(FORTUNE Magazine) - In 1968 a stricken Harry Guggenheim, the legendary mining magnate and philanthropist, summoned his dashing cousin Peter Lawson-Johnston and delivered stunning news. The old lion anointed his protege the principal heir to the Guggenheim metals empire, as well as one of the world's greatest collections of philanthropies, including the eponymous museum.

Growing Up Guggenheim is Lawson-Johnston's compact, riveting account of how he helped build the Guggenheim into the world's first global museum franchise, hiring a curator named Thomas Krens as director and then working alongside the flamboyant iconoclast to establish branches in Bilbao, Berlin, and even Las Vegas. But what makes the book memorable are the family tales: From living with his dapper grandfather Solomon, to earning his bohemian cousin Peggy's trust by agreeing never to disturb her dog cemetery in Venice, Lawson-Johnston gives a first-rate tour of his family's daring and lasting legacy.