He owns the place after wall, right . I might be in some other book store. Its been a great ride. Mitch and i owe you and books and books so much and its wonderful to have cspan booktv here taping the show tonight. This is a bigtime, great. Before i get any further along, i want to see if i can work this. Lifetime new yorker declares himself a florida resident. Great, i thought. He must have read the book. Because quite a few of us have known but this startling development for quite a while. What is that, mitchell . Hes not here yet . Well, save a seat in the back. The fact is [laughter] the fact is, i had to make it very clear to george gibson, my editor and morgan and my publisher at Grove Atlantic that i was not intending to write a donald trump book when i went up to talk to them about what i had in mind. There was gossipping trump book in the pipeline i knew about and next year theres big telloff book the tv insider at the white house is coming out with and what george and morgan wanted was a tell nothing book about trump. I told them that my book was the story of a place essentially and that he would have to be in there, but that not to worry, we were all on the same page and off we went, and the result is, palm beach, maralago and at the rise of americas xanadu. If you were to ask me what kind of book it is, i might tell you that is actually the story of a place and the people who made it what it is, and point you to a favorite of mine from a few years back entitled fill fill steens at the hedge row and how the hamptons became the favorite hideway for the rich and payment mouse in this book i get play a little bit david mccullough, dominic dunn and tell you how palm beach rows from nothing but an uninhabited manage grove studded swamp and something of a sequel to a book i published called last train to paradise, which is now in it 38th or 39th printing, came out in 2002. As i was doing the research for that book, which focuses primarily on the opening of the florida front frontier i came across so many story is couldnt find place for, and i filed those things away. And then 15 years or so later after trump was electioned and started referring to maralago as his southern white house, mitchell and i were talking and said that war Marjorie Merriweather posts idea for mar alag be all along. And he look at me and asked, what else do you know boat all that . And we got to talking and the next thing youll know, we decided i had the idea of for my next book. So, with that little preamble, let me shift gears just a little bit. I used to think that if you were lucky enough to have written a book and found a publisher for it, what you did next was retire to your chambers and write another book. He called me up to say hey wes, is a good chance we can get you on a morning news show with your book but he continued and you come to find out theres always a but related to these things. I said what is it . He said well they need a new angle. All that stuff happen of the book about 100 years ago. [laughter] but come up with one and come back to me when youve got one so i had to retire to my chambers instead of working on the textbook. The practice, i had a really very difficult time doing that. I was bound and determined that if our given the chance, Good Morning America charles, he was still the anchor on the show and he was a big reader. He liked having writers on the show. I was bound and determined to show that i could have an interesting conversation so i sat down in my studio and what i did was right up my fictionalized appearance. [laughter] just in case the real thing should never happen. Sad to say, the real thing never did happen but i was so happy with my version, it turned out that i decided to take it with me on tour everywhere i went without book. It turned out so well but i decided im not even going to wait for the possibility of some actual interview on Good Morning America. [laughter] im going to go straight to my version of those events. So tonight, since weve got tv here already, its almost the real thing. In favor of the suspension of disbelief, imagine this big tv screen appears that surrounds me and the breathless recap of the president previous 24 hours of tweets has just ended and the levitra commercial been softly away. The next voice you hear will be that of charles gibson. Still in anchorman still reading books and still interviewing authors. Most americans are familiar with john d rockefeller. One synonymous with wealth and lasting accomplishment memorialized by institutions by rockefeller. I could name the original Business Partner and standard oil. The man rockefeller identified as the grains of the outfits. The factors, they left standard oil at age 50. A new career in railroading, and land development. His vision forced to account the transformation on the entire eastern seaboard of the state and what it is today. Retirees and those seeking the good life. Instructional to miami and all the way to key west. Its little more than an overgrown scrap and virtually unreachable. The sucking sound about the traditional highways of the privileged such as white some strains and the rest with the residents packing up and heading south. They made their fabulous defeat in the 1920s. It remains the winter hideaway. With us here to talk today, 1000 miles away from the Nation Centers of societals significance, how became the newport of the south, redefining our notions, lets stand for it. [applause] the rise of americas bill. There you have it. Thats a great thing about being a writer. You can just redo it if youre not happy with it. [laughter] question or should i say charlie . Youve written about a variety of historical topics. The bloodiest way in american history, the film in chinatown, building the aqueduct that moved the river down the street of california to make allie possible. What drew your attention to this current story . Answer, well, charlie coley, if you had me on your show in 2002, you would remember about Henry Flagler set up to build at a possible railroad. Thats the kind of nonfiction ive been trying to. Real stories. Focused on engineering primarily but theres a lot i came across while doing research but i couldnt work into that book. This kind of sequel or had the opportunity to explore the societal impact, much more about the people, many of the important people fought down to florida. Were talking about the likes of marjorie to the post serial fortune. Answer, she is one of those largerthanlife individuals along with her husband at the time. There have been quite a few before as it turns out. It became a place to see and be seen. That is because of henry own fascination with the place. Heres a poor kid, hacking and education who pulled himself up from his bootstraps and turned into a workaholic. In his 50s, he was forced into a fortification and got his first look at palm trees, heres transformed. He spent the rest of his life consumed with the notion that the slightest bit word love florida as much as he did. He eventually came to call his domain. The pinnacle of it all was palm beach. At the bottom of the 20th century, is on the island, with 400 breakers on the atlantic side he created express Train Service from penn station in manhattan to get there. Theres never been such a thing as a winter getaway to florida before and they were clamoring to get there. After he builds his 72 or 75 room marble palace of whitehall in 1904 and he and his new 34yearold mary began posting grand parties through the winter season. The rest of the members of the northeast social set were buying up property on the island and doing their best to help each other in architectural splendor. Question. He was profiting from this we might suppose. Answer, not really. Enjoy the fact that he writes about palm beach but by that time, he was well beyond keeping score. He took much more pleasure in having essentially developed the eastern seaboard of the entire state for people to live and prosper in for the last year is focused on extending his railroad from miami down to key west was the most important city in florida at the time. Question, did he and marjorie meet . Answer, they did not. Her first visit the island came after his death in 1912 and it wasnt until the 1920s they had began to roar. It became a true frenzy of activity in palm beach. Sewing machine hired architect to design the Everglades Club is a social center to the island. Hes a character as much as an architect. His well over 6 feet, 300 pounds. He would like to stroll around town and approached his work as if you are building what he called stories as much as houses. This revival design including that of the marisol would transform and dominate one architecture in the nation for the centuries to come. They might have but he was busy. Marjorie, one of the world just women who married one of them worlds most eligible bachelors was always looking for something different. A chance for his choice of set designer. The result wasnt unlike any other structure that continues to amaze to this day. A kind of ali baba setting with a trained with a couple of more husbands here and there along the way more than 40 years until the day she died. With kennedys and all the other luminaries who had been drawn to the island over the years. The post was something moral course on hold, even on couples off the dance floors if she thought they were getting a little too close or suggestive. I think it stemmed from the fact that her father ran off with the secretary when she was young. She idolized him and that was quite a disappointment. Later she had to put up with a series of indiscretions. When she discovered later in life a man she married was cheating on her with another fellow from the opposite team was almost too much for her to bear. She never lost interest in them. Even as she is pushing 80, she would quarrel with her daughters. One of whom was an actress, about wanting to date as she put it. You are not the ones who have to stick around this place. She never lost interest in that huge difficult state. Loved it and worried it would be torn down after she died. He tried to give it to the state and federal government to be used as a retreat for vips. All those owing to the extent of keeping the place up. Four or 5 million a year just to keep the utilities on, pain from filling, the grass cut. Thats how the current owner of the property came into its possession. Answer, to get the full answer to that, you will have to read the book. [laughter] when you find out exactly how that happened just how much cash there was, youll say thats worth the price of the book itself. I will tell you one story from the current file, if you were to pick up one of the 200,000dollar Club Memberships or cut yourself invited, youll find on the wall of the barr, the former library of the estate, there hangs an oil portraits. A notable one of trump himself, young enough sweater. The painting is a work of ralph kellan, a virginia transplanted to West Palm Beach into the source about trump detail. Trump did have a look and his rendition very much. There was something about it that needed to be discussed. Trump got them on the phone and told him how much he liked the painting. Thats great, kellan replied. Its all yours. Left out one of my