul \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eAutomats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan's Lost Places of Leisure\u003c\/i\u003e. In his free time, David leads walking tours of New York City, where he lives, and gives lectures on the city's culture and history.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Rutgers University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50378051813650,"sku":"9780813594392","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_129564f0-ff2f-4d38-999c-e4fca4f69f05.jpg?v=1728640889","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/american-hotel-the-waldorf-astoria-and-the-making-of-a-century-9780813594392","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}