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Palm Beach Babylon: Sins, Scams, and Scandals
Welcome to Palm Beach, Florida, the stunning tropical paradise where Sodom meets Gomorrah. This is where America's rich and powerful flock to play, snort coke, commit murder, have kinky sex, make illicit deals, and routinely break the law. All the delectable scandals are chronicled here and include players from the Kennedys to the Trumps to John Lennon and Leona Helmsley. 24 pages of photographs.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionTravel
401 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 30, 2022
Not Perfect, But Not Bad, Either.
This is a book about the origins of Palm Beach and the history of the people who live there.
Palm Beach is an island that was once a residence for mostly poor black people.
When Henry Flagler came there one hundred twenty years ago, he saw the island as a potential home for rich white people. So he burned out the black people and sent them to visit West Palm Beach, then tricked them into staying there to live.
So, over the years the wealthy came and went to and from the island of Palm Beach. Some of the people were also famous. For example, I never knew that John Lennon and Yoko Ona once lived here.
Marjorie Post had an estate there-Mar-A-Lago, which was sold to Donald Trump after she died.
The heir of this and the heiress of that, lived on the island. One thing they all had in common was they believed in spending lots of money. Many of them spent themselves into poverty.
If they didn’t do it themselves, their very young, formerly poor spouses helped them with their spending.
It seems like everybody living there is an alcoholic drunk. The town is full of scandals. Several Kennedys were involved in scandalous activities. Morals run low.
The book covers a lot of information about the characters who are discussed. The only problem I have with this book is that it was published in the early nineties. I had no idea the book was so old.
But the author added an update to give closure to certain issues and people. Still, if I had known it was written thirty years ago, I doubt that I would have purchased it.
Still, I have to say the information is enjoyable. It’s gossipy. If you love gossip you’ll love this book.
Four gossipy stars. 💫💫💫💫
This is a book about the origins of Palm Beach and the history of the people who live there.
Palm Beach is an island that was once a residence for mostly poor black people.
When Henry Flagler came there one hundred twenty years ago, he saw the island as a potential home for rich white people. So he burned out the black people and sent them to visit West Palm Beach, then tricked them into staying there to live.
So, over the years the wealthy came and went to and from the island of Palm Beach. Some of the people were also famous. For example, I never knew that John Lennon and Yoko Ona once lived here.
Marjorie Post had an estate there-Mar-A-Lago, which was sold to Donald Trump after she died.
The heir of this and the heiress of that, lived on the island. One thing they all had in common was they believed in spending lots of money. Many of them spent themselves into poverty.
If they didn’t do it themselves, their very young, formerly poor spouses helped them with their spending.
It seems like everybody living there is an alcoholic drunk. The town is full of scandals. Several Kennedys were involved in scandalous activities. Morals run low.
The book covers a lot of information about the characters who are discussed. The only problem I have with this book is that it was published in the early nineties. I had no idea the book was so old.
But the author added an update to give closure to certain issues and people. Still, if I had known it was written thirty years ago, I doubt that I would have purchased it.
Still, I have to say the information is enjoyable. It’s gossipy. If you love gossip you’ll love this book.
Four gossipy stars. 💫💫💫💫
January 28, 2017
An older book, published in 1992, that traced the lives and fortunes of the early families that settled the area and how it became exclusive. The Trumps and Mar A Lago made up one of the last chapters, and sad to say, mr. Trump was just as obnoxious 25 years ago. Of course there were also chapters on the Kennedys, Flaglers, Pulitzers just to name a few. A lot of good historical background.
September 11, 2020
Interesting lives of rich and famous
Fascinating stories starting from the beginning of the fables Palm Beach elite all the way to the present. The authors seemed to make strong efforts to stick to facts though it’s hard to avoid gossipy tendencies in a book like this. Liked the follow up at the end.
Fascinating stories starting from the beginning of the fables Palm Beach elite all the way to the present. The authors seemed to make strong efforts to stick to facts though it’s hard to avoid gossipy tendencies in a book like this. Liked the follow up at the end.
April 17, 2018
Satisfyingly salacious but unquestionably one of the worst-edited books I’ve ever read.
August 29, 2023
If the authors of this book were not established journalists, a reader might think this book about Palm Beach and its inhabitants was fiction. The excess wealth depicted, the marriage infidelity described and a wide range of shocking events make the Babylon reference in the title and its reference to "the sinful story" amply justified.
