2011 Dinners

1. All My Life: A Memoir by Susan Lucci ~ This very private actress, wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, friend, and entrepreneur pulls back the curtain to reveal her story including successes as well as the darker moments she experienced. Charming, down-to-earth, and compelling, it reminds us of the power of dreams and how we can find the courage and tenacity to make them come true.

 

 

2. Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Why Fifty Is Not the New Thirty by Tracey Jackson ~ The cure for fear is laughter, and this book offers an antidote to all the scary aspects of aging.  It harbors the voice of reality to counter the claims of a youth-oriented culture.  Thanks to this funny, practical and engaging book, women of all ages will have a good laugh.

 

 

3. Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz ~ This biography of the singer-songwriter gives an enjoyably thorough and convincing explanation of why Dylan's new music has gone on finding new audiences ever since he burst upon the New York folk scene of the early 1960s. A beautiful book which sets a new standard for the cultural history of popular music in America.

 

 

4. Can’t Take it With You: The Art of Making and Giving Money by Lewis Cullman ~ Learn from one of the nation’s most generous philanthropists who applies the principles of the LBO to philanthropy.  He discusses how he began giving money away in ways that would really make a difference, while making a case for the reformation of private foundations.

 

 

5. Catching Heat: The Jim Leyritz Story by Jim Leyritz ~ The 1996 World Series with Leyritz at bat was a turn-around event for the New York Yankees after 18 years. This book recounts the thrilling spectacle of professional and personal highs and lows that take fans behind the scenes of life on the road, in the locker room, and ultimately to the defendant's seat in a courtroom. Jim’s story is an inspiring example for anyone who wants to pursue a dream or learn life’s lessons.

 

6. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly ~ This engaging courtroom thriller, the fourth legal thriller featuring Mickey Haller, has been ripped from the headlines. Haller’s client in a suit against the bank attempting to foreclose on her mortgage is accused of killing the bank official in charge of foreclosures. Connelly keeps us in suspense until he reveals The Fifth Witness.

 

 

7. The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush by Howard Blum ~ This Edgar award winning author uncovers the spirit and mood of the Old West and tells the fascinating story of the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush through real-life characters, impeccably researched and well documented. You’ll enjoy this step back in time.

 

 

8. Fool's Paradise: Players, Poseurs, and the Culture of Excess in South Beach by Steven Gaines ~ This sour-sweet city history exposes scandal, intrigue, sex and drugs in sun-drenched Miami beach.  The pretty pastel cover will punch up everyone's new beach ensemble.  Perfect reading for a lazy afternoon.

 

 

9. Hamptons Gardens by Jack deLashmet ~ This photographic essay represents the work that deLashmet, a master of garden design, has envisioned.  Each project portrays his concepts and values, while reflecting the forces of nature and owners together.  As you peruse the pages, you will bask in the visual beauty of the Hamptons.

 

 

10. History of Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life by Jill Bialosky ~ When suicide is the cause of death, grief is rendered more complicated and haunting. Bialosky's courageous anatomy of family secrets and tragedies, pain and guilt provides extraordinarily valiant and resonant testimony to the healing powers of truth and empathy.

 

 

11. How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle by Gideon Rose ~ As the editor of “Foreign Affairs” magazine, Gideon Rose analyzes the factors complicating the termination of wars, He looks at how unintended consequences of war overwhelm even the best intentioned plans of American leaders. The book should impress anyone hoping for better management of war and peace by Washington.

 

12. In the Hamptons Too : Further Encounters with Farmers, Fishermen, Artists, Billionaires, and Celebrities by Dan Rattiner ~ Long time publisher of the local beloved “Dan's Papers” provides a local view of the East End. He pays tribute to local figures, known and unknown. You’ll stay on the edge of your beach chair.

 

 

13. I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish ~ After the tragedy of losing his three daughters in Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish became the first Palestinian doctor on staff at an Israeli hospital. This personal account will give you insight into the tortured politics of Palestine, Israel and the Middle East.

