Lady on the Hill
Lady on the Hill is a book written by Howard E. Covington. The book was published in 2006 and is listed under the Travel category. For readers who want to quickly understand what this title offers, this page gives a clear overview of the book, including its description, author information, page count, ratings, and ISBN details.
The full title of the book is Lady on the Hill. When available, the subtitle is How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon, which gives extra context about the theme, focus, or main idea behind the book. According to the available description, Lady on the Hill tells the inspiring story of the thirty-five-year effort to restore this fading beauty to her former glory–all without a penny of government funding or outside foundation grants. Central to this true-life tale of rebirth against the odds is George Vanderbilt’s grandson William A. V. Cecil, a well-mannered, highly educated man who, when caught up in an idea, becomes a whirling dervish, generating enough energy and enthusiasm to motivate everyone around him. And, according to author Howard Covington Jr., Cecil gets a week’s worth of ideas before he’s done with his Monday morning shave. In the late 1950s, attorneys, financial managers, and tax accountants were united in advising Cecil and his brother, George, to sell off the estate’s 12,000 acres in order to create a suburban subdivision. Cecil quietly ignored this advice and came up with a better idea: over the next four decades, he would turn this down-at-the-heels mansion that was a drain on the family business into the most successful, privately preserved historic site in the United States, perhaps even the world. Cecil succeeded beyond even his wildest dreams. Not only did he raise the money needed to begin and continue a painstaking, decades-long restoration of the house itself, but he also achieved a goal that even his grandfather had found elusive. He made Biltmore Estate a self-sustaining, working enterprise that included a vibrant tourist destination, a working winery and vineyard, and a farming operation; employed hundreds of people; and attracted hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy every year. Lady on the Hill tells a lively tale of eccentric, upper-crust characters, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and one man’s determination, innovation, loyalty, and stubborn persistence to succeed against the odds. It also provides a brilliant, if unorthodox, model for anyone involved with the preservation and restoration of a historic home.
This book has 331 pages, making it useful for readers who want to know the approximate length before starting. It has an average rating of 3.89, based on 371 ratings, which can help readers understand how other people have responded to it.
For cataloging and reference purposes, the ISBN-13 is 9780471758181, while the ISBN-10 is 0471758183. These numbers are helpful when searching for the exact edition of the book online, in libraries, or in bookstores.
The book cover image can be viewed here: http://books.google.com/books/content?id=YFp5AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&source=gbs_api.
Overall, Lady on the Hill by Howard E. Covington is a title that may interest readers looking for books in Travel. Whether you are researching new books, comparing editions, or building a reading list, this page gives you the most important details in one place.
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