Patricia Beard

In March 2005, Morgan Stanley, the most prestigious and, until recently, the most successful investment bank on Wall Street exploded when a group of eight retired executives ignited a revolt. This 'Group of Eight' - an Ivy League cohort that included a former chairman and president - called for the removal of CEO Philip Purcell, a Midwesterner who had come to power following Morgan Stanley's 1997 merger with Dean Witter Discover, where Purcell had been the chief executive.In the next four years, Purcell presided over a 50 per cent stock decline and a series of high-profile government and shareholder suits that Morgan Stanley has lost and, it seems, will continue to lose. But the revolt of the Group of Eight was about more than business performance; it signaled a clash of cultures and a battle for the soul of America's pre-eminent financial institution. Since its founding Morgan Stanley has been an aristocratic enterprise, guided by the motto 'A First-Class Business in a First-Class Way'. The House of Morgan stood for more than success with honor; there was an ethos about the place that was unique - some would say sacred - and the Eight believed that this ideal had been undermined by Philip Purcell. "Blue Blood and Mutiny" opens in early 2005, when the usually closely-guarded opinions of the Eight publicly boiled over. After their concerns were brushed off by the Board of Directors - packed with associates of Purcell - and several sympathetic executives resigned, the Eight bought a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal in which they called for the Board to appoint a new CEO. The unprecedented move stirred massive press attention, including a cover story in Fortune, and sparked rumors on Wall Street that Morgan Stanley was a buyout target. For the time, however, the Eight appear to have won the battle, for in June 2005 Purcell resigned and former president John Mack - who had been pushed out by Purcell - was appointed CEO.

In this poignant memoir, the internationally celebrated bandleader reflects on family, illness, grief, and a bygone era of glamour, contemplating not just his career but the history of midcentury music and nightlife--and the enormously important role that the bandstand played in his life. The internationally-famous bandleader Peter Duchin's six decades of performing have taken him to the most exclusive dance floors and concert halls in the world. He has played for presidents, kings, and queens, as well as for civil rights and cultural organizations. But in 2013, Duchin suffered a stroke that left him with limited use of his left hand, severely impacting his career. Days of recuperating from his stroke--and later from a critical case of Covid-19--inspired Duchin to reconsider his complicated past. His father, the legendary bandleader Eddy Duchin, died when Peter was twelve; his mother, Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin, died when he was just six days old. In the succeeding decades, Duchin would follow his father to become the epitome of mid-20th Century glamour. But it was only half a century later, in the aftermath of his sudden illnesses, that he began to see his mother and father not just as the parents he never had, but as the people he never got to know; and at the same time, to reconsider the milieu in which he has been both a symbol and a participant. More than a memoir, Face the Music offers a window into the era of debutantes and white-tie balls, when such events made national headlines. Duchin explores what "glamour" and "society" once meant, and what they mean now. With sincerity and humor, Face the Music offers a moving portrait of an extraordinary life, its disruptions, and revitalization.

Glamorous, cultured, and ambitious -- but fatally young and naive -- James Hazen Hyde was twenty-three when he inherited the majority shares in the billion-dollar Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1899. Five years later, at the pinnacle of social and financial success, he made a fatal miscalculation, and set in motion the first great Wall Street scandal of the twentieth century. On the last night of January 1905, Hyde gave one of the most fabulous balls of the Gilded Age. Falsely accused of charging the party to his company, he was sucked into a maelstrom of allegations of corporate malfeasance that involved the era's most famous financiers and industrialists. The shocking revelations that followed commanded hundreds of front-page stories and led to a government investigation that became a nationwide obsession and changed the law. Set against a backdrop of magnificence, excess, and corrupting glamour, "After the Ball's" themes are stunningly fresh: greed and chicanery, flawed love between fathers and sons, and contradictory American attitudes about wealth.

Glamorous, cultured, and ambitious -- but fatally young and naive -- James Hazen Hyde was twenty-three when he inherited the majority shares in the billion-dollar Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1899. Five years later, at the pinnacle of social and financial success, he made a fatal miscalculation, and set in motion the first great Wall Street scandal of the twentieth century. On the last night of January 1905, Hyde gave one of the most fabulous balls of the Gilded Age. Falsely accused of charging the party to his company, he was sucked into a maelstrom of allegations of corporate malfeasance that involved the era's most famous financiers and industrialists. The shocking revelations that followed commanded hundreds of front-page stories and led to a government investigation that became a nationwide obsession and changed the law. Set against a backdrop of magnificence, excess, and corrupting glamour, "After the Ball's" themes are stunningly fresh: greed and chicanery, flawed love between fathers and sons, and contradictory American attitudes about wealth.