The resort's founder and promoter Henry Flagler, who with J.D. Rockefeller formed the profitable corporation Standard Oil, first discovered Florida when he took his wife there for an illness from which she never recovered. With his second wife he moved to Saint Augustine where he built the Hotel Ponce de Leon in 1888. Flagler purchased his first railroad which he would expand to become the Florida East Coast Railroad and also began building a hotel empire. His first venture in Palm Beach was the construction of the Royal Poinciana Hotel which would become the largest resort in the world. He also built a hotel overlooking the Atlantic which would become the elaborate, world-renowned, Breakers Hotel.
These early luxurious edifices would become a magnet for wealthy northerners longing for a respite from long winters by traveling to Palm Beach's sun-kissed shores. The stories told in this book, divided into chapters focusing on one millionaire (or billionaire) featured a who's who of American wealth and fame. Gloria Swanson, Isadore Duncan, Marjorie Meriwether Post, the Kennedy clan, the heir of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, Horace Dodge, and John Lennon are just a few of the players who had their hours on the stage.
The author provides details of the many architectural wonders constructed for the super wealthy, masterpieces of creativity. Addison Mizner, an architect who came to Florida to die, instead became reinvigorated and became the most sought after architect on the island creating several historical architectural landmarks.The majority of the book details the unbelievable details of the lives of the rich and famous, people with more money than they know what to do with. Interestingly, the earners of that wealth--the founders of business and industry--are not featured in the Palm Beach story; rather it is the heirs, the trust fund babies who live carefree lives with inherited money.
Another characteristic of the Palm Beach elite is their marital infidelity, often resulting in three, four or five marriages. With each divorce there is drama and in one case murder as the two parties battle in court for property and child custody. Drinking, drugs especially cocaine are other accompaniments of the Palm Beach lifestyle as are big charity events and lavish parties. To quote from the novel Facade by Roxanne Pulitzer, herself a Palm Beach player,"in this deliciously decadent city, sexual license and self indulgence aren't just a way of life, they are the very essence and meaning of life...(It is) a world where lust dominates love, reality crushes dreams, and money reigns supreme."
Two of the most interesting stories detailed in the book are the kidnapping and murder of a well respected judge and his wife and the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith. These two tragic events reveal that all is not gold that glitters and the rich are not immune to human weakness.
As a person who grew up in West Palm Beach in the 1950's many locations were familiar as were names that became part of the culture like Chillingsworth, the murdered judge and his wife. A few factual errors were somewhat jarring--locating the Colony Hotel on Worth Avenue (near but not on) and describing the beaches of "white-powdered sand." The beaches of my youth were yellowish, made up of sharp, crushed shells, as opposed to the white-powdered sand of Gulf Coast beaches.
The authors added an afterword updating the book to include such household names as Jeffrey Epstein, Bernie Madoff whose schemes preyed on his Palm Beach neighbors, and Donald Trump who also left their imprint on the everchanging scene.
This book was a fascinating story, yet also somewhat disturbing as a portrait of what wealth can do to the lives of people who are not morally well grounded and to those who never had to work for all they enjoy.
The Kindle edition needed more careful editing e.g. June 31!
The resort's founder and promoter Henry Flagler, who with J.D. Rockefeller formed the profitable corporation Standard Oil, first discovered Florida when he took his wife there for an illness from which she never recovered. With his second wife he moved to Saint Augustine where he built the Hotel Ponce de Leon in 1888. Flagler purchased his first railroad which he would expand to become the Florida East Coast Railroad and also began building a hotel empire. His first venture in Palm Beach was the construction of the Royal Poinciana Hotel which would become the largest resort in the world. He also built a hotel overlooking the Atlantic which would become the elaborate, world-renowned, Breakers Hotel.
These early luxurious edifices would become a magnet for wealthy northerners longing for a respite from long winters by traveling to Palm Beach's sun-kissed shores. The stories told in this book, divided into chapters focusing on one millionaire (or billionaire) featured a who's who of American wealth and fame. Gloria Swanson, Isadore Duncan, Marjorie Meriwether Post, the Kennedy clan, the heir of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, Horace Dodge, and John Lennon are just a few of the players who had their hours on the stage.
The author provides details of the many architectural wonders constructed for the super wealthy, masterpieces of creativity. Addison Mizner, an architect who came to Florida to die, instead became reinvigorated and became the most sought after architect on the island creating several historical architectural landmarks.The majority of the book details the unbelievable details of the lives of the rich and famous, people with more money than they know what to do with. Interestingly, the earners of that wealth--the founders of business and industry--are not featured in the Palm Beach story; rather it is the heirs, the trust fund babies who live carefree lives with inherited money.
