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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I loved that this book spans decades of American history. I was not familiar with Marjorie Post prior to reading this historical fiction book and I found her to be fascinating.
This was an interesting read about a woman in history I knew very little about, Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir of the Post Cereal company which would later become General Foods before being bought by Kraft. Marjorie spent her youth helping her father launch the company, gluing cartons together for the cereal in the barn of their family farm and later served on the company’s board of directors.
It was interesting to read about the start of the company and learn of the relationship between Post and Kelloggs. I do have to say though that I may have overhyped this book in my own head. The online summary read “From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived an epic life few could imagine.” After reading that, I was expecting some Tom Cruise Mission Impossible level stuff, but actually it was more of her writing checks and hiring people to do the work. There was no juicy revelations about any of the famous people. I think Jackie Kennedy said “thank you for hosting us.” For some reason I was expecting more.
Her love life would rival Taylor Swift’s dating record and while she may have been lucky in business, her four marriages all ended pretty badly. One interesting thing I learned is that Marjorie is the original owner of Mar-a-Largo. It was built from her vision and desire to be a “trend setter” among the wealthy in the area.
Overall, it was an interesting read. Just not the dramatic story line I was expecting.
It was interesting to read about the start of the company and learn of the relationship between Post and Kelloggs. I do have to say though that I may have overhyped this book in my own head. The online summary read “From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived an epic life few could imagine.” After reading that, I was expecting some Tom Cruise Mission Impossible level stuff, but actually it was more of her writing checks and hiring people to do the work. There was no juicy revelations about any of the famous people. I think Jackie Kennedy said “thank you for hosting us.” For some reason I was expecting more.
Her love life would rival Taylor Swift’s dating record and while she may have been lucky in business, her four marriages all ended pretty badly. One interesting thing I learned is that Marjorie is the original owner of Mar-a-Largo. It was built from her vision and desire to be a “trend setter” among the wealthy in the area.
Overall, it was an interesting read. Just not the dramatic story line I was expecting.
One of my favorite bits of historical fiction is that you enter worlds that you'd never thought to touch on before - The Kellog brand is so ubiquitous, and yet I never spent any time thinking about the family itself or the woman who is heir to the fortune.
I think that there was an assumption on my part that Marjorie Post cannot be a feminist - and yet, this book turns that on its head. The author reveals how Miss Post advocated for equal education, and the ways in which she subtly undermined sexism through business, gaining power at a time when that was extremely difficult to do.
I would recommend this for a well-paced and informative read that never feels dry or repetitive.
I think that there was an assumption on my part that Marjorie Post cannot be a feminist - and yet, this book turns that on its head. The author reveals how Miss Post advocated for equal education, and the ways in which she subtly undermined sexism through business, gaining power at a time when that was extremely difficult to do.
I would recommend this for a well-paced and informative read that never feels dry or repetitive.
Marjorie Merriweather Post is great at business and terrible at choosing husbands. That's not the only takeaway from this book, though; there is plenty to learn. It starts in the 1890s in Battle Creek, Michigan, where young Marjorie's father is being treated by a Dr. Kellogg (yes, THAT Kellogg). Her father then goes on to become Kellogg's rival by creating his own brand of healthy cereal and, thus, the Post empire is born.
We see Marjorie Post grow up and survive failed marriages and World War 1, the Depression, winters in Russia, and WW2. She has a great sense for business and helps Post grow to become more than cereal, though she's not really allowed to run the business because she's a woman. As a woman of means, she ends up building some very recognizable estates. It was as interesting to read about these successes as it was to read about her marriage failures.
As someone who has been to many concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion and lives not far from Hillwood Estates in DC, it was great to learn about this woman whose name is all over the DC Metro Area.
We see Marjorie Post grow up and survive failed marriages and World War 1, the Depression, winters in Russia, and WW2. She has a great sense for business and helps Post grow to become more than cereal, though she's not really allowed to run the business because she's a woman. As a woman of means, she ends up building some very recognizable estates. It was as interesting to read about these successes as it was to read about her marriage failures.
As someone who has been to many concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion and lives not far from Hillwood Estates in DC, it was great to learn about this woman whose name is all over the DC Metro Area.
3.6/5
I enjoyed this book more than expected - I'm not always the biggest fan of historical fiction, but I learned a lot of history I didn't know at all. It was very interesting learning the history behind how Kraft (bought General Foods) came to be, and it is undeniable how much this once small-owned cereal company changed the food business forever. Marjorie seemed to be a very smart business woman, great mother, friend, and maintainer of art. Art comes in many forms, and learning about the architecture behind her many homes, paintings and decor, and jewelry sometimes came off in a privileged manner, but it stuck with me how she said these are investments that will be passed down for generations and appreciated forever, which is the case.