 

 

14. Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner ~ The Ottoman Empire sets the stage for a compelling story of an obedient Jewish woman who is preordained to follow the obligations of her faith.  Esther finds her beliefs clashing dangerously with the passions she has staved off her entire life—forcing her to confront the most difficult and damning question of all: To whom must she be true, God or herself?

 

 

15. Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama by Eric Alterman ~ This distinguished CUNY professor and columnist for “The Nation” blends an incisive political analysis with a clear agenda for change. This work cuts through the clichés of conservative points of view and media analysis to demonstrate that genuine change will come to America only when people challenge the system.

 

 

16. The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City’s Historic Buildings by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel ~ This is a definitive resource on New York’s architectural history documenting more than 1,100 landmark status buildings.  The book presents a panorama of styles and building types of all five boroughs, each having a distinctive character and history.

 

 

17. The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China by Hannah Pakula ~ This is a vivid, if often unflattering, portrait of a 20th century symbol of resistance.  Brilliant, alluring, and well-educated, Madame Chiang was also shrewd and ruthless. As the wife of Chiang Kai-shek, she ruled with him through tumultuous and tragic times. Epic in scope, her enthralling life story paints a vivid picture of the foremost anti-communist faction in the Far East at that time.

 

18. Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta ~ With this riveting debut legal thriller, this author, a federal sex crimes prosecutor in Washington DC, weaves a tale of romance and suspense. She smoothly blends both into an engaging legal thriller that tackles a still-taboo subject of domestic violence and the complexity and ambiguity inherent in the legal process.

 

 

19. The Lion by Nelson DeMille ~This fast-paced and best-selling fifth John Corey thriller, a sequel to The Lion's Game, is full of exciting visual imagery. It is now 2003 and terrorist Asad Khalil is back in New York City to finish his revenge against the 1986 U.S. military attack on Libya that killed his mother and siblings, and to finish John Corey. A page turner until there aren't any pages left to turn.

 

 

20. Long Gone by Alafair Burke ~ This is the type of book that should come with a warning. It’s a compulsively readable, highly addictive and suspenseful thriller. As a lawyer, the author understands the criminal mind and so “Long Gone” is both an education and entertainment of the first order.

 

21. Mary McDonald: Interiors: The Allure of Style by Mary McDonald ~ Consistently ranked one of House Beautiful’s top 100 designers, Mary McDonald’s gorgeous interiors have graced the cover of every major design magazine.  In her first book, she explores the themes that inform her stylish yet playful sensibility. Exquisitely photographed, this vivid book is a must for anyone who loves sophisticated, ravishing interiors.

 

 

 

22. Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro ~ Robert A. Caro, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, describes how Lyndon Johnson mastered the Senate, breaking the power of its conservative Southern bloc, and ramming through it the first civil rights bill to be passed since Reconstruction—and explains what Johnson’s success can show us about the problems President Obama faces today.

 

23. Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train by Ina Caro ~ In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites readers to travel back through 700 years of French history via 25 one-day train trips departing from Paris. Her passion and knowledge of France reveals its soaring cathedrals, enthralling history and sumptuous cuisine.

 

 

24. Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner ~ The New York Times's Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Gretchen Morgenson, and her co-author reveals how the financial meltdown emerged from the toxic interplay of Washington, Wall Street, and corrupt mortgage lenders. Character-rich and definitive in its analysis, this is one of the best accounts of the financial crisis.

 

25. Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero by Tom Clavin and Danny Peary ~ This timely and poignant biography sheds light on an iconic figure from baseball's golden era—and establishes the importance of his role in the game's history. Maris remains the authentic single-season home-run king. Perhaps too little, certainly too late in recent years, he has been venerated and vindicated. Better yet, in these pages, he is appreciated.

