Brothers : George Howe Colt on his brothers and brothers in history Cover Image

Book

Brothers : George Howe Colt on his brothers and brothers in history / George Howe Colt.

ISBN: 9781416547778 (hbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN: 1416547770 (hbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN: 9781416547785 (trade paper : alk. paper)
ISBN: 1416547789 (trade paper : alk. paper)
Physical Description: x, 465 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2012.

Summary:

In alternate chapters, Colt moves from a quest to understand how his own brothers shaped his life to an examination of the complex relationships between iconic brothers in history. The author believes that he would be an entirely different man had he not grown up in a family of four brothers. In this book, he movingly recounts the adoration, envy, rivalry, affection, anger, and compassion in their shifting relationships from childhood through middle age. He discusses how Edwin Booth grew up to become the greatest actor on the nineteenth-century American stage while his younger brother John grew up to assassinate a president. He shows how Will Kellogg worked for his older brother John Harvey as a subservient yes-man for two decades until he finally broke free and launched the cereal empire that outlasted all his brother's enterprises. The author also relates how Vincent van Gogh would never have survived without the support of his younger brother, Theo; how Henry David Thoreau's life was shadowed by the early death of his older brother, John; and how the Marx brothers collaborated on the screen but competed offstage for women, money, and fame.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The Colt boys -- Good brother, bad brother: Edwin and John Wilkes Booth -- The fallout shelter -- Brother against brother: John and Will Kellogg -- Baseball -- Brother's keeper: Vincent and Theo Van Gogh -- Under the influence -- Brothers Inc.: Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo Marx -- Aerogrammes -- The lost brother: John and Henry David Thoreau -- The Colt men.