Winner, 2012 Sally Hacker Prize, Society for the History of Technology
Hotel Dreams is a deeply researched and entertaining account of how
the hotel's material world of machines and marble integrated into and
shaped the society it served. Molly W. Berger offers a compelling
history of the American hotel and how it captured the public's
imagination as it came to represent the complex--and often
contentious--relationship among luxury, economic development, and the
ideals of a democratic society.
Berger profiles the country's most prestigious hotels, including
Boston's 1829 Tremont, San Francisco's world-famous Palace, and
Chicago's enormous Stevens. The fascinating stories behind their design,
construction, and marketing reveal in rich detail how these buildings
became cultural symbols that shaped the urban landscape.