Asa Candler Junior, also known as Buddie, was born in 1880 to Asa Candler, the founder of the Coca-Cola Company. Candler assisted his father with his Coca-Cola business, and also delved into real estate operations for himself. He built an impressive estate, Briarcliff, which now belongs to Emory University. He also had a private zoo on those grounds, but the animals would eventually be given to the Atlanta Zoo at Grant Park, which is still in operation today. He also had a massive organ at this residence that is now owned by Wesleyan College in nearby Macon, Georgia. He was involved in some unfortunate business dealings and scandals involving a laundry business, a cemetery, and an automobile racing track. The title of the book was correct, he did have a weird life and was awfully eccentric.

It was neat to have visited the Atlanta Zoo this past weekend, and also really neat to have visited the World of Coke Museum earlier this year. I actually did not realize this book was about someone from that family who had all of these wonderful connections to Atlanta. My sister and I have been taking my daughters out to explore some of the surrounding areas, and we have enjoyed the couple of places we have been able to visit in Atlanta. I am looking forward to visiting the Westview Cemetery where he worked on constructing a massive mausoleum. This book was very informative about the live of Candler and his dealings in the city.