House
of Outrageous Fortune: Fifteen Central Park West, the World’s Most
Powerful Address, by Michael Gross
(Atria), details the rich history behind New York’s most
prominent residential address, 15 Central Park West. Home to
celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Sting, Kelsey Grammer,
NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, and infamous Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez,
the walls of 15 Central Park West have witnessed some of the
juiciest cultural moments of our time. Michael Gross spares no
details as he dishes the dirt in this realestate tell-all. But
15CPW isn’t home to celebrities alone: The vast roster of
inhabitants spans the entire globe, from Russian oligarchs and
property magnates to top executives from Google, Citigroup, and
Goldman Sachs. Regardless of their profession, they all have one
thing in common—insane amounts of money—and Gross gives us an
inside peek at just what those mountains of moolah can buy. But
that isn’t to say that our author, whose writing style is a bit
dry at fi rst, is dishing ordinary, run-of-the-mill gossip. Gross
gives us a vivid portrait of a New York divided between old money
and new, skillfully and intellectually chronicling a secret
history of America’s greatest city—required reading for all New
Yorkers.
Shooting
Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood’s Most Famous, by
Jennifer Buhl (Sourcebooks), supplies readers with an all-access
pass behind the paparazzi cameras. Buhl paints a remarkable picture of the
business of celebrity photography. From late-night stakeouts to big cash
payouts, Buhl offers a unique perspective not only as a paparazza telling all,
but also as a woman rising to the top of a male-dominated industry. Buhl brings
a natural, vibrant cadence to her writing, an easy style that allows her to
divulge both secrets of the trade and interesting personal anecdotes featuring
celebs like Patrick Dempsey, Paris Hilton, David Beckham, and Katherine Heigl.
Perhaps most interesting is that Buhl never set out to become one of the droves
of photogs chasing celebrities through the streets. Hers is a modern
rags-to-riches story of a struggling L.A. barista turned full-fl edged paparazza
whose photographs have graced the pages of all the top celebrity magazines. It’s
safe to say that even if you don’t read the tabloids (it’s okay, we’ll never
tell), you’ll fi nd this multifaceted story delightfully entertaining.
NYPD
Red 2, by James Patterson and Marshall Karp,
(Little, Brown), takes readers on a twisted ride-along with two of
New York’s fi nest cops, Detective Zach Jordan and his stunning
but troubled partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald. Readers quickly
learn that Zach and Kylie are no ordinary police offi cers—they
are NYPD Red, an elite squad dispatched to protect and serve the
rich, famous, and powerful. Their case du jour involves tracking
down the nefarious Hazmat Killer, a vigilante who, at the novel’s
opening, has claimed four lives. Patterson and Karp spare no plot
twist in this page-turning thriller. Though it’s an easy read, the
storyline is expansive and complicated. Love triangles, mafi a
ties, and political entanglements abound, expertly layering this
character-driven mystery in such a way that no dull moment ever
arises. But are we surprised? Patterson has written more New York
Times Best Sellers than any other author. NYPD Red 2 is just one
more triumph from Patterson’s literary empire, and clearly we
can’t get enough. (Pro tip: Pick up the fi rst book in the series,
and get all the background on Detectives Zach and Kylie before
diving into their latest escapades. You won’t regret it.)
Not
Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You, by Greg Gutfeld
, (Crown), blends comedy with smart social
commentary as the author attempts to dismantle our modern concept
of what’s “cool.” And it turns out that cool is not as harmless as
you think. According to Gutfeld, it’s actually a relentless virus
that is infi ltrating America and driving us into ruin. Divided
into chapters that read more like organized rants than political
research, Gutfeld’s manifesto acts as a call to arms to reject
cool, to fi nd the courage to care about those things deemed
“nerdy” (education, business acumen, tradition), and to stop the
spectacle of approval-seeking masked as charity and activism.
Gutfeld, who can be seen on Fox News’s The Five and Red Eye, has a
defi nitive voice whose simplicity (and hilarity) acts as the
perfect vehicle for communicating his cut-the-crap message. This
book is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking . . . and dare
I say cool?
