The Season: Inside Palm Beach and America's Richest Society

I can't write a book review, because this is not actually a book. What clearly happened was that the author hung out in Palm Beach, drinking a lot of free liquor, thrilled with himself for meeting so many rich and/or well known personages and getting so many freebies because he was an author writing a book about Palm Beach, and hearing so much gossip. Then when his heavily liquored up "research" phase was done, he thought, why bother actually sorting through this material and turning it into a coherent book? Why don't I just send my spiral pad notebook with my scribbled notes to the publisher and tell them it's the manuscript?

This was a fun light read, but I think he is too enamored by the denizens. I didn't understand why he inserted Melania Trump late in the narrative, detailing how fabulous and smart she is. It didn't fit. Perhaps he's looking for his next gig.

As a recent retiree with snow-bird residence in a small co-op in PB, this was an interesting book to read, especially the parts featuring presidential candidate Trump. The best part of Palm Beach is its cleanliness, safety and scenery. The worst part is the bigotry inherent in the old guard. This book gives a good behind the scenes view of the pros and cons of PB.

I am not sure if it was because I downloaded it onto my kindle or whether he had a very poor editor. It's content is engaging, but having been a reader for many years, I find the lack of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation to be a little distracting. Since Donald is running for president, I find the information in this book to be quite interesting.

This is poor. Just a look at the rich, rich , rich , who do nothing but party, gossip & ? Didn’t finish it

Reading about the lives and lifestyle of Palm Beach residents is rich enough to give you indigestion. An amazing display of characters set amid an incredible tropical environment.

I enjoyed reading it as I have a home near Palm Beach. I enjoyed getting the down-low about what goes on there.

Basically a series of anecdotes. Like reading someone's diary.The interesting anecdotes were that Marjorie Merriweather Post liked her gold bath room fixtures because gold is much easier to clean, that one of Bobby Kennedy's kids OD'd in room 107 of the Brazilian Court Hotel, and that the Kennedy estate was falling in and had no A/C when the family sold it. Of course, Donald Trump weighs in with his genius for self promotion. I guess one could have used it for a guide to the hot bars and restaurants in the late 90's when the book was written. But the book is sadly lacking in insights and history of how Palm Beach became such a center for superficiality and messed up values. About the only insigths he offers is that super rich are often unhappy, and their children could care less when they die. Don't bother!

Boring. This is second rate.

Having met one of the books real life characters just recently on a holiday in Palm Beach and now reading Ronald Kessler's book makes my Palm Beach experience come to life all over again.

arrived early, i like the gossip in it, it truly defines the atificial importance of these rich people