I enjoyed learning how much she gave back and supported the community and country. I felt this wasn't a perfect 5 for me because I felt she was written as if everything came very easily to her. I understand she was a smart and intuitive woman and made many important decisions, but it was written almost as if it was common sense. When the war started and Pataki wrote her response to simply just be "come up with new recipes! problem solved" it felt like diminishing the actuality of the intensity of the situation. So overall I felt she was written as if things were handed to her, rather than showing how hard she worked to achieve the successes herself.
I also felt some of the writing was a bit excessive. I understand Pataki was trying to demonstrate the beauty, luxury, and magnitude of what Marjorie was witnessing, but sometimes it was annoying (for lack of a better word) to read and seemed a bit out of touch.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable historical fiction read. It did read a bit like a biography, but I thought Pataki did a good job of giving Marjorie personality and the dialogue was dramatic and captivating. It showed the many emotions she went through over the course of her 4 husbands and emphasized her independence and what she learned throughout each of them. She seemed to be very progressive and ahead of her time, doing what was right regardless of scandal.
I do think it would have been nice to have a snippet at the end saying what happened to General Foods after her death, showing how it's now Kraft, but I know the book was about her life and not necessarily the company.
Also, small marks off because the book was divided in 4 parts based off each husband - while I see the logic behind this and how it helps the flow of the book, it makes her life seem dictated by men a bit, making each section about the man she's with instead of her. I understand your partner is a big part of who you are, especially because her husbands often dictated how she spent her time (i.e in the USSR when she didn't want to be there). Just a thought. Overall I'm glad I read it and would recommend to historical fiction fans.
I enjoyed this book more than expected - I'm not always the biggest fan of historical fiction, but I learned a lot of history I didn't know at all. It was very interesting learning the history behind how Kraft (bought General Foods) came to be, and it is undeniable how much this once small-owned cereal company changed the food business forever. Marjorie seemed to be a very smart business woman, great mother, friend, and maintainer of art. Art comes in many forms, and learning about the architecture behind her many homes, paintings and decor, and jewelry sometimes came off in a privileged manner, but it stuck with me how she said these are investments that will be passed down for generations and appreciated forever, which is the case.
I enjoyed learning how much she gave back and supported the community and country. I felt this wasn't a perfect 5 for me because I felt she was written as if everything came very easily to her. I understand she was a smart and intuitive woman and made many important decisions, but it was written almost as if it was common sense. When the war started and Pataki wrote her response to simply just be "come up with new recipes! problem solved" it felt like diminishing the actuality of the intensity of the situation. So overall I felt she was written as if things were handed to her, rather than showing how hard she worked to achieve the successes herself.
I also felt some of the writing was a bit excessive. I understand Pataki was trying to demonstrate the beauty, luxury, and magnitude of what Marjorie was witnessing, but sometimes it was annoying (for lack of a better word) to read and seemed a bit out of touch.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable historical fiction read. It did read a bit like a biography, but I thought Pataki did a good job of giving Marjorie personality and the dialogue was dramatic and captivating. It showed the many emotions she went through over the course of her 4 husbands and emphasized her independence and what she learned throughout each of them. She seemed to be very progressive and ahead of her time, doing what was right regardless of scandal.
I do think it would have been nice to have a snippet at the end saying what happened to General Foods after her death, showing how it's now Kraft, but I know the book was about her life and not necessarily the company.
Also, small marks off because the book was divided in 4 parts based off each husband - while I see the logic behind this and how it helps the flow of the book, it makes her life seem dictated by men a bit, making each section about the man she's with instead of her. I understand your partner is a big part of who you are, especially because her husbands often dictated how she spent her time (i.e in the USSR when she didn't want to be there). Just a thought. Overall I'm glad I read it and would recommend to historical fiction fans.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This semi novel, semi biography was fascinating. I had inadvertently looked at aspects of Marjorie Post's life before but this woman lived a life worth reading about. Her resilience and kindness is inspiring.
I listened to the audiobook and I would highly recommend! The narrator is soo good.
I'm not usually one for historical fiction, but this had my attention from the beginning. I'm fascinated by Marjorie's life and I'm glad I got a little peak into her legacy.
I'm not usually one for historical fiction, but this had my attention from the beginning. I'm fascinated by Marjorie's life and I'm glad I got a little peak into her legacy.
3.5 stars. I enjoyed learning about the life of Marjorie Post, but this book needed more editing overall. The author spent less time on each successive marriage, and I felt like ultimately each marriage was written in a similar manner. I didn't really connect emotionally to any of the characters as they were written. I would be interested in reading more about Post and her life, but I think this book had more potential to wow me.
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced