Lucy Kavaler

MUSHROOMS, MOLDS AND MIRACLES
The Strange Realm of Fungi
"There is something fascinating to me to be present when a mushroom is mushrooming," said John Cage, composer, and mushroom hunter. "I felt like a flower that had just started to bloom," was a statement typical of people who had partaken of the hallucinogenic mushroom or LSD-25, discovered in another fungus.This classic reveals the little-known kingdom of fungi --from the origin of life on earth to the significance of decay, mushroom as food or poison, truffle hunting,the bread mold that changed medical history,life-threatening and nuisance fungal infections,the potato blight that brought the Irish to the U.S., blue cheese, wine, beer and bread.

"This superb book does for fungi what Audubon did for birds, Rachel Carson did for the sea, Gibbon did for the Roman Empire ... and Freud did for the psyche." New Haven Register.

"A fascinating, ambitious book." Time magazine(lead review).

"Read Lucy's book.It's absolutely fascinating."Midwest Book Review.com

"A masterly feat.I doubt that anyone starting the book will be able to forego reading every word." Washington Post Book World.

"A classic book about fungi that does something extraordinary."Bookviews.com

"Mrs. Kavaler has written a captivating book." Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"A landmark in popular science writing...passionate,generous and smart."curledup.com

"Mrs. Kavaler's prodigious research and forthright presentation have made all too credible an incredibly complex and basically important subject."
Washington Star

THE ASTORS, A Family Chronicle of Pomp and Power
This book has never been replaced as the definitive biography.Today,it is more relevant than ever before in view of the highly-publicized scandals clouding socialite Brooke Astor's final years and leading to criminal charges of fraud and larceny after her death The book tells of earlier scandals and shows how the Astors got that way. The country’s first millionaires and creators of society's "400," they owned most of New York’s real estate and their influence was unparalleled. This biography also tells the very human stories of marriages, rivalries and feuds, and features a death on the Titanic, the prewar, pro-German attitude of the Cliveden Set and the lurid Profumo Affair which ruined a Cabinet Minister.

“All mortals who like good stories enjoy ventures in geewhizzery … Miss Kavaler fishes skillfully in glittering pools of Astors." New York Times Book Review.

"She has exceptional narrative gifts." Pasadena Independent.

"Lucy Kavaler has managed not only to trace the history of this remarkable family, but to breathe robust life into its long-gone members." San Francisco Chronicle.

"Lucy Kavaler, an authority on American society, here chronicles in a fascinating and meticulous manner how the Astor name became a symbol of wealth." Worcester Telegram.

“It is a wonderfully entertaining book, well-written, sympathetic, but honest." Hartford Courant.

“The Astors is full of the color of the times, the drama of making and spending a fortune, and finally of down-to-earth human interest.” St. Louis Post Dispatch.

“ For those millions who can never read enough about the enormously rich, Lucy Kavaler presents the saga of the house John Jacob built.“ Newsweek.

“A friendly but not uncritical family saga.” The New Yorker.

“Forget Donald Trump, read ‘The Astors.’" Bookviews.com

THE SECRET LIVES OF THE EDMONTS
A psychologically sophisticated novel about the fabulously rich in 1895 New York and Newport. Melanie Edmont, the greatest beauty of the age, scandalizes society as she chooses between her real estate tycoon husband, older British aristocrat lover, and so-charming“summer toy.” Excessive in all ways, she rides a camel into her grand ballroom .The vast chasm between rich and poor is highlighted by a threatening mob and a self-immolation on the lawn of her mansion.

"A compelling tale with a magnetic protagonist ... A lushly savage scrutiny." Kirkus Reports.

"First-rate historical fiction." Library Journal.

"An unforgettable and provocative novel of a scandalously disturbing time." Greenwich Times.

"Ms. Kavaler is truly the successor to Edith Wharton, Henry James, and Louis Auchincloss." WBAI/AM.

"How the rich and famous lived at the end of the Victorian era, a time saturated with human passion and societal restraint ... a fascinating background for her story." Chattanooga News-Free Press.

HEROES AND LOVERS,
An Antarctic Obsession
A powerful novel of passion, adventure, mystery and duplicity. Beatrix Tremaine is the keeper of the flame for her great-grandfather,Byron, the greatest polar explorer of the Antarctic golden age.When a ruthless television producers threatens an expose, she sets out to uncover an 80-year-old mystery.To her amazement, she learns that an all-women's expedition, incredible at this time, raced Byron to the South Pole.The leader was a beautiful woman whose picture accompanied him everywhere --Viola Lambert.The mystery unravels as Beatrix discovers who this woman was,why her existence and the race for the Pole were concealed, and that Byron, believed to be blissfully married,was passionately in love with her. The television host races Beatrix to find out what really happened on the icecap all those years ago.

"Lucy Kavaler deserves congratulations for the audacity of her plot concept ... ought to appeal to many readers." Washington Post Book World.

"A suspenseful tale of love, valor and adventure ...the historical tale proves rousing." Publishers Weekly.

"The story's gripping climax is set against the spectacular white continent... strong characters." Tulsa World.

"A broadside for rugged female independence ... an inventive yarn." Kirkus Reports.

"Brilliant.The greatest novel I have ever read." Eliezer's Review for Amazon.com."

"Unusual ... involves a searing love affair, a background of polar exploration and a long-hidden mystery involving a family hero's scandalous past." Anniston Star

Recommended by the Associated Press.

Optioned for a television miniseries, Laurel Film and Aaron Spelling.

FREEZING POINT
How cold affects all living things. It includes freezing the dead, sperm banks, hibernation, the Antarctic and ice cream.

"It can match many a novel in the fluidity of its style." Pasadena Independent.

"Throughout this Klondike are nuggets of pure gold." Chicago Tribune Book World.

"An excellent example of the virtues of good science writing ... Well worth reading." New York Times Book Review.

A Matter of Degree
How humans, animals, and lower forms of life adapt to high temperatures. Reveals the link between heat and riots and tells what makes an arsonist.

Noise, the New Menace
Why hearing is lost and in what ways mental and physical health are affected. What can be done to reduce excessive sound? With a special section on noise control in Japan.

The Private World of High Society
Investigates a widespread social phenomenon: the desire to rise to another social class. Includes a listing of the “right” schools.

For Young Readers
Green Magic, Algae Rediscovered; The Astors, An American Legend; The Dangers of Noise, Dangerous Air, Life Battles Cold, Cold Against Disease, The Wonders of Fungi, The Artificial World Around Us, The Wonders of Algae.