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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 364.15230924 EAN: 9781416571100 Edition: Mti Rep ISBN: 1416571108 Label: Touchstone Manufacturer: Touchstone Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 512 Publication Date: May 13, 2008 Publisher: Touchstone Studio: Touchstone Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: A spellbinding tale of money and madness, incest and matricide, Savage Grace is the saga of Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune; his beautiful wife, Barbara; and their handsome, gentle son, Tony, who destroyed the whole family in a violent chain of events. Savage Grace unfolds against a glamorous international background (New York, London, Paris, Italy, Spain); features a nonpareil cast of characters (including Salvador Dalí, James Jones, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and European nobility); and tells the doomed Baekelands' story through remarkably candid interviews and private letters and diaries, not to mention confidential hospital, State Department, and prison documents. A true-crime classic, it exposes the envied lives of the rich and beautiful, and brilliantly illuminates the darkest corners of the American Dream. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Dysfunctional people of meansThese were interesting but frustrating people in my opinion....they had so much materially speaking, but so little to sustain them that was meaningful. You truly see the meaning of the phrase, "money isn't everything" when you see how these people wasted their lives and energy. I think perhaps the son might have been able to accomplish something in spite of his instability, if only his parents had been able to settle down and stop running all over the world. Truly sad and wasted lives. Rating:  - BlahI agree with several others that this was a boring book. It was just compilations in no particular order. It was difficult to get any feel for any of the characters. It was like reading a documentry. I probably won't finish it,(something I rarely do) and now I have no interest in seeing the movie which is what originally sparked my interest in this book. This has got to be one of those rare occasions where the movie will be better than the book. Save your money and hope the movie is better. Rating:  - Interesting story, tough formatThe story of this family is captivating and interesting, and I think the book could have been a lot better than it is. It's difficult to get into it, considering the entire thing is made up of letters from the main characters themselves, their family and friends. There was nothing to pull you in, other than pure curiosity about how things turn out. It's a sad story, and I think it *could have been* a fantastic novel based on the true crime. I think it would be nice to have the biographical information ... Read More Rating:  - Still a true crime classicSavage Grace is a riveting, oral history of the Baekland dynasty that started with so much promise, and ended with a tragedy. It begins in the 1970s with the murder of Barbara Baekeland by her son, Anthony Baekeland. It then delves into the history of Bakelite (a plastic)which was invented by the GreatGRandfather of the family Leo Hendrik Baekeland in the early 20th century. This invention made the family very wealthy (and was also used in the atomic bomb, I had no idea of this until I read the book). ... Read More Rating: - boringI thought this would be a fascinating read. Not so. It is simply one statement after another by different people regarding the Baekland family. These statements do not tie together smoothly, nothing to keep a good rhythm or flow. Turns a fascinating subject into a boring read. The book is as interesting as a police report. 
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