Stephen Birmingham

Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations

About Stephen Birmingham

Stephen Birmingham (1929-2015) was an American author of more than thirty books. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he graduated from Williams College in 1953 and taught writing at the University of Cincinnati. Birmingham's work focuses on the upper class in America. He's written about the African American elite in Certain People and prominent Jewish society in Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York, The Grandees: The Story of America's Sephardic Elite, and The Rest of Us: The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews. His work also encompasses several novels including The Auerbach Will, The LeBaron Secret, Shades of Fortune, and The Rothman Scandal, and other non-fiction titles such as California Rich, The Grandes Dames, and Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address.

Marlene Wagman-Geller

Anne De Courcy

Ron Chernow

Arthur T. Vanderbilt

Niall Ferguson

Francesca Cartier Brickell

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.

Learn more at Author Central

1 11 1

$10.99

Kindle Edition
$14.99

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition
$16.49

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition
$11.99

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition
$8.99

Kindle Edition
$8.99

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition
$10.99

Kindle Edition

Author Updates

Books By Stephen Birmingham

All Formats Kindle Edition Audible Audiobook Paperback Hardcover See more

"Our Crowd": The Great Jewish Families of New York (Modern Jewish History) Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 163 )

$10.99

The #1 New York Times bestseller that traces the rise of the Guggenheims, the Goldmans, and other families from immigrant poverty to social prominence.

They immigrated to America from Germany in the nineteenth century with names like Loeb, Sachs, Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. From tenements on the Lower East Side to Park Avenue mansions, this handful of Jewish families turned small businesses into imposing enterprises and amassed spectacular fortunes. But despite possessing breathtaking wealth that rivaled the Astors and Rockefellers, they were barred by the gentile establishment from the lofty realm of “the 400,” a register of New York’s most elite, because of their religion and humble backgrounds. In response, they created their own elite “100,” a privileged society as opulent and exclusive as the one that had refused them entry.

“Our Crowd” is the fascinating story of this rarefied society. Based on letters, documents, diary entries, and intimate personal remembrances of family lore by members of these most illustrious clans, it is an engrossing portrait of upper-class Jewish life over two centuries; a riveting story of the bankers, brokers, financiers, philanthropists, and business tycoons who started with nothing and turned their family names into American institutions.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio CD

Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 1,071 )

$14.99

A history of the Manhattan building and its famous tenants, from Lauren Bacall to John Lennon, by the New York Times–bestselling author of “Our Crowd”.

When Singer sewing machine tycoon Edward Clark built a luxury apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the late 1800s, it was derisively dubbed “the Dakota” for being as far from the center of the downtown action as its namesake territory on the nation’s western frontier. Despite its remote location, the quirky German Renaissance–style castle, with its intricate façade, peculiar interior design, and gargoyle guardians peering down on Central Park, was an immediate hit, particularly among the city’s well-heeled intellectuals and artists.

Over the next century it would become home to an eclectic cast of celebrity residents—including Boris Karloff, Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, singer Roberta Flack (the Dakota’s first African-American resident), and John Lennon and Yoko Ono—who were charmed by its labyrinthine interior and secret passageways, its mysterious past, and its ghosts. Stephen Birmingham, author of the New York society classic “Our Crowd”, has written an engrossing history of the first hundred years of one of the most storied residential addresses in Manhattan and the legendary lives lived within its walls.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

"The Rest of Us": The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews (Modern Jewish History) Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 99 )

$10.99

The New York Times–bestselling history of the Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland who altered the American landscape from New York to Hollywood.

The wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who swept into New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by way of Ellis Island were not welcomed by the Jews who had arrived decades before. These refugees from czarist Russia and the Polish shtetls who came to America to escape pogroms and persecution were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the “old country” to be accepted by the more refined and already well-established German-Jewish community. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined, and in no time they were moving up from the ghetto tenements of New York’s Lower East Side to make their marks and their fortunes across the country in a variety of fields, from media and popular music to fashion, motion pictures, and even organized crime.

Among the unforgettable personages author Stephen Birmingham profiles are radio pioneer David Sarnoff, makeup mogul Helena Rubinstein, Hollywood tycoons Samuel Goldwyn and Harry Cohn, Broadway composer Irving Berlin, and mobster Meyer Lansky. From the author of “Our Crowd”, comes this treasure trove of fascinating tales and unforgettable “rags-to-riches” success stories that celebrates the indomitable spirit of a unique community.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

The Jews in America Trilogy: "Our Crowd," The Grandees, and "The Rest of Us" Jun 28, 2016

by Stephen Birmingham

( 38 )

$16.49

Three New York Times bestsellers chronicle the rise of America’s most influential Jewish families as they transition from poor immigrants to household names.

