The principles of American prosperity Book

I feel like I've been reading this book since the beginning of time.

This is not because it's bad.

It's because it's old.

This was published in 1984. Most of the information seems to halt around the lat '70s. While still good information about the various families, I found myself at wikipedia nearly constantly checking up on the latest info.

So then I would fall down the wikipedia wormhole.

An hour later, I would get back to what I was reading.

The book makes a strong case that even in 1984, the House of Lords was just plain silly. And that dichotomy of the "noble class" makes you long for Downton Abbey-esque nobility and their select set.

Winchester is a great story-teller, and his ability to interweave the examples of lords-in-name-only with "but I'm a Lord" types is exquisite. He juxtaposes murderers with farmers. For the record, it seems that no one with a title can keep a marriage going for longer than a week. I also thought the nobility frowned at divorce, but it seems not.

Good read, fun, but have your computer open at all times.