Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons - Tapa dura

In a mesmerizing story of money, celebrity, shady dealings, and high society, Gaines examines the exclusive enclave known as the Hamptons through the livesof its outrageously wealthy homeowners and renters. of photos.

Steven Gaines is a bestselling storyteller with a special gift for capturing social nuance, colorful detail, and quirks of character. Just a few examples:
-- A well-to-do former ballet dancer arrested for stealing his neighbors' furniture -- and showered with thank-you notes from his victims, who admired his skills at refinishing
-- The aunt and cousin of a First Lady, who for many years inhabited a Gothic mansion with twenty-eight cats (and no litter box)
-- A locally prominent family who played host to Captain Kidd in 1699 and still have the buried treasure to prove it
-- The Oscar-winning actress whose tearful performance before a local zoning board failed to secure her a permit to build a swimming pool
-- A self-made man of outsized appetites who realized his ambition of becoming the most powerful real estate agent in the Hamptons -- and died choking on a piece of steak
-- The world-renowned painter who, at a black-tie dinner party, attacked his host's piano with an ice pick
-- As well as many of today's Hollywood, Wall Street, and fashion- and art-world potentates -- all vying for a slice of land still inhabited by families that have farmed and fished the region for generations.