 

26. Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead ~ This coming of age novel steeped in ‘80s pop culture weaves a graceful tale of a privileged African-American teenager spending the summer in Sag Harbor.  It evokes memories of a time in life when the fog of adolescence weighs heavily on each day's activities and chronicles the lazy sun-soaked days sandwiched between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

 

 

27. Second Sight: Views from an Eye Doctor's Odyssey by David Paton ~ This is a lively, layered and engaging memoir written by a doctor best known worldwide for founding ORBIS, the international nonprofit flying eye hospital responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of persons in 87 nations from permanent blindness. Moderately dyslexic, incessantly curious and blatantly frank, Dr. Paton tells his no-holds-barred story with humor, pathos and empathy. He shows convincingly that a single person can initiate life-altering change for millions of otherwise hopelessly blind persons---and he considers that fact his greatest achievement and his highest reward.  The book is an easy read and is receiving high praise from its early reviewers – including four and a half stars from IndieReview.

 

 

28. Stories My Father Told Me: Notes from "The Lyons Den" by Jeffrey Lyons ~ Return to the Golden Age of NYC nightlife, when top restaurants and glittering nightclubs were the gathering spots for great figures of the era. Assembled in this entertaining book is a compilation of anecdotes from Leonard Lyons’s best columns, along with a selection of recent interviews with stars of today.

 

29. Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets by Dick Cavett ~ An erudite and amusing conversationalist, Cavett relays stories of the famous and infamous guests on his celebrated talk show.  Johnny Carson, Norman Mailer, Walter Winchell, Betty Davis are just a few of the celebrated guests revealed in these personal essays. Cavett—a modern icon of the talk show genre—will continue to keep you entertained.

 

30. Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin ~ This definitive history goes behind the scenes of the financial crisis on Wall Street and in Washington.  It is a gripping financial narrative that displays how the most powerful men and women in finance and politics decided the fate of the world’s economy.

 

31. The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag After Stalin by Stephen F. Cohen ~ A professor of Russian studies and history at NYU, Stephen F. Cohen, began researching the lives of those victims released after Stalin's death 30 years ago. There was precious little information available at that time, and many victims were still afraid.  He persisted, and through the years accumulated the remarkable stories of their return to society.

 

32. War at the Wall Street Journal: Inside the Struggle To Control an American Business Empire by Sarah Ellison ~ This is a superlative account of a deal with reverberations beyond the news, told with the storytelling savvy that transforms big stories into timeless chronicles of American life and power.  Ms. Ellison shows Rupert Murdoch for who he is—maneuvering, firing, and undoing all that the Bancrofts, the WSJ dynastic owners, had protected.

 

We’re Not Leaving:  9/11 Responders Share their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal by Benjamin Luft ~ Sharing their stories, the first WTC responders reflect on the horrors of the day that ten years ago set the world on a new path.  It is a wealth of narratives about the human experience, the personal tragedy, the mesmerizing intensity as the day unfolds in the words of those who were there. This book is the companion piece to a film documentary to be aired September 8, 2011 on PBS and featured on a "60 Minutes" segment on 9/11.

 

34. Why Not Say What Happened: A Memoir by Ivana Lowell ~ In this recent memoir, the author movingly shows how a child’s love can transcend a parent’s flaws.  It’s a no-holds-barred glimpse into the unconventional lifestyle and family dysfunction of a child of privilege.

 

 

35. You Know I’m right: More Prosperity Less Government by Michelle Caruso-Cabrera ~ This straight-talking CNBC reporter demands a modern solution to our nation’s social and economic woes—a return to our political roots: fiscal conservatism, limited government and personal accountability. She makes her points with clarity and challenges the reader to disagree.

 

 

 

36. The Surprise Party ~ Summer fashion, great food and wine are on the menu of this fun party highlighting surprise celebrity authors.  Guess who is coming to dinner! Georgina Bloomberg, Danyelle Freeman, Christina Haag, Robert Klein, Jill Martin, Dana Ravich

To become a 2012 dinner host please fill out the Dinner Host Form.