{"product_id":"the-dancer-the-dreamers-and-the-queen-of-romania-how-an-unlikely-quartet-created-americas-most-improbable-art-museum-9781610884945","title":"The Dancer, the Dreamers, and the Queen of Romania: How an Unlikely Quartet Created America's Most Improbable Art Museum","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Maryhill Museum of Art is located on 5,300 acres in the Columbia River Gorge. Miles from any sizeable town and surrounded by the gorge's spectacular scenery, Maryhill is an internationally recognized -- and undeniably eclectic -- repository of art that ranges from one of the nation's best Rodin collections to one of the world's largest assemblage of chess sets. It is, as The New York Times once described it, \"oddly fitting -- it brought the better works of man near one of the better works of nature.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDancer, Dreamers, and the Queen of Romania\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of the four widely disparate people whose lives intertwined in such a way as to lay the foundation for the museum. Loie Fuller was once the world's most famous dancer, who dreamed of becoming beautiful by creating beauty. Alma Spreckels was one of America's wealthiest women, who dreamed of being accepted for who she wanted to be rather than who she was. Sam Hill was a rich man who dreamed of becoming a great man. And Marie of Romania was a real-life queen who dreamed of being a fairy-tale queen. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it is the story of those who followed them. These people nurtured and grew Maryhill from a fascinating oddity that Time magazine once called \"a top hat in the jungle\" to one of the relatively few U.S. museums accredited in every category by the American Alliance of Museums. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a book that will appeal to readers who like both biography and history, and will have particular appeal, but by no means be limited to, Western U.S. and Pacific Northwest audiences. It is \"side-street\" history in the tradition of \u003cem\u003eBoys in the Boat\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eUnbroken\u003c\/em\u003e, or \u003cem\u003eDead Wake\u003c\/em\u003e. It will appeal to art lovers. It will also appeal to everyone who has visited or just passed by an inviting-but-oddly-located museum and wondered how it got there and who keeps it going. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis heretofore untold and remarkable story is narrated by a master wordsmith and historian. Steve Wiegand is the author or co-author of numerous books, including \u003cem\u003eU.S. History for Dummie\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003es\u003c\/em\u003e (Wiley), the 4th edition of which will be out in March 2019; Lessons from the Great Depression for Dummies (Wiley, 2009); \u003cem\u003eThe Mental Floss History of the World\u003c\/em\u003e (Collins, 2008) and \u003cem\u003ePapers of Permanence: The First 150 Years of the McClatchy Company\u003c\/em\u003e (McClatchy, 2007). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWiegand spent 35 years as a newspaper reporter and columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and Sacramento Bee, and has published in numerous magazines and periodicals. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bancroft Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/30\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781610884945\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 274\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2020 pg. 10\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Steve Wiegand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36661952282780,"sku":"9781610884945","price":23.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_9e2471e7-c69a-479f-bca7-167562b59ad9.jpg?v=1603900661","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-dancer-the-dreamers-and-the-queen-of-romania-how-an-unlikely-quartet-created-americas-most-improbable-art-museum-9781610884945","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}