From the Vanderbilts' Biltmore and the Rockefellers' Kykuit to the Duponts' museum-like Winterthur and William Randolph Hearst's legendary San Simeon, American country houses evoke the grandeur of a vanished world of privilege, yet more often than not reflected their builders' insecurities about how they were expected to proclaim their wealth and position. Clive Aslet, known for his acclaimed study of English country houses, here offers a heavily illustrated history of their American cousins, drawing on the rich and often amusing writings of contemporaries to evoke the life the buildings served as well as the architectural features they boasted.