Mentioning just the name, pictures of houses with pools, majestic seaside estates, and endless days in private clubs and restaurants emerge effortlessly into our minds and imaginations. But long before it became the favorite summer resort of the rich, its-forty kilometers-coastline would become the ideal location for British settlers. But when the high society living in New York discovered its beauty, soon turned the Hamptons into a summer oasis.

Then came the creative minds, desperately looking for a place to isolate themselves, to think and write, away from bourgeois “cacophony”: John Steinbeck in Sag Harbor and Jackson Pollock in Springs. Now, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Madonna and other prominent New Yorkers and stars are enjoying their privacy in the Hamptons. They may come from different fields, but one thing all Hamptonites can agree on: It has a unique charm, one that satisfy the desires of the next seasonal visitor or its lifelong resident.

Assouline’s new book, Hamptons Private, sheds light on everything you need to know if you ever visit them. Each page of the luxury volume takes us on a tour of the hottest spots in the area: Enjoy a tennis game set at the Meadow Club, then taste a fresh lobster at the Lunch and finally “get lost” in the sounds of cosmopolitan music at the beachfront Surf Lodge…

Courtesy of Assouline