The Gilded Leaf: Triumph, Tragedy, and Tobacco: Three Generations of the R. J. Reynolds Family and Fortune - Softcover

Reynolds, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0595366589 ISBN 13: 9780595366583

Publisher: iUniverse, 2006

Synopsis

"Fascinating...Illuminating...stunning detail." Chicago Tribune"Fascinating insight into the evolution of a family over three generations that is simply a good read...panoramic sweep, bitter irony and tragic touches." Detroit Free Press"Fascinating insider's view of three generations of the R. J. Reynolds tobacco family...compelling." Richmond Times-Dispatch"An altogether fascinating story [that] quickly builds speed and interest and becomes an absorbing story of fortune and misfortune." Washington Post Book World"Readers of this captivating account may need to remind themselves that it is not fiction. There are colorful characters, a family rising from humble beginnings to attain fabulous wealth and power, scandal and tragedy wrought by excess-and an irony-laden finale." Publishers Weekly"A courageous and worthwhile book. More than an entertainment, it documents the danger of parents who confuse money with love." New York Times Book Review * * * The Gilded Leaf is the riveting, dramatic saga of the R. J. Reynolds tobacco family, one of America's richest and most intensely private clans. R.J. was the original founder of the company that became part of RJR Nabisco, which in 1988 was involved in the largest business takeover in history. Spanning three generations, the Reynolds's story moves from the triumphs of founder and corporate genius R. J. to the dissipation, scandal, and tragedy that plagued his children and grandchildren. There is a redemptive close, with grandson Patrick Reynolds founding Smokefree America and becoming a leading anti-smoking advocate.The Gilded Leaf presents, for the first time, a complete account of the family who captured, spent and redeemed the American dream.For more information, please visit, www.tobaccofree.org/book/.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Reynolds is a grandson of R. J. Reynolds, and has become a leading anti-smoking advocate. In 1989, Mr. Reynolds founded the Foundation for a Smokefree America, a nonprofit group whose mission is to motivate youth to stay tobacco free and to empower smokers to quit. For more information, please visit www.anti-smoking.org.Critically acclaimed author Tom Shachtman has written more than two dozen books and many television documentaries. For more details, see his website, www.tomshachtman.com.

From Publishers Weekly

Readers of this captivating account of the R. J. Reynolds tobacco clan may need to remind themselves that it is not fiction. There are colorful characters, a family rising from humble be ginnings to attain fabulous wealth and power, scandal and tragedy wrought by excess--and an irony-laden finale. Concentrating on the period from the turn of the century to the present, but going back as far as 1828, Reynolds, grandson of R. J., and Schactman ( The Phony War ) explore the workings of a family whose success was a major contributor to the anguish of some of its members. Among these are Dick Reynolds, quintessential Jazz Age playboy who married four times and died of the combined effects of using alcohol and tobacco; Smith Reynolds, daredevil pilot who flew around the world, married twice and died of a gunshot wound--possibly inflicted by his wife--at age 20; and R. J. (Richard Joshua), shrewd, remarkably civic-minded paterfamilias who built the family fortune. Coauthor-descendant Reynolds has put a nice twist on the family history by becoming a crusader for the anti-smoking movement. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0595366589
• ISBN 13: 9780595366583
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 382