Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir
by Wendy Burden (Gotham Books)
I read an article (I think it was in Vogue) about this new memoir by Wendy Burden, scion of the Vanderbilts and other ancestors of huge and ostentatious wealth. The article mentioned Burden’s family and her upbringing, and promised lots of dirt to prove, as Fitzgerald famously said, “the rich are very different from you and me.” I requested the book from my library and it took MONTHS for me to get it, so it must be extremely popular (whether this is due to the popularity of the subject matter or the influence of reviews in Vogue I know not). Anyway, I read the first fifty pages and found her writing style to be very entertaining and extremely witty. She has good storytelling skills and interweaves the family history in colorful, informative, and entertaining chunks throughout. And now the book is due at the library and they will not let me renew it because it has been “requested by another patron” (hey, clue to library – buy another copy!), so I shall return it with the rest unread. Not really my sort of book after all, but I recommend it as a lively gossipy read if that’s what you’re looking for!
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