Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

It’s the first book I’ve read about the Vanderbilts and I found it to be interesting. I vaguely knew details of the family, but now I understand their rise and fall. Having Anderson Cooper’s perspective in the last few chapters gives the stories deeper meaning and context.

I thoroughly enjoyed this walk through time. While the Vanderbilt’s were an extraordinary family, through this narrative you can find each generation as relatable in some aspect. I’m sad the story ended because I so enjoyed the journey through time.

Interesting history of larger than life characters. Deft, amusing, entertaining, and somewhat sad. Life the .1% lived and the excesses of great wealth with the drama they lived. Hard to relate to until the writing turns to small children growing up in these circumstances.

Overall, I found this book somewhat confusing and unsatisfying.Chapters 4, 5, & 6 were the best parts because they were informative and well written; excellent insights into the Gilded Age.The beginning of the book needs the most editing help:- The two page “partial” Vanderbilt genealogy at the beginning of the book would have been greatly helped with the inclusion of birth/death/marriage dates. For many, it would have been helpful to note previous (and later) marriages. One person who should have been included and wasn’t is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s second wife who, among other things, controlled who got to see Cornelius in the last year of his life.Why the quotes from Amy Vanderbilt’s “Complete Book of Etiquette” at the start of each chapter? Making fun of Amy V? Showing how Vanderbilt’s did/didn’t follow them in each chapter?-The transition between Cornelius Vanderbilt’s early life to his last months (pgs 28-29) is ragged.-Why is the Sophia/Frank (CV’s second wife) apology written about twice (pgs 31 & 34)?-I’ve read the bottom of p 48 through p 49 numerous times and I am still confused as to what is going on.-Description of Connie and his two sisters contesting CV’s will in March 1877 (p 61) should have come before the description of the trial that happened in late 1877 (pgs 53-60).-It would have been very helpful to the reader if the dates and number of previous CV wills that a former attorney of his brings to the trial were noted. (To say nothing of the fact that this didn’t occur until two years into the trial!)Anderson Cooper (co-author) is a gay man who came out at the age of 45. Cornelius “Connie” Vanderbilt (1830-1882) got married at 26. His wife died 16 years later. They had no children. Connie had a very close relationship with another single male (George Terry) for most of his adult life and in his (Connie’s) will (after committing suicide) he left his newly built thirty-room home to Terry. In 1879, after accepting $1M from his brother Billy to drop the challenge to their father’s will, Connie “fled” to Europe with Terry. Why is there nothing written about the possibility of Connie being gay?I do not understand why Chapters 9 and 11 are in this book:-Nine is filled with such detailed sailing lingo that for anyone not familiar with sailing, it is a very tedious read. And what’s the point of the chapter? That Harold Vanderbilt cheats?-Eleven is about Truman Capote’s rise and fall. Sure, he was a friend of Gloria Vanderbilt, but what does his story have to do with the flow of this book?Why is Cooper’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, considered the “last” Vanderbilt? Cornelius Vanderbilt II who died in 1899, established a $5M trust fund for the children of his son, Reggie (Gloria’s father). I think it is safe to assume that he (CVII) may have also done this for the children of his other four children who outlived him. Gloria split the $5M trust with her older half-sister. Didn’t the other grandchildren get their trust funds? Is the fact that Gloria spent money without paying attention to it make her the last Vanderbilt? We don’t know the spending habits of the other grandchildren. Cooper also takes an unkind and unnecessary slap at the older half sister, Cathleen, at the top of p 215.In Chapter 10, Cooper takes numerous nasty swipes at the 1982 TV miniseries (and its cast) made about his mother as a young girl. The series had a pretty stellar cast (Bette Davis, Maureen Stapleton, Martin Balsam, Angela Lansbury, and Christopher Plummer), got 6 Emmy nominations, and has a very healthy 8.0/10 IMDb rating.The most interesting character in this book is Alva, wife of William “Willie” Vanderbilt (grandson of the first Cornelius Vanderbilt). She was a racist her whole life, raised in the antebellum South, ruled her family with an iron fist (forcing her daughter into a loveless marriage and being one of the first Gilded Age women to sue for divorce), changed the rules of the Gilded Age with her infamous 1883 Vanderbilt Costume Ball, and she spent the last decades of her life fighting for the right to vote for women. Someone should write a book about her.

A fascinating inside look at the machinations of NYC high society from the Guilded Age, through the first half of the 20th Century, as seen through the lens of a branch of the Vanderbilt dynasty. Cooper's descriptions are well and truly excellent. It's hard to understand the Amazon claim that the book is a bestseller in the history of railroads, as there is just not much in the book about railroads. There are some behind-the-scenes looks at The Breakers, but oddly, no mention whatsoever of that other, great Vanderbilt estate, Biltmore and it's Vanderbilt connections. Very strange, especially since Biltmore remains in the Vanderbilt family and is managed by some of the descendents.

Lots of historical information about life during those times.

Very informative book if you are interested in vanderbilt history!

Interesting book with much history.

I strongly recommend Anderson Cooper's version of the Vanderbilts. Not only because of the great research work but for the point of view from which he visions his ancestors and their individual contribution to both America's and the world's social and trending evolution.

to be honest i was a little dissapointed.

Thanks to the author very enjoyable book

Malísimo. Parece una crónica de revista de sociales.

This book was a huge disappointment. You learn absolutely nothing about the (economic) rise and fall of the vanderbilts, the business side is literally not touched at all. It also does not provide a coherent story line about the family over time. Rather, the author describes unconnected point in time situations about individual family members in way too much detail. Presumably those events that the author found information about. Very boring and an absolute waste of time. Spend 10 minutes with ChatGPT and you learn more about the Vanderbilts.