Looking for a “quick read” (that you will soon forget)? This isn’t it! But if you wish for a narrative more relevant to your own life, of an imperfect human beset with anxieties and sexual demons, of triumphs and heartaches, searching for “success” without knowing its meaning and a God he briefly touches—then the following “Contents” becomes the bones, the skeleton. Only within this book’s covers will flesh and sinew be revealed along with unexpected gems of places and famous people, of personal peril, and unique slants of observation. The Gladstone Legacy Co. promises that this is one memoir you will always remember.

Click the underlined topics for a sellected passage.

Table of Contents

ANCESTORS

Part One: The Offenbachs (1834–1880)
  Composer’s Family Moves To France
   Siblings Arrive In New York
   Street Gangs And Tammany Hall Rule The 1800s
Part Two: The Gladstones (1845–1886)
   English Textile Mills Face Competition
   Ireland—The Great Potato Famine And Rebellion
   Reuben Finds Work In American Mill
   Son Jacob Seeks Adventure In Vanderbilt’s Fleet
Part Three: Sarah and Jacob (1886–1892)
Lose Two Babies In Vain Attempt To Homestead
Return East Where Five Children Are Born

Part Four: The Rothmans (1872–1925)
   Yetta And Young Rhoda Flee Pogrom In Bessarabia
   Rhoda Reared In Sweat Shops
   “Madam Rhoda” Opens First Fashion Boutique On Madison Avenue

Part Five: Milton (1891–1974)
   Son Of Sarah And Jacob Becomes Famous Attorney
   Marries Rhoda Rothman—Hatred Mars Ceremony
   Makes And Loses Fortunes In Pursuit Of Lavish Living And Old Masters
   Disbarment Forces Association With Greatest “Scam Artists” Of His Time
   Behind The Scenes—Remaking Classic Horror Movie “M’
   National Scare Of Pedophiles And Hollywood Communists Doom Picture
   The “Raphael Mystery”—Old Master Discovered And Stolen
   Reinstated To Bar—Too Late

THE LIFE OF ONE DESCENDANT

Part Six: Julian (1925-1994)
- Early Remembrances
     Columbia Grammar And The Majestic
     Saranac Lake–Lake Placid—Mother Has TB
     Larchmont–Only A Large House
     Transvestism Emerges
- U. S. Army Air Force and World War II
     Training–Greensboro, Pittsburgh, Santa Ana, San Marcos Navigation
     Racism In The Military
     Nearly Crash In Greenland
     Eighth Air Force Misused
     Air Wars Over Europe–Napalm Experiment
     Eighth Comes Home–To Head For Japan?
     Polesti Oil Field Raid–A Fatal Screw up?
     Quebec–The Bromfmans And A French-Canadian Girl
- The Wharton School–University Of Pennsylvania In The Late ‘40s
     Fraternity Hazing–Unforgettable Professors
     Rowing–A Bigoted Coach
     Sexual Deviance But Lose Virginity–Finally
- Job Hunting Fiasco—World Not Waiting For Me
- Mexico—To Produce Motion Pictures
  Bull Fights—An Art Form?
- Hollywood and California
     Mingling With Film Stars In The 1950s
     Stranded By Father
     Touching God While Hitchhiking
     William Kapell–A World Class Pianist
- New York City—Columbia Pictures
     University Settlement House–Right From Wrong
     Pat Penn–A Lost Soul
     Catch Father Cheating
- Montreal—A Difficult Uncle’s Millinery Business
     Is It Love?
     Join J. Pascal Hardware Company–The First Large Home Improvement Center
     Back To Millinery And Quit Again
- Return To New York
     Lewis & Conger–Fight For Name Of Famous Store
     Rebuilding On Manhasset’s Miracle Mile
     Mother Battles My Marriage
     Cousin Jerry’s Joie De Vivre
     N. Y, Air National Guard–Floyd Bennett Field
     Lewis & Conger Folds
     Stint At George S. May Consultants–Strange Antics
- Montgomery Ward–Wealthiest Retail Chain Without A Clue
     Training In Albany
     Assignments In Rhode Island, New Hampshire And Virginia
     Store Manager In West Virginia
- Grand Union’s Grand Way–Entering Discount Retailing
  New Jersey, Vermont And Connecticut
  Meeting With CEO
- Los Angeles–A Step Up Retail Ladder
     Golfing As A Full Time Job—Almost
     Chain Splits—Out Of Work
     Traveling Salesman in Central California
- New York For Interview—Gaylords, A Family Business
- Youngstown—District Manager For Thousand Mile Territory
  A Transvestite’s Opportunities
- Cleveland—Giant Tiger–A Bad Acquisition
     Racial Tensions In The ‘60s
     Volcano Explodes Despite Mayor Stokes
     “Operation Breadbasket”
     Father Reinstated To Bar
     Orient Trip And Expo ‘70
     Negotiating Union Contracts
     Discounters—The Great Upheaval
     Demoted
- New Jersey Once More
     Move At Own Expense–A Gamble
     Create “Towers Catalog Showroom”–An Upcoming Concept
     Corporate Politics, Sex And Intrigue
     Sam Walton–An Executive To Emulate
     First Home Of My Own And Disappointment
     Showing Dogs–Success And Heartaches
     England—Retracing World War II Memories
     New Orleans–Opening Stores, Demons, Impending Disaster
     Axe Falls–As Expected
- Join Phony Entrepreneur
  ERCO–A Paint Sundries Distributor In Yonkers
- TSS–Seedman—Weirdest Retailer Encountered
- Seattle—Move To Start Own Business
     Unique Retail Store Gains Popularity
     All Things To All Customers—A Recipe For Failure
     Bankrupt–Every Effort Fails
     Seeking Place In Universe
     Fred Meyer–One of Few Surviving Discount Chains
          • Facing Reality
     Raeburn Painting
     Ernst Home & Garden—Home Improvement Chain
     Fired—Not Quite
     Ernst Destroyed By Greed And Mismanagement
     Home Depot— Customer-Unfriendly Procedures Wag The Dog
     A Conspiracy?

EPILOGUE