Nothing ever changes at Wauregan... That is the mystique of the idyllic island summer colony, the comforting belief its multi-generation families have lived by for half a century. But in 1948, after a world war has upended countless lives, it is not certain that the islanders will be able to return to "the old days"-and for Helen Wadsworth, the war is not over. Helen's husband, Arthur was declared missing in action during an OSS operation in France, and she is unable to find out what happened, or whether he might, even now, be alive. Raising a teenage son, who, like his mother longs to know the truth, Helen turns to Frank Hartman, her husband's best friend and his partner on the OSS mission on which Arthur was lost, while Frank escaped. But Frank seems more intent on filling the void in Helen's life, which Arthur has left than in answering her questions. And then Peter Gavin, a young Marine who was captured and tortured by the Japanese returns to the island with his faithful war dog; and man and dog enter the lives of Helen and her son. Unsure of whom to trust, or what to believe, Helen takes matters into her own hands. As she seeks the truth, she makes a shocking discovery that will alter the course of her life, and change her perceptions of love and war. A mystery, a love story and an insider's view of a private world, A Certain Summer resonates long after the last page is turned. "Equal parts novel of manners, historical fiction, and a quiet examination of social mores, A Certain Summer weaves important questions about class, gender, trauma and family through its seemingly simple narrative as artfully as an experienced hostess arranges the seating at a dinner table, so that conversations flow....But Ms. Beard shows that even magical retreats like Wauregan are subject to the vicissitudes of the modern world....In the end...it seems that Wauregan's magic prevails in its very ability to change in a way that stays true to its origins, or even more precisely, that magic prevails as Wauregan learns it must change to stay true to its origins." -The East Hampton Star "Woven into this tale of loss and romance are themes of intrigue, growth, betrayal, psychological trauma and a fulfilling healing process. Beard's attention to historical details and understanding of the realities and shortfalls of privilege make a satisfying read." -Publisher's Weekly "A richly evocative debut novel." -Goodreads "A really satisfying read...I'm crazy about A Certain Summer...a perfect summer book." -Bookreporter.com

Nothing ever changes at Wauregan... That is the mystique of the idyllic island summer colony, the comforting belief its multi-generation families have lived by for half a century. But in 1948, after a world war has upended countless lives, it is not certain that the islanders will be able to return to "the old days"-and for Helen Wadsworth, the war is not over. Helen's husband, Arthur was declared missing in action during an OSS operation in France, and she is unable to find out what happened, or whether he might, even now, be alive. Raising a teenage son, who, like his mother longs to know the truth, Helen turns to Frank Hartman, her husband's best friend and his partner on the OSS mission on which Arthur was lost, while Frank escaped. But Frank seems more intent on filling the void in Helen's life, which Arthur has left than in answering her questions. And then Peter Gavin, a young Marine who was captured and tortured by the Japanese returns to the island with his faithful war dog; and man and dog enter the lives of Helen and her son. Unsure of whom to trust, or what to believe, Helen takes matters into her own hands. As she seeks the truth, she makes a shocking discovery that will alter the course of her life, and change her perceptions of love and war. A mystery, a love story and an insider's view of a private world, A Certain Summer resonates long after the last page is turned. "Equal parts novel of manners, historical fiction, and a quiet examination of social mores, A Certain Summer weaves important questions about class, gender, trauma and family through its seemingly simple narrative as artfully as an experienced hostess arranges the seating at a dinner table, so that conversations flow....But Ms. Beard shows that even magical retreats like Wauregan are subject to the vicissitudes of the modern world....In the end...it seems that Wauregan's magic prevails in its very ability to change in a way that stays true to its origins, or even more precisely, that magic prevails as Wauregan learns it must change to stay true to its origins." -The East Hampton Star "Woven into this tale of loss and romance are themes of intrigue, growth, betrayal, psychological trauma and a fulfilling healing process. Beard's attention to historical details and understanding of the realities and shortfalls of privilege make a satisfying read." -Publisher's Weekly "A richly evocative debut novel." -Goodreads "A really satisfying read...I'm crazy about A Certain Summer...a perfect summer book." -Bookreporter.com

In the first half of the 20th century, the golden age of newspapers, the colorful, charismatic, and controversial Roy W. Howard reigned as the most famous publisher, editor and journalist of his time. Named one of “The 29 Men Who ‘Rule’ America’” on the front page of the New York Times, Howard built the United Press; was chairman of Scripps-Howard, one of the two biggest newspaper empires in the United States; and was president and editor of the New York World-Telegram. The first global news entrepreneur, he was a model for journalism in the digital age. Howard traveled 2.5 million miles to land unique scoops, and was the privileged confidante of every US president from Woodrow Wilson to Dwight D. Eisenhower. He met privately and conducted one-on-one interviews with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Churchill, and the Emperor of Japan, and advised the most renowned figures of his time, among them a muddled Duke of Windsor, a grieving Charles Lindberg, and a desperate Chang Kai-shek. Based on fifty years of Roy Howard’s privately held diaries, and thousands of pages of his “Strictly Confidential” memoranda, Newsmaker’s author Patricia Beard takes the reader behind the scenes of a turbulent era, and provides background to the role of journalism in the digital age.