hands, trump said. Theres just no white space or my left hand ought to be. There was a pause on the other end of the line. Well, if you want me to add the hand, that will cost you 10000. [laughter] charlie laughs. His only been the two. Thats correct. Its a number of years after he products. He turned into clubs as a way of saving it because hed actually come to love living there. I spoke to some length who served as chief of staff for the resumes, i thought his stories were priceless. Question, during the book, i expect you will usher us. Answer, that a lot more. I do have this recurring fantasy he wakes up in the masters chambers one night to find the ghost of missus post there to set him straight on a few things. I have to take out when the editor told me that Charles Dickens had already used that plot. Maybe we could do with a rerun. But before we end, when all said and done, what you think reading your book has helped . Answer, thats a tough one to lay on an author but ill give it a go. First thing, i grew up as a bluecollar kid the rich and powerful. We are always a little fascinating but certainly mysterious. Im hoping im speaking to people like myself having to maneuver things at the top. I hope i clarified the end of the day, even the grand and glorious face the problems we all do. One of the richest women in the world never could find the right man and she pretty much lifted from life trying to do good things, trying to purchase what she thought was a proper example. Beyond that, while palm beach is almost impossibly grand and glorious, far beyond the kind of place most of us are likely to live in, you could say the same thing about the taj mahal. Such places have come to be created for the even exist if inspirational in and of itself. The fact is, you can go down there right now and plan and stroll in the street and shop the shops and even stay at the Breakers Hotel if you want to know how the other half lives. Thats around palm beach. The beauty is there for the taking. Charlie. Fascinating stuff. I wish we had you on the show a lot sooner. [laughter] my pleasure, charlie. [laughter] [applause] ive got a little show and tell that ill run through and if you have any questions or comments, i would be happy to take those. This is a map can you hear me . A map of florida, i think its 1849 but it didnt change much the next 20 30 years. It looked this way when he came. You could draw a line across the state from jacksonville to tampa and south lot line, there wasnt much there. Many maps had to have it printed incognito. That gives you some idea the magnitude of the change is taking place in 150 years or less. Hes certainly responsible for most of that change that took place from jacksonville all the way down to key west. Theres a picture of the man himself. I wrote a piece but i say yeah, he knows flagler. Flagler street maybe but even my daughter how to explain Flagler College where she is a graduate and named after that. Many students tell me the same thing. Everybody knows rockefeller. When he was modest, he didnt care about grand eyes met. Even though he was quite a philanthropist and did a lot of things, when he brought the railroad to miami and back, they were so great for the 100 people who lived in dallas out of gratitude, your to do rename the place flagler. Call it after the river at that place and they did. That was difficult for him and thats why a lot of people dont know a lot about him. A lot of the Railroad Work got done because i wasnt such thing as heavy equipment at the time. Troubles, wheelbarrows. If you ever tried to put a palm tree in your backyard, he would know what kind of backbreaking labor it is particularly when its hot outside and mosquitoes are biting which they always really are. Amazing that it got done. The last 153 miles was mostly water. The hotel that flagler built in florida and saint augustine, its today the old main of that college. The place that people enjoyed living. Repeated the process all the way down. He booked the hotel, extended the railroads so his friends could get there. The first place they came they thought was fabulous. When he found palm beach, he realized he found real joy. This was a wooden structure and wooden structures dont do so well in this climate. They were torn down in the 1930s. People liked it so much they began to ask, we want the one over by the breakers. It burned down in 1900, it burned down again in 1926 and the third time it was replaced, it was replaced with concrete fireproof structure looking exactly like it looks today. Its been refurbished on the inside to a degree but on the outside, thats what it looks like this day. There is, the view from the ocean. This is an interesting character, the subject of a book. One of the nurses for his first wife who was ill with tuberculosis. He eventually passed away. Married ida but she wasnt prepared for the pressures of trying to ascend to that level of society. One of the things a fascination she developed was a ouija board. She was convinced she was communicating with a number of important and influential people with the ouija board. Was talking to them and regularly the crown prince of russia who proposed to her, she was certain and explained to her that they would have to die she and he could be together. She never got around to trying to murder flagler but she did set up on her psychiatrist, wounded him pretty seriously. Flagler gave an endowment for her there to surpass what was necessary her there. She outlived him for almost 20 years. Died in the 30s and one of the headlines when she passed away was world richest Insane Person died. [laughter] a lot of