In his acclaimed trilogy, author Stephen Birmingham paints an engrossing portrait of Jewish American life from the colonial era through the twentieth century with fascinating narrative and meticulous research.

The collection’s best-known book, “Our Crowd” follows nineteenth-century German immigrants with recognizable names like Loeb, Sachs, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. Turning small family businesses into institutions of finance, banking, and philanthropy, they elevated themselves from Lower East Side tenements to Park Avenue mansions. Barred from New York’s gentile elite because of their religion and humble backgrounds, they created their own exclusive group, as affluent and selective as the one that had refused them entry.

The Grandees travels farther back in history to 1654, when twenty-three Sephardic Jews arrived in New York. Members of this small and insulated group—considered the first Jewish community in America—soon established themselves as wealthy businessmen and financiers. With descendants including poet Emma Lazarus, Barnard College founder Annie Nathan Meyer, and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, these families were—and still are—hugely influential in the nation’s culture, politics, and economics.

In “The Rest of Us,” Birmingham documents the third major wave of Jewish immigration: Eastern Europeans who swept through Ellis Island between 1880 and 1924. These refugees from czarist Russia and Polish shtetls were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the “old country” to be accepted by the well-established German American Jews. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined. Their incredible rags to riches stories include those of the lives of Hollywood tycoon Samuel Goldwyn, Broadway composer Irving Berlin, makeup mogul Helena Rubenstein, and mobster Meyer Lansky.

This unforgettable collection comprises a comprehensive account of the Jewish American upper class, their opulent world, and their lasting mark on American society.

The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 99 )

$10.99

The New World’s earliest Jewish immigrants and their unique, little-known history: A New York Times bestseller from the author of Life at the Dakota.

In 1654, twenty-three Jewish families arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York) aboard a French privateer. They were the Sephardim, members of a proud orthodox sect that had served as royal advisors and honored professionals under Moorish rule in Spain and Portugal but were then exiled from their homeland by intolerant monarchs. A small, closed, and intensely private community, the Sephardim soon established themselves as businessmen and financiers, earning great wealth. They became powerful forces in society, with some, like banker Haym Salomon, even providing financial support to George Washington’s army during the American Revolution.

Yet despite its major role in the birth and growth of America, this extraordinary group has remained virtually impenetrable and unknowable to outsiders. From author of “Our Crowd” Stephen Birmingham, The Grandees delves into the lives of the Sephardim and their historic accomplishments, illuminating the insulated world of these early Americans. Birmingham reveals how these families, with descendants including poet Emma Lazarus, Barnard College founder Annie Nathan Meyer, and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, influenced—and continue to influence—American society.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

The Right People: The Social Establishment in America Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 32 )

$10.99

An enlightening and entertaining inside look at the lifestyles of America’s extremely wealthy from the bestselling author of “Our Crowd”

It’s no secret that the rich are different from the rest of us. But the rich, as author Stephen Birmingham so insightfully points out, are also different from the very rich. There’s Society, and then there’s Real Society, and it takes multiple generations for families of the former to become entrenched in the latter. Real Society is not about the money—or rather, it’s not only about the money—it is about history, breeding, tradition, and most of all, the name.

The Right People is an engrossing and illuminating journey through the customs and habits of the phenomenally wealthy, from the San Francisco elite to the upper crust of New York’s Westchester County. It is a marvelously anecdotal, intimately detailed overview of the lives of the American aristocracy: where they gather and dine; their games and sports, clubs and parties, friendships and feuds; their mating, marriage, and divorce rituals—a potpourri of priceless true stories featuring the Astors, Goulds, Vanderbilts, Vanderlips, Dukes, Biddles, and other lofty names from the pages of the Social Register.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

The Auerbach Will: A Novel Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 137 )

$11.99

A poignant and unforgettable rags-to-riches family saga following three generations of a remarkable clan from downtown ghetto to Park Avenue opulence

Marrying Jack Auerbach was Essie Litsky’s salvation, enabling her to break free of her strict Russian-Jewish immigrant parents and escape New York’s poor, dirty, overcrowded Lower East Side. Together with her husband, Essie amassed a fortune that dwarfed their wildest dreams: She was living in a grand mansion on Park Avenue, collecting priceless art, even conferring with a US president.
But money could never buy the affection of family or compensate for the true love Essie let slip away. And now, as she nears the end of her life, she must contend with blackmail and heartless legal assaults coming at her from all sides, the result of the ugly, persisting greed of her own children and grandchildren. But Essie is not dead yet, and those who underestimate the remarkable old woman are in for a shocking and powerful surprise.

