Rich People Behaving Badly

by Dick Kreck

Take a trip back in time to revel in the scandal, murders, infidelities, financial misdeeds, and just plain bad behavior from Colorado’s past.

 

Public respectability does not always translate into tidy private lives, and our interest in the naughty behavior of the rich and famous will never be satisfied. Former Denver Post reporter Dick Kreck takes us back through Colorado's history to show that the foibles of people—rich or poor—remain the same. Included are socialites such as Louise Sneed Hill, who created and ruled over Denver's "Sacred 36" circle of society; Jane Tomberlin, who met and fell in love with a "prince" in an elevator at the Brown Palace Hotel; Irene Nolan, who cavorted late into the night with her family priest; and prominent Denver clubman Courtland Dines, who was wounded during a frolic with two silent-screen stars in his Hollywood apartment.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, History

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea, iffy execution. The list of notable naughties is broad and interesting and the research is there. However, the formatting is a nightmare and it could have used a good proof-reader.

[John Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title pretty much says it all.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, and sometimes shocking, trip through Denver's sordid past as played out by some of our richest and most famous. Here a drunken lark, there a horrid drowning, everywhere a shocking event all in the mansions, and on the streets where we live, walk, point and stare. I am so glad I read this. It lays bare a lot of the rumors and innuendo I've heard about early Denver's rich and mighty since I was a kid in the 1960s, and it makes me want to retrace their steps through the Brown Palace, around Berkeley Park Lake, past Calvary Temple. Who alive doesn't remember Pastor Blair, I ask you?

Read it! It brings them all down to size, all while allowing them their places in the ranks of the illustrious few who bring sparkle and shine to our cowtown past.

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. If you enjoy sordid accounts of debauchery especially in a historical sense, you will too.
I love the history all around me. I get to walk past the places where these situations occurred and I get to visualize history.

[Laurel Wicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stories behind some of Denver's biggest headlines between the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new here. If you are new to Denver or Colorado, this would be interesting. But these are oft-told tales that those who have been around awhile will have heard before. And book could have used some better editing and proofing.

[Christine Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in the Denver area for 40+ years and found this book very entertaining. I even knew one of the individuals written about.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Late 19th century to mid 20th century rich people scandals of Denver

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull.