Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Centre
by Daniel Okrent
Penguin $160
Launched in the teeth of the depression, the most ambitious construction project since the Pyramids redefined the nature of a US city. Four individuals made it a reality: John D. Rockefeller Jnr, the timid son of the world's richest man; his son, Nelson, who, before the age of 25, demonstrated his talent, charm and ambition by shoving aside his older brother and an all-star roster of professionals to take control of the enterprise; John R. Todd, a rude, vain and creative real estate genius who could make an architect whimper in pain; and Raymond Hood, a scamp, provocateur and drinker and the greatest skyscraper designer the US has known. Gamblers and bootleggers, painters and promoters, downtown bankers and uptown lawyers, tycoons and dancing girls all make an appearance.