Mansions in the clouds

the long version

"When architect Emery Roth died in 1948, he left a remarkable legacy of over 250 apartment buildings in New York City alone; executed not in the modern mode, but in a wonderful eclectic mix of Italian, French, and Spanish Renaissance styles. Many of these grand old buildings: the San Remo, the Beresford, the Ritz Tower have survived, adding an ineffable sense of style, sophistication, and romance to the urban fabricand relief from the ubiquitous glass and steel box. Historian Ruttenbaum has researched his subject meticulously, tracing Roth's career from his arrival in the United States from Hungary in 1884 up until he passed control of his firm over to his equally prolific sons in the 1940s."--Library Journal.