House of Outrageous Fortune: Fifteen Central Park West, the World's Most Powerful Address Hardcover – March 11, 2014

It's slow to start. However, the list of famous people who lived there and their stories, were mesmerizing. The book is very long, too long. I think some of the lead up information in the first section could have been shortened. I almost gave up on it early on. The stories were the best part but you have to wait for it.

I have to admit glitzy, glossy novels chronicling the lives of the uber-well of have a certain place in my heart. And it was these tenets in mind that I chose to purchase "Fortune". I had read a bit of Gross's previous book about Beverly Park in Los Angeles so I guess I should've been aware of the abundance of facts and history tid-bits which though I enjoy reading about the building and sure, even the developers and fine, also the investors. I don't really want to read about every Tom, Jack and Sally buyer. I guess it might be in some peoples time to enjoy reading how a no-name rich guy from Serbia got his money - but not I. Those parts were the annoying parts - but everything else was great! I enjoyed reading about the developmental process - the butting of heads of the titans and the process of selling, building and reselling these homes. Great read - if you skip the boring parts. In my opinion the only "background pages" you should read are the ones talking about the Zeckendorfs, Stern and investors (Eyal Ofer of Global Holdings) (Goldman Sachs) in the building. You'll see what I mean! Also, I loved the story about that holdout tenant. I'm not sure it's worth $12.99 but if it's every <$8 I'd say without a doubt buy it! At the current price - make sure you really like 15CPW!

A real inside look of not on the physical aspects of 15 Central Park West such as descriptions of the lobby, pool, and the architectural details such as what building materials were used, but also layouts of some apartments, information about the in house restaurant which gives readers a real "inside"Equally fascinating are the many machinations that some prominent people and some not so prominent people indulged in getting apartments. Also information the building staff, their real feelings about famous and some not so famous residents.The larger social issues are also covered since 15 CPW is a condominium no Board approval is required and the often acrimonious process of getting into the upper upper end of the NYC is just not there. As some body once said the three most important qualities of a successful restaurant are:location, location, location, 15 CPW are money, money, money.It also validates what I believe JP Morgan's response as to how much it costs for his yacht "if you have to ask. You can't afford it. Item at one time SandyWeil allegedly give 90,000 in tips one year and to the consternation of at least some staff were highly chagrined whe. He allegedly cut it by half.

The author previously wrote - among other things - 740 Park Avenue about one of the legendary apartment buildings in NYC and its inhabitants from its building on. This book does the same for another building in NYC- 15 Central Park West. For those of us who live here, it is interesting to read how this building came to be built, and the people it attracted from days when it was only a blueprint to present. The title says it all - astounding amounts of money went into this apartment building from day 1. Still, I somehow didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book. Long- pages and chapters - of description of the development of the Upper West Side of NYC and how 115 CPW could only have been built after this development - were tedious at times. Still, in all, it is an interesting book and if you are interested in this type of story, go for it

In-depth information about the uber rich who buy multiple dwellings either as trophy apartments or as investments. Whatever floats their boat. I became fond of the developers and found the Zeckendorf family history interesting. Everyone concerned was only focused on making money, but the Zeckendorf's also wanted to make a great building. They succeeded - It is a great building and will outlive all of its buyers. Too bad it had/has to house some of the bankers and hedge funders that sucked America dry. I wish the author had spent more time on the actual workings of day to day operation of the building. There was some of that, but I wanted more.

I wanted to like this book. On a recent trip to New York, I was fascinated with the beautiful buildings and was excited to learn about them. Michael Gross would be the person you would want to go with for a tour to tell you the history. He obviously has done a great bit of research. Unfortunately, it was way over my head. I tried to read the book two times and gave up. Lots of names and buildings mentioned. I kept going to my computer to look up the buildings and people. I had to eventually give up. photos along the way would have been great. If you are schooled in architecture, you will love this book.

I'm about 65% through the Kindle edition of the book. I've really enjoyed the history of a lot of the buildings in New York, but there are no photos!!! In my humble opinion pictures would have added so much. I'm now reading about the obscene amount of money that's tossed around like pocket change by the Goldman Sachs crowd and a variety of hedge fund managers involved in purchasing and at some times flipping their respective condos in THE building of the moment. This book and the story it tells is pretty depressing. It perfectly illustrates the state of the U.S. I'm not sure I'll finish it.CORRECTION! There are pictures. They are about 70% of the way into the book. My problem with the Kindle is that I don't skip around. My apologies!!

This is an important document. The good thing about it is that you don't have the boring side of the document, because Michael Gross once again manages to fill his work with genuine interest for the human feeling which moves us all.

15 Central Park West, House of Outrageous Fortune by Michael Gross, is about the rich and famous and where they hang out. It reads more like a series of anecdotes.The building is now considered to be Number One in the city, the country and possibly the world. The record so far is $100 million for one of the units. Someone bought a $1.3 million lower rear unit for his maid. Those who bought and subsequently sold, have made huge profits.It recounts the history of the location, the history of the developers and it profiles several of the richest occupants. A lot of it is tedious, unless you have a pretty good understanding of hedge funds, mergers and acquisitions and all things Wall Street.In the building itself there is a hierarchy, according to square footage, park view, Broadway view, higher, lower, etc. Snobbery prevails. But mostly it's gossipy tales of the personal, financial and legal shenanigans of the occupants and in several instances, their ill-gotten gains. It definitely is not 'old money' rich... but rich beyond all imagining. So from a voyeuristic point of view, it's a lot of fun to read.in my opinion, this book is a cross between the Wall Street Journal and the National Enquirer. You'll like it.

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More like a real estate lesson than a story,... really "inside baseball" for New Yorkers. Telling the reader the names of the streets etc...meaningless to the public at large. Didn't finish the book which is rare for me.

So-so book,,,,for the ManHattan social climbersPaul Herriott