Party of the Century
The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball
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4.0 • 10 Ratings
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
In 1966, everyone who was anyone wanted an invitation to Truman Capote's "Black and White Dance" in New York, and guests included Frank Sinatra, Norman Mailer, C. Z. Guest, Kennedys, Rockefellers, and more. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings of the guests, this portrait of revelry at the height of the swirling, swinging sixties is a must for anyone interested in American popular culture and the lifestyles of the rich, famous, and talented.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Truman Capote's legendary masked ball, at New York City's Plaza Hotel on November 28, 1966, was a hyped-up media event meticulously masterminded by the self-promoting, social-climbing author of In Cold Blood. Davis (Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X) dishes up the menu, the decor, the outfits and the guest list of 540, clueing the reader in to how Capote dangled the prized invitations for months, snubbing early supporters like Carson McCullers as he determined who was "in" and who was "out." In choosing his guest of honor, Capote eschewed glamorous "swans" like Babe Paley and Marella Agnelli in favor of "dowdy" Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. Actress Candice Bergen was bored at the ball; Capote's elevator man danced the night away with a woman who didn't know his pedigree; and Norman Mailer sounded off about Vietnam. This frothy effort retreads ground already covered by Gerald Clarke, George Plimpton and Sally Bedell Smith, among others. Black-and-white photos have frozen the beautiful people of the '60s in all their preening glory, and readers also get to see the invitation and the fashion sketches of the elaborate masks and headdresses created by Halston and Adolfo.
