
Goodreads Blurb
The number one New York Times bestselling authors of Vanderbilt return with another riveting history of a legendary American family, the Astors, and how they built and lavished their fortune.
The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story—of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention.
From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society.
The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic, one of many shocking and unexpected twists in the family’s story.
In this unconventional, page-turning historical biography, featuring black-and-white and color photographs, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe chronicle the lives of the Astors and explore what the Astor name has come to mean in America—offering a window onto the making of America itself.
My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 star
As a fan of the series The Gilded Age, I was interested in learning more about the Astors, who were the wealthiest family in NY. Seeing how Mrs. Astor is a force not to reckon with, I was interested in learning how they came into their fortune and who the last Astor was. The book is divided into two parts: the rise and fall of this powerful family. The Astor family tree was helpful with keeping up with which family members they were discussing. Both authors did an excellent job of providing the most essential details of the family members. I enjoyed reading this book about the most powerful family in NY and was happy they included some photographs of the family. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories from the Gilded Age.
Author Biography
Anderson Hays Cooper is an Emmy Award winning American journalist, author, and television personality. He currently works as the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories.
Cooper is the younger son of the writer Wyatt Emory Cooper and the artist, designer, writer, and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II of the prominent Vanderbilt Family of New York.