In this New York Times bestseller, Stephen Birmingham, acclaimed chronicler of the lives of the super-rich and author of “Our Crowd”, introduces three generations of a singular family as it moves from poverty to privilege over the course of a cataclysmic century, led by one of the most endearing and unforgettable heroines in modern American fiction.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Shades of Fortune: A Novel Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 16 )

$10.99

From the New York Times–bestselling author of “Our Crowd”: A novel of a powerful family, a cosmetics empire, and the dark secrets that could destroy both.

Mireille “Mimi” Myerson took her grandfather’s struggling cosmetics company and turned it into an empire. But suddenly, as she prepares to launch a new perfume line, Mimi is faced with hidden threats at every turn. Her efforts to further expand the enormously successful Miray Corporation could be sabotaged from within by her own treacherous family, for there is a dangerous rot beneath the surface of the wealthy and aristocratic “Magnificent Myersons”: a dark tradition of lies, sexual perversity, and criminal activity that could undermine everything Mimi hopes to accomplish. With the discovery of her husband’s affair and the return of real estate magnate Michael Horowitz, her first and most enduring love, Mimi must determine whom she can trust—especially in light of the shocking revelations that are about to emerge regarding the birth of the Miray Corporation.

In both his bestselling nonfiction (“Our Crowd”, The Right People) and fiction (Carriage Trade, The Auerbach Will) author Stephen Birmingham has demonstrated an unparalleled understanding of the ways of America’s extremely rich. This unique knowledge comes into glorious play in his blistering novel Shades of Fortune, a thrilling and unforgettable breakneck ride through the darkest passageways of wealth and success.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Certain People: America's Black Elite Sep 27, 2016

by Stephen Birmingham

( 15 )

$8.99

The author of “Our Crowd” takes readers inside the gossip-tinged world of the 1970s Black elite, one obsessed with history, standing and appearance.

Other Formats: Hardcover

America's Secret Aristocracy Sep 27, 2016

by Stephen Birmingham

( 21 )

$8.99

America’s Secret Aristocracy is a report from inside the shush-shush inner circle of America’s upper crust. Full of eccentric family members and well-sourced gossip, bestselling writer Stephen Birmingham spins an entertaining social history.

Other Formats: Hardcover

The Wrong Kind of Money: A Novel Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 11 )

$10.99

A gripping novel of dark family secrets, bigotry, lust, and lies set in the world of the phenomenally wealthy

The Liebling family is among the wealthiest in New York, but in the eyes of “old money” gentile aristocrats like the patrician Van Degans, they will always be lower-class Jewish nouveau riche—especially since it’s common knowledge that patriarch Jules Liebling built the powerful Ingraham Corporation from the profits he made selling liquor during Prohibition while in cahoots with dangerous mobsters. Jules is long dead and his widow, Hannah, runs the business with a tyrannical hand. Hannah is reluctant to turn over the reins to the heir apparent, her capable son Noah, despite the fact that she is now well into her eighties.

But when Noah’s wife, Carol, meets Georgette Van Degan for lunch at Le Cirque, gossip circulates around Manhattan about a thaw between the families and, quite possibly, a partnership. As rumors fly, family skeletons on both sides are exposed, leading to jealousy, betrayal, and even violence. Author Stephen Birmingham explores the dark side of wealth, family, and privilege in The Wrong Kind of Money, brilliantly displaying his phenomenal storytelling skill along with his intimate knowledge of the lives of America’s aristocrats.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Mass Market Paperback

Real Lace: America's Irish Rich Dec 1, 2015

by Stephen Birmingham

( 11 )

$10.99

Extraordinary true stories of the Irish in America, their remarkable rise from urban poverty, and the powerful dynasties they engendered

Author Stephen Birmingham, who chronicled the rise of Jewish immigrants to extraordinary wealth and success in “Our Crowd”, now turns his attention to the Irish. Real Lace tells the colorful and fascinating true stories of America’s most renowned Irish-Catholic families. Scions of courageous, driven, and resilient men and women who escaped starvation during Ireland’s terrible potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, they battled their way out of the slums of Boston and New York, overcoming prejudice and poverty to achieve great wealth, fame, and political power.

Here are the remarkable tales of the Kennedys and Cuddihys; the astonishing rise and tragic fall of the McDonnells of Wall Street; thrilling yarns of Floods, Mackays, O’Briens, and other so-called Silver Kings of California; and unforgettable stories about brilliant, if not always scrupulous, Irish politicos who learned how to retain enduring power by perfecting the urban political machine. Birmingham’s enthralling history celebrates the pluck, blarney, and unshakeable spirit of a remarkable group of achievers.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , Audio CD

←Previous Page
1
2
Next Page→

More Information

Are you an author? Visit Author Central to change your photo, edit your biography, and more

See Author Pages Frequently Asked Questions

Anything else? Provide feedback about this page

Similar authors to follow

About Stephen Birmingham

Customers Also Bought Items By

Are you an author?

Author Updates

More Information