interesting stories about her. There he is at 72 having married his third wife, a member of the influential prominent north carolina, still prominent in north carolina. You might think this will never work but by all accounts, eight years they spent together 1904 1912, they are very happy together. When they got married, flagler asked what she might like to run against. She said well, ive always wanted a marble palace so he booked her one. Theres whitehall, the first brand on the island at palm beach. The hotels were there they were great hits but the sweat changed everything. The establishment of whitehall and the concept of people can actually live for an extended period of the place. Meticulously restored and if youve never been there, i commend you just as i commanded the Breakers Hotel. It really gives you a sense of other granddaughter. After flaglers death, they got involved with robert, married him and fell into ill health exacerbated by a growing dependence on opium and some believe exacerbated by his urging. Shortly before her death, it turned out her will have been rewritten, giving him a significant portion of the proceeds which he used to buy a career and found the newspaper empire. This is how you got around in palm beach. For a number of years, cars were not allowed on the island because predominantly it ended up africanamerican. The bicycle and became bathroom. Theres no way you could get them, they were fans. There were no roads. He was also something of a fragment. Gambling establishment where people could get a few drinks, dance and gamble a bit. Bradleys club was a big hit. A post with the father who founded the post and coffee drink and empire, heres something of a hypochondriac himself. Developed online what he called healthfood and became very wealthy, never had any other children. He wanted a son but he would bring her to board meetings and when she was 14, should sit at the board table and would insist upon asking her opinion, important decisions being made. The businessman of the time but it gave her a Good Business granting and she eventually took over. She took over the company which eventually remains the state general. She became part of the worlds most wealthy women. There she is, a young woman, quite beautiful. Theres hutton in 1920 at the height of his power. They really were the living emblem of the roaring 20s. People just talk they were living and. When they came to palm beach, there, they raised things to yet another level. They came down, apparently the beginning took the highlight, the real highlight in palm beach was the construction of the Everglades Club in 1918, the sewing machine fortune hired meisner to design the club which is still there. Still very much a force in palm beach life. That set things on the role and thats one of the things that group the huttons down there to that winter social. Theyve never been a winter getaway. This mother never been such a thing as a winter getaway. There is nothing to come to. Theres meisner, you cant really see that up there on his shoulder and this rendition but it gives you a sense of what he was. He was a very interesting guy. I this is one of his creations. He said there some areas around the island that remind me of venice. They developed a palace that looks like it. A lot of architectural writing about this significance of malabo. The patent were into houses. Marjorie had on long island, called hillwood, she eventually sold that and became the Long Island University in the 1950s. They were in washington. Today its a museum. She had the largest apartment residents in new york city. They built malabo and they had 660 acres with 85 structures and a lot of people had what they call camps but nothing like the camp, you cant get to it by road. Drive to the south and, take about, get out of the boat house and go to a ski lift. Behind it chemical 80 feet up to a bridge and thats where you enter the property. Its still in existence. For about ten years, a blonde to stay in new york, you could stay there for a couple hundred bucks overnight. In is a texas businessman who now lives there himself. If you want to make friends with them, you can go out there, too. At the Worlds Largest private yacht. A recent picture on service. Its mostly around the caribbean and its not so big. Wonderful some of these things still exist. This is a picture of hillwood. In 1960 there, thats a lovely film, it gives you a classic beauty of the place. Fortunate to go inside, its amazing. Theres the front gates, even if you dont have 200 grand, you can drive down to the ocean and see that. Theres the living room of the place and donald trump had been meticulously restored. Everything was better when he bought it in 1985. Everything that was there has been redone to the nines. Most of the original furniture remains. She had the original and the house itself was really after the palace and rome. It had a lot of the furniture including the dining room table that seats 32. It weighs tons. Manufactured in several pieces. She had that removed before her death to the hillwood home in washington d. C. But commissioned a copy of it. Thats the table that still sits there. But this is all original furniture and she used to theres some outgrowths, 32 guests at her dinner parties because that table set 32 people. There was a butler for each of the 32 guests. There would be a butler standing behind each of the 32 people. She would stand up in the little alcove when people are coming in because she liked to see the looks on the peoples faces as they walk in. Not because she wanted to see, she wanted to see astonishment. She wanted to share