Martin Dressler - The Tale Of An American Dreamer: Steven Millhauser

In 19th century New York, new buildings burst from the bedrock of Manhattan every day, and you could meet an inventor or entrepreneur on any street corner.  Martin Dressler is one such entrepreneur - a cigar maker's son, a young man who has the audacity to make his dreams come true and the ability to do it on such a grand scale that other people will want to dream them too - for a little while. Martin makes the ascent from bellhop to building his own hotels and falls under the spell of two sisters, one of whom becomes his companion and business partner and the other his ghostly, elusive bride. When Martin sets out to build the grand Cosmo, a creation so vast it will rival the world itself, and thus the ambiguity beneath the optimism of the American dream is exposed.