Another characteristic of the Palm Beach elite is their marital infidelity, often resulting in three, four or five marriages. With each divorce there is drama and in one case murder as the two parties battle in court for property and child custody. Drinking, drugs especially cocaine are other accompaniments of the Palm Beach lifestyle as are big charity events and lavish parties. To quote from the novel Facade by Roxanne Pulitzer, herself a Palm Beach player,"in this deliciously decadent city, sexual license and self indulgence aren't just a way of life, they are the very essence and meaning of life...(It is) a world where lust dominates love, reality crushes dreams, and money reigns supreme."
Two of the most interesting stories detailed in the book are the kidnapping and murder of a well respected judge and his wife and the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith. These two tragic events reveal that all is not gold that glitters and the rich are not immune to human weakness.
As a person who grew up in West Palm Beach in the 1950's many locations were familiar as were names that became part of the culture like Chillingsworth, the murdered judge and his wife. A few factual errors were somewhat jarring--locating the Colony Hotel on Worth Avenue (near but not on) and describing the beaches of "white-powdered sand." The beaches of my youth were yellowish, made up of sharp, crushed shells, as opposed to the white-powdered sand of Gulf Coast beaches.
The authors added an afterword updating the book to include such household names as Jeffrey Epstein, Bernie Madoff whose schemes preyed on his Palm Beach neighbors, and Donald Trump who also left their imprint on the everchanging scene.
This book was a fascinating story, yet also somewhat disturbing as a portrait of what wealth can do to the lives of people who are not morally well grounded and to those who never had to work for all they enjoy.
The Kindle edition needed more careful editing e.g. June 31!
July 12, 2021
Gossipy but interesting
The beginning and middle were better because it was about the beginnings of PalmBeach, stuff I didn’t know. But ending was ok but felt more repetitive and gossipy. But I was 3/4 of the way through and finished it. I gave4 stars because it kept my interest the entire read, even though the tone of the book changed a bit.
The beginning and middle were better because it was about the beginnings of PalmBeach, stuff I didn’t know. But ending was ok but felt more repetitive and gossipy. But I was 3/4 of the way through and finished it. I gave4 stars because it kept my interest the entire read, even though the tone of the book changed a bit.
February 21, 2022
Page-Turner
This book is one that kept me reading up until 4 a.m. on most nights until completion. It also contains references to other book which are on my list for the near future -- including the tells all by Patrick Kennedy about his ow life, and four books written by Roxanne Pulitzer.
This book is one that kept me reading up until 4 a.m. on most nights until completion. It also contains references to other book which are on my list for the near future -- including the tells all by Patrick Kennedy about his ow life, and four books written by Roxanne Pulitzer.
January 17, 2023
Wow! Talk about a blow-back-your-hair read! This book is like a bottomless box of chocolates - sweet, satisfying and oh so delicious. There are few things in life more fun than reading about the rich and famous getting their just desserts, and Palm Beach Babylon delivers. What a town, what stories, what a book! Well done, Hoffmann and Weiss!
March 20, 2024
A Fun Read
Interesting but its topic was so broad it failed to develop many of the characters sufficiently to make it gripping.
For me, at least, it made the people I was not familiar with blend together.
Interesting but its topic was so broad it failed to develop many of the characters sufficiently to make it gripping.
For me, at least, it made the people I was not familiar with blend together.
May 11, 2024
What a great read highlighting the lives of the notorious, rich and sometimes famous ppl who have lived in Palm Beach.
There is nothing new under the sun applies here and I was left shaking my head at the excesses and bad choices.
An excellent and fascinating read.
There is nothing new under the sun applies here and I was left shaking my head at the excesses and bad choices.
An excellent and fascinating read.
November 17, 2017
Great trash !!!!
December 28, 2017
Entertaining and enlightening.
A history of the rich and famous. It is written in a storybook fasion rather than severe listing of historical events.
A history of the rich and famous. It is written in a storybook fasion rather than severe listing of historical events.
October 24, 2024
very interesting read of how Pal Beach Florida got started by the rich
May 4, 2025
Drove through Palm Beach in 2020. It was bit surreal.
The book is an interesting and insightful back story to how this fantasy land for the ultra rich came to be.
The book is an interesting and insightful back story to how this fantasy land for the ultra rich came to be.
October 1, 2008
I wish I'd read this book while I lived in West Palm Beach, so I could look across the waterway and better understand the strangeness that is Palm Beach. This is as much a tabloid as a book, and might only be appreciated by locals, if only to guffaw at how WRONG it all seems.
November 21, 2017
This book was published years ago. The writing and research is good. However, most of the stories I was already familiar with and knew what the endings would be. Didn't learn anything I didn't already know.
March 30, 2025
interesting stories
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews