Book review: William Zeckendorf Jr.’s posthumous autobiography

From the October issue: Even after William Zeckendorf Jr. had been firmly established as a major developer in his own right, building neighborhood-altering mega projects from the Upper West Side to Union Square, he maintained a profile so low that it sometimes seemed an intentional rebuke to that of his larger-than-life father, William Zeckendorf Sr.

It seems only fitting, then, that Jr.’s autobiography, “Developing: My Life,” published by Andrea Monfried Editions last month, would appear quietly and posthumously, with a half-apology at the start. “For years I put off writing about my life in development. I’m pretty private, and I’d rather do something than talk about it,” Zeckendorf Jr., who died in 2014 at age 84, demurs. But family, including his sons, Arthur and William, who developed 15 Central Park West and a number of other ultra-luxurious towers, finally prevailed upon their father to turn out this 300-page volume, which was written in collaboration with Joan Duncan Oliver. [more]