Rating: 
Summary: TOO MUCH OLD HISTORY TO HOLD INTEREST
Review: I WAS EAGERLY WAITING TO READ THIS BOOK AND SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE HAMPTONS IS. WHY IT IS THAT SO MANY STARS AND RICH NEW YORKERS CONSIDER THIS THE PLACE TO BE. AFTER READING THIS BOOK THEY CAN KEEP IT! IT STARTED OUT TO BE INTERESTING BUT EVERY TIME THE AUTHOR STARTED A STORY HE FELT THE NEED TO GO BACK IN HISTORY AND EXPLAIN THE ORIGINS OF A HOUSE OR A PIECE OF LAND. WHO CARES? I WANTED MORE OF THE PRESENT DAY PEOPLE AND GOINGS ON. I FELT MYSELF DRIFTING OFF EVERY TIME HE WENT INTO ONE OF HIS HISTORY LESSONS. GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL GAVE A MUCH BETTER JOURNEY TO A TIME AND PLACE AND WAS A LOT MORE FUN!
Rating: 
Summary: Stayed Up All Night To Finish
Review: I'm from Lake Geneva, Wi another once exclusive enclave of the rich.It too has fallen to the nouveau riche. A fun, worthwhile story full of characters.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning summer Fare of Bright Sunshiny Writing....
Review: Mr. John Berendt, step aside...there's a steamroller of a writer on your heels with a splendid book so masterfully well-written, you'll be crying all the way to Chase Manhattan... That is, until PHILISTINES... catches your position on the Best Seller List and moves right by you in a New York minute. Sho nuff. Gaines has managed what few authors could possibly have accomplished or had the hubris to suggest: The Hampton's writer went MIDNIGHT... one better and trumped the Savannah book with a full house, or some such. PHILISTINES is delicious and better written, with more verve and style and refreshing, no-hiding honesty. Put it down, I dare you.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible book
Review: Save your money, give it to charity, do anything but spend it on a new copy of this book. This person is hideously conceited about his knowledge of, yet totally wrong about life in East Hampton. Why did this book get the hype? There are valid ones out there that are fun, good, informative reading. This book is ludicrous.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, spoiled, spendthrifts
Review: Ted Dragon's story is the only highlight. Otherwise one feels almost sorry for the pettiness and smallness of these folks(but then you remember these people have BILLIONS of dollars). That whole Gardiner chapter was pathetic. Obviously, money doesn't always buy you a life!
Rating: 
Summary: Great history of a community in which I never want to live.
Review: Telling this Hamptons history through the various characters and their properties kept me enthralled. And thoroughly disgusted with a class of people who have nothing better to do with their money. In the end I felt sorry for almost every character descibed...pathetic humans in search of what? I do wish the editor had been more diligent at catching misspellings, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and intriguing! The intricacies of money & fame.
Review: The author did justice to the combination of story-telling and history in this book. A well written story of the history of and lifestyle in the Hamptons, as well as documenting current problems and personalities. The development of the "characters" was well done. The book is a prime example of the rich, their quirks, and how money plays in that society. Well worth the read, if you can keep a sense of humor about the ridiculousness of some wealthy persons. I'd recommend this!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, but grossly edited.
Review: The beginning of this book places a heavy focus on "property." Just when one is reeling from the plethora of price tags, in comes Ted Dragon, whose stories about Ossorio and the Pollocks give the book its real heart. From Dragon's story onward, the book is engrossing.The copy editing of this book is appalling. I am sure that the author would be mortified to see the errors that got through. Considering its prestigious publishing house, elegant binding and hefty price tag ($40 up here in Canada with taxes), I expected a much higher quality of editing. The errors were distracting and disappointing. Overall, though, a satisfying read that kept me up long into the night.
Rating:
Summary: The Really Good Driving Tour
Review: The best way for me to describe Philistines is as the really good driving tour of the Hamptons. You get history, you get gossip, you get social commentary, you get, in other words, a feel for the Hamptons and how they came to be The Hamptons. The writing in Philistines (I'm a stickler for good writing) is breezy and smooth, perfect for summer or winter when you want to think about summer. My only quibble with the book is that the publisher could have included a map since I only have the vaguest of idea of where the Hamptons are on Long Island and how all the individual Hamptons fit together.
Rating:
Summary: The Really Good Driving Tour
Review: The best way for me to describe Philistines is as the really good driving tour of the Hamptons. You get history, you get gossip, you get social commentary, you get, in other words, a feel for the Hamptons and how they came to be The Hamptons. The writing in Philistines (I'm a stickler for good writing) is breezy and smooth, perfect for summer or winter when you want to think about summer. My only quibble with the book is that the publisher could have included a map since I only have the vaguest of idea of where the Hamptons are on Long Island and how all the individual Hamptons fit together.
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