Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
£11.40£12.30 (-7%)
Now in paperback, the #1 New York Times bestselling chronicle of the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty, from CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper and historian and novelist Katherine Howe.
One of the Washington Post’s Notable Works of Nonfiction
When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers—the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius’s grandson and namesake had built—the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all.
Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family’s empire, basked in the Commodore’s wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other.
Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Harper Paperbacks (10 Nov. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 352 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0062964623 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0062964625 |
| Dimensions | 13.49 x 2.31 x 20.32 cm |
by Amazon Customer
Interesting book about the Vanderbilt family, however sometimes a bit too long and i would be interested in understanding more the key factors of the increase of wealth and then decrease
by the1andonly
This writing team have produced the best, most interesting and most human of the books that I have read about the super-rich American families of the 19th century. Mr Cooper’s family insight is invaluable. A must for anyone interested in this period.
by Peter Cooper
This book is all about how the Vanderbilt fortune was squandered by his progeny. But it is not a history of the rise of the family at all. You could get more detail from Wikipedia. As an exercise is how the latest in this line has come to terms with this humungous legacy it is interesting if superficial.
by marionAmazon Customer
the style of writing and the eye for detsil of the history of the timr
by CDL
Biographies like this with so much historical content are made for audible. I wouldn’t even try to read a book like this so being able to hear Anderson – a born storyteller – read it is really awesome. The history of the time has always been of interest to me; the money, the lifestyle, the smells and atmosphere are all brought to life and I would recommend for that alone. I have seen Anderson on tv with his mum before she died they were sweet together with an easy way with each other and I think she would have been super pleased with the way the story of her family history has been told.
by Amazon Customer
Very good book about gilded age.
by zoila lothian
It is of high quality
by S C Loughridge
Enjoyed it. Thought he more business talk but is v people and character oriented.vaccinating and sad and some lovely writing