Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt by CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper and historian and novelist Katherine Howe is a captivating exploration of the rise and fall of one of America's most legendary dynasties. The book starts with the humble beginnings of eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt, who worked on his father's modest boat ferrying supplies across New York Harbor in the early 19th century. Through sheer ruthlessness, cunning, and an unquenchable thirst for wealth, Cornelius—later known as "the Commodore"—built two immense empires, one in shipping and the other in railroads, amassing a fortune that made him the richest man in America.

This staggering fortune created a legacy that would stir familial discord for generations. Upon Cornelius's death in 1877, his heirs battled over the riches that seemed both a blessing and a curse. Cornelius’s son Billy managed to double the inheritance, but subsequent generations found increasingly extravagant ways to squander their wealth. By 2018, the last of the Vanderbilts were forced out of The Breakers, a seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, emblematic of the family's former grandeur. By this point, the family would have been unrecognizable to the tenacious tycoon who started it all.

Anderson Cooper, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson, collaborates with Katherine Howe to bring the vivid saga of the Vanderbilt family to life. Together, they offer a nuanced perspective on the ancestors who built the family empire and those who indulged in its luxuries. Through a meticulous narrative that swings from the gritty wharves of old Manhattan to the opulent drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, the book also transports readers to the European courts and modern-day New York. Each setting provides a backdrop for the family's unrivalled drama of triumphs and tragedies, wealth and decay.

The authors provide an insider’s viewpoint, painting an intimate portrait of a family whose name became synonymous with American high society and insatiable capitalism. With Cooper's personal connection to the story and Howe's historical expertise, their portrayal is both richly detailed and keenly insightful. They wryly comment on the excesses and pitfalls that turned a hardworking lineage into a symbol of opulence and relentless ambition.

Written with wit and thorough research, Vanderbilt is a rollicking and quintessentially American tale that captures the essence of a family and an era. It is as remarkable as the Vanderbilt dynasty itself, offering readers an engrossing narrative that spans from the Gilded Age's glory to the present day.