Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I first saw this book, I was skeptical, but I bought it anyway. I was raised in Asheville, and my grandfather was employed by the Biltmore Estate for many years, working in the dairy at first and later delivering milk and other dairy products around the wider Asheville community. My parent's and grandparent's homes were just a short distance away. Biltmore Village was a part of my daily experience from birth. It is a part of so many of my personal memories, as well as those I heard from my grandparents, my mother and my uncle about their memories of the estate as they grew up. The Vanderbilts regularly held holiday gatherings for their staff and the staff members families through the years: I remember hunting Easter eggs there, and seeing the Christmas tress lit, and many such festive occasions. Yes, Mr. Vanderbilt was a product of his wealthy upbringing in many ways, but he was quite rare, as this book portrays, in his early efforts to understand "the locals" and certainly rare in his efforts to provide decent jobs, at decent wages, and in his ongoing efforts to see to it that people had decent housing, food, and medical care. This book did not go far enough forward in time to cover Mrs. Vanderbilt: a pity, because her focus on, and promotion of, the weaving skills (and other skills) of the local women that provided wages for many over several generations. I hope to see a subsequent book covering her many contributions to the community. As a child, I had to have each of my baby teeth pulled since the roots did not dissolve. The reward I requested each and every time was stopping at the weaving center created by the Vanderbilts, where for decades large looms were positioned so that visitors to the estate could watch as intricate bedspreads, coverlets, and many other items were woven and offered for sale. Many, many other weavers wove at home, but were able to market their work through the Biltmore Estate and Biltmore Village shops. Houses built for many of the people employed at the estate as it was built and expanded are still standing, and still occupied. Many advancements in modern forestry were promoted there and spread out to other regions of the country. So this book "rang true" to what my family had experienced and the stories I heard in my childhood. I was pleased to see a balanced portrayal of how hard it was for people like the Vanderbilts to understand the damage they wrought on the community on the one hand, but also portrays their efforts to understand and assist "the locals." While selling the family farms was extremely difficult, it is also true that in most instances the land had been farmed to death over the generations. That, and the changes in the overall culture of the US meant that change was coming to the area whether it was wanted or not. I do believe that ultimately the good intended by G.W. Vanderbilt at least balanced the damage done by the building of the estate, and in the long run has contributed quite a lot to the development of the Asheville area. This book accurately portrays the times and the feelings of the parties involved, and is both an interesting and informative read. I truly hope there will be a sequel to this book about the later efforts within the community by both George Vanderbilt and his wife Edith.