The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
by Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2023
336 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
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.
"A worthy companion to superstar journalist Cooper's and novelist Howe's bestselling account of Cooper's own family, Vanderbilt. Once again, the authors offer an engaging, multigenerational story that is factual and nuanced.... Another nonfiction winner from the duo." —Booklist (starred review)
"CNN journalist Cooper and novelist Howe follow up Vanderbilt with an exhaustive history of the Astor family...This meticulously detailed family saga is also rich with insight into U.S. history...History buffs and readers fascinated by the rich and famous should take note." —Publishers Weekly
"[A] brisk, entertaining history of the Astors, a storied dynasty that left an indelible mark on New York's streets, parks, museums, libraries, hotels, and a famous gay bar...A spirited saga of glitz and greed." —Kirkus Reviews
This information about Astor was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Anderson Cooper joined CNN in 2001 and has anchored his own program, Anderson Cooper 360°, since March 2003. Cooper has won 18 Emmys and numerous other major journalism awards. He lives in New York with his sons.
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