Jack: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and learned a hell of a lot. Fried is a true storyteller. I will recommend this book to friends. A
Tom: I agree - his style made it easy to read. I knew nothing about Fred Harvey. I am still bummed out about the demolition of the Alvarado. A
Karl: This is a good book. It’s interesting and informative. It’s apparently very well-researched. The writing style is crisp and clear. The book is organized logically and the narrative flows smoothly. The amount of information provided is huge, yet not overwhelming. It is well-written. While endeavoring to tell a story about a real family and its family businesses, it also sheds quite a bit of light on the growth of the American west from the mid-to-late 19 th century through the mid-20th century.
There are a couple of omissions that I wish had been included in the book. The first has to do with some of the Harvey business locations being shuttered under Ford and Freddy’s leadership. Who made those decisions? Why? And How? This is typically something not seen of a company during the “empire building” phase of its existence. The second has to do with the lack of detail of the end of the Harvey businesses and why the Harvey name fell out of our collective consciousness. Given the Fred-Ford-Freddy contributions to American business and the other famous folks with whom they came in contact, that they’re not much better known is a surprise to me. Some understanding of why that’s the case would have been a good way to conclude the book.
Those two issues aside, the book is one I’d recommend to anyone who might have a passing interesting in the era, the location, trains, or business development. This would be a good book for an enterprising business school to recommend to its students. A
Charlie: Agree. A-
Rob E: Really good. I thought Jack would mention the Chapter Titles. Starting with the Las Vegas chapter titles, it was in the 1970s when the Alvarado was demolished. Among the several history books we've read, this was perhaps the best done, by stringing together bits yet they all read smoothly. Some of his wording was beautiful: "God's early sketches for the Grand Canyon." He captured me there.
Great appreciation of New Mexico. Fred Harvey's management style was not Sandia's management style - enjoyed reading of his methods of keeping tack of data, food, details. Nice to see a history book that was reader friendly. A
Bob Woods: A. I read the whole thing, which is indicative of its quality of writing for me.
Bob Simon: A- Great book. I liked the factoids, such as the Rough Riders were gathered here.
Mike B: I didn't choose this book, it chose me. Easterlings had tickets to the Aug 2016 "An Evening With Fred Harvey" which they gave to Bonnie and me, and the guest lecturer taught from Fried's book. Bonnie bought it and read it and recommended it. When the Castaneda was going to open ... well, the rest is history.
Great job by the author - now I know to blur the distinction between historians and investigative journalists. Very interesting writing, did not stay on any one 'side subject' too long, the story moved well through the three generations. A
[Tom G redux]: Kenny G would hopefully have found this nit-pick: "nearby Roswell..." - say what?
 |
| "Teddy Roosevelt Alcove" - approaching balcony overlooking courtyard at Hotel Castaneda, Las Vegas, NM. Site from which Gov. Teddy Roosevelt addressed the Reunion of the San Juan Rough Riders, 1899. [Source: Appetite for America, ISBN 978-0-553-38348-5, pages 154-157] |
and from well beyond the Rough Riders Reunion alcove:
Here is my review of Appetite for America. After reading it I am sorry that I will miss the meeting to discuss it.
Thank you for choosing Appetite for America. I really enjoyed the book. It is well researched and quite well written. The book makes a strong case that Fred Harvey made a significant impact on the development of the American West. I learned a great deal of new information about the West. I must admit that I knew little about Fred Harvey before reading the book.
The book is also an excellent study in the history and development of an organization. The company was founded by a creative individual, was sustained by an excellent administrator after the death of the founder, and the organization floundered because there was no one in the family capable of leading the organization after the death of Ford Harvey. The logical leader was a woman and her leadership was not acceptable at the time--her gender certainly would make no difference today.
The book is full of interesting information. That is both a strength and also a weakness. At times in the second half of the book the author included interesting facts but they were often not necessary. At times I found myself plowing through information that could have been left out.
I will pass the book on to my nephew in Utah to read and share with others. Grade A-
 |
| Well-known Editor (Fair Condition, Some Pages Missing) and Author (Appetite for America) meet for the first time in Castaneda Bar, Las Vegas, NM, October 2019. |
No comments:
Post a Comment