the sense of wonder that she felt like she created. She loved sharing the amazement of being in a place like that. Thank you. There she is in a little later after she divorced, the story of how she came to divorce him, she married a guy named joseph who became envoy to russia. Thats where she got a lot of art during the 30s. She bought incredible amounts, most of which is still on display. Theres her niece, the daughter of hutchins brother who became famous, she had if marjorie had trouble, barbara took it to a whole other level. Another beautiful one. Heres marjories daughter with dena merrill, they become a notable actress. Heres one of her promotional shots from the 60s. Heres the southern white house operation there. Heres palm beach as it looks today. An aerial shot. Thats about all ive got. [applause] anybody have questions, comments . Love to hear it. I worked in hollywood. Hurricane came through, everything that wasnt concrete went through palm beach. [inaudible] the hurricane did not significantly impact the island. Nor did the depression significantly affect his life in palm beach. People lost a significant portion of their wealth but at the level of wealth we are talking about, someone interviewed one of the shopkeepers and he said we have lost much business. If youve still got 50 million, you cant afford a new parapets. I was in the 1930s. They were just living at another level. They were pretty much proof to that. You said after he finished writing, he had all this information. You have a lot of information left over from that . Do i have a lot of information left over after this book as i did after i finished last train to paradise . For the longest time, used to come to and they said they enjoyed the last book. I started off writing novels. I have ten novels. When they came out, they had the shelf life of a quart of milk so its quite a thrill, imagine a book i came out with 17 years ago was still with more copies than they did when it came out. So i used to think if i had another idea to write a book, i would certainly sit down and write it. But sometimes, you just cant get out of your own way, you dont see that there is a story there that people might be interested in. Think it was really that conversation that i said terms calling the white house now, thats what marjorie tried to make out of it 40 years ago. Its just one of those things where you say oh, theres a story. So i dont know, maybe theres some material there that i will be able to revision. Right now, im not sure theres anything left. Thanks for the question though. Why didnt he replicate that . One of the notable things was it was built to reinforced concrete which had not been used to build before. Its one way they could get buildings taller. Its only stable for about three or four stories. Not so much even then. Reinforced concrete was the median that allowed the Railroad Arches and bridges to be built across what he considered sufficient strength and you build across the cut go down the keys. Its just that he didnt replicate the use of that material when he built that. He wanted to get it up quickly. When the breakers burned down the first few times, it was so popular the important thing was to get great build instantaneously. Imagine 500 room hotel being built in five months. Even today. The only way to do that was with woody. Thats the principal reason. It is only after the third building the board of directors said about the breakers, it took them a year end a half to three instructed. Thats the medium that was used. Why they do it like that . Would have made more sense if other considerations, and the way. Did i get to interview donald trump . No, i did not get to interview donald trump. This was not a donald trump book and by this time, heres a political figure. I didnt think it would be worth my time trying to get that interview. [inaudible] [laughter] the tweet says great giants cap. [laughter] [applause] the father of a student killed in the shooting and monitoring sermon high school, his this portion of the program. The people who wanted to stay it was about a scary gun, it was the our eight and if it was, i would be up here telling you that it was. I was going to figure out everything how my daughter got killed. It was all these leniency programs of these kids, they first kid was before kid. They first him and he wasnt allowed in. Thats how dangerous he was. He turned to scoop the shoot the school up. He was never arrested. At one time, his Mental Health workers wrote a letter to his psychiatrist that they were worried, they couldnt find a hundred. There was a hatchet mincing in his garage into they didnt know what they should do with him but those case counselors overseeing him, eight months later, they recommend him to be mainstreamed into the School District with my daughter. From middle school, he was infatuated with guns, in the book you can read it, he said he wanted to kill. They had to tie his desk down in middle school. The end of the day when they mainstreamed him back into high school, the first class they put him in was jrotc where they taught him how to shoot and gave him a rifle. Thats whats going on in the schools. To watch the rest, visit our website tb. Org. Why metal died using the search box at the top of the page. Next on book tv, scott adams offers his thoughts on politics and the media. Gloria steinem, chronicles her life and career inflator Craig Shirley discusses George Washingtons mother. Check the Program Guide for more schedule information. Join me in welcoming scott adams. [applause] is there a capital . We are just going to dive right into questions. Ill read atl