About the Book
From the acclaimed bestselling author of "Philistines at the Hedgerow" comes a remarkably revealing profile of the Miami Beach no one knows-a tale of fabulous excess, thwarted power, and rekindled lives that will take its place among the decade's best works of social portraiture.
Created from a mix of swampland and dredged-up barrier reef, Miami Beach has always been one part drifter-mecca and one part fantasyland, simultaneously a catch basin for con men, fast-talk artists, and shameless self-promoters, and a Shangri-La for sun worshippers and hardcore hedonists. In Miami Beach it's often said that "if you're not indicted you're not invited." But the city's mad, fascinating complexity resists easy stereotyping.
"Fool's Paradise" is more than just a present-day profile of a dark Eden. Gaines journeys back into the city's social and cultural history, unearthing stories of the resort's past that are every bit as absorbing-and jaw-dropping-as those of its present. The book begins with a snapshot of the city's current excess (this is, after all, a sun-washed hamlet that boasts, on a per capita basis, more bars-and breast implants-than any other place in America), then plunges into the Beach's origins, chronicling the audacious rise of such hoteliers as the Fontainebleau's Ben Novack and the Eden Roc's Harry Mufson, the sharp-elbowed tactics of Al Capone and Frank Sinatra, and the Mac-10 shooting sprees of the Marielito and Colombian drug lords.
From there, the narrative shifts to two wildly eccentric souls who gave their lives to preserving the city's architectural dazzle and creating its color palette, introduces us to "the Most Powerful Man in Miami Beach," and arrives finally in the modern day, where we meet, among others, a kinky German playboy who once owned a quarter of South Beach and publicly flaunts his sexual escapades; a fabulously successful nightclub promoter whose addictive past seems to have given him a portal into the night world's id; and a gaggle of young sexy models, dreamers, and schemers on a mission to achieve significance.
Evoking the Beach's surreal blend of flashy Vegas and old Hollywood glamour, as well as its manic desperation and reckless wealth, Gaines persuasively demonstrates that though the Beach is-in the words of its most famous drag queen-"an island of broken toys . . . a place where people get away with things they'd never get away with anyplace else," it casts an irresistible spell.
Review :
Praise for "Fool's Paradise"
"Exposes scandal, intrigue, sex and drugs in the sun-drenched social spot... perfect reading for a lazy afternoon in the double-decker cabana." "
"--"Publishers Weekly"
"Gaines is at ease with all aspects of his subject...[he] also loves his characters, no matter how flawed they may be... His colorful snapshot of the weirdness that is Miami Beach will forever color your view of the Sunshine State. Original, gossipy and flat-out fun-will either have you booking the next flight or scare you off the place altogether."
--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Gaines inspects decadence at its zenith through the stories of some of the city's most famous and notorious-characters."
--"L.A. Confidential"
"Part Vegas flash and part old-school-Hollywood, Gaines shows us the 'manic desperation and reckless wealth' of Miami Beach."
--"Smoke Magazine"
"The book will make a hot beach read, and its pretty pastel cover will punch up everyone's new beach ensemble."
--"Miami Herald
""You don't read this book -- you inhale it. Considering the staggering cocaine consumption of South Beach, maybe 'snort' is a better word choice.Whatever word we use, "Fool's Paradise: Players, Poseurs, and the Culture of Excess in South Beach" is an irresistible book that wraps up hilarious and tragic stories and serves them in this elegant souffle."
--"St. Petersburg Times"
Praise for "Philistines at the Hedgerow"
"Breezy, irreverent, amusing . . . replete with scandals, scurrilous characters, assorted bacchanalia, and all manner of wretched excess."
--Laura Landro, "Wall Street Journal"
"Hugely entertaining . . . With wit and zest Gaines tells the storyof the embattled Hamptons through a series of deft profiles."
--Stephen Birmingham, "Washington Times"
"A narrative of surprising unity and velocity. Such a cast of eccentrics hasn't been seen since "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,""
--Jay McInerney, "The New Yorker"
"Richly entertaining."
--"People"
"A fabulous cast of real-life characters, both high and low . . . more fun than most fiction."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"A satisfying comedy of manners about snobbishness and land lust among America's overachievers. . . . Gaines knows how to tell a story, and he knows how to dish."
--Carl Swanson, Salon
Praise for "Philistines at the Hedgerow"
"Breezy, irreverent, amusing . . . replete with scandals, scurrilous characters, assorted bacchanalia, and all manner of wretched excess."
--Laura Landro, "Wall Street Journal"
"Hugely entertaining . . . With wit and zest Gaines tells the story of the embattled Hamptons through a series of deft profiles."
--Stephen Birmingham, "Washington Times"
"A narrative of surprising unity and velocity. Such a cast of eccentrics hasn't been seen since "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,""
--Jay McInerney, "The New Yorker"
"Richly entertaining."
--"People"
"A fabulous cast of real-life characters, both high and low . . . more fun than most fiction."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"A satisfying comedy of manners about snobbishness and land lust among America's overachievers. . . . Gaines knows how to tell a story, and he knows how to dish."
--Carl Swanson, Salon
