Vanderbilt : the rise and fall of an American dynasty / Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cooper, Anderson, author.

Howe, Katherine, 1977- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vanderbilt family.

Vanderbilt, Gloria, 1924-2019.

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877.

Upper class--United States--Biography.

Upper class.

Upper class families--United States--Biography.

Upper class families.

Rich people--United States--Biography.

Rich people.

Vanderbilt, Cornelius.

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877--Family.

Vanderbilt, Gloria, 1924-2019--Family.

Vanderbilt, Gloria.

Businessmen--United States--Biography.

Businessmen.

Wealth.

History.

Socialites.

Steamboats.

Families.

United States.

Railroads--United States--History--19th century.

Railroads.

Steamboats--United States--History--19th century.

Socialites--United States--Biography.

Millionaires--United States--Biography.

Millionaires.

Wealth--United States--History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 317 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), genealogical tables, maps, ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021]

Summary:

Drawing on never-before-seen documents and told from a unique insider's viewpoint, the CNN anchor tells the story of his legendary family and their remarkable influence.

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 that would make him the richest man in America. His son Billy doubled the money left by "the Commodore," but subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. Cooper, the Commodore's great-great-great-grandson, explores the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. -- adapted from jacket

Contents:

Introduction

Prologue. The Breakers: March 30, 2018

Rise. The tycoon: January 4, 1877 ; Van der Bilt: c. 1660 ; The Blatherskite and the namesake: April 2, 1882 ; Society as I have found it: October 22, 1883 ; Venetian princesses: March 26, 1883 ; American royalty: November 6, 1895

Fall. Failure is impossible: May 4, 1912 ; Down with the ship: May 1915 ; Standing in a cold shower, tearing up hundred-thousand-dollar bills: September 15, 1934 ; Living a Roman à Clef: November 21, 1934 ; Gloria at La Côte Basque: November 28, 1966 ; The last Vanderbilt: October 28, 1978, and June 17, 2019

Epilogue. Christmas Eve, 1930.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-299) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Hagen fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9780062964618

0062964615

OCLC:

1267696453