Book Review: Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

(Bought at Posman Books in Chelsea Markets): I wanted to read about the Vanderbilts and how closely their history followed that of the Russells on Julian Fellowes' The Gilded Age which has just been renewed for a fourth season. Anderson Cooper (along with co-author Katherine Howe) traces his family's fabled lineage in a readable and absorbing volume. Each chapter focuses on a particular event and date in the Vanderbilt history and expounds from there on social, political, and economic issues occurring in America at the time. We go from the clan's early dates as traders and entrepreneurs in colonial days to Alva Vanderbilt's lavish costume balls to her daughter Conselo's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough to the glamorous and troubled life of Cooper's mom, Gloria. Not only is this a fascinating account of one of the wealthiest families in American history, but also an insightful commentary on celebrity and how we as a country are obsessed with fame and money and those who possess it. Gloria had both--as a child she inherited millions from her late father and became the center of a scandalous custody trial, but lost, regained and lost several fortunes. Cooper and Howe are masterful storytellers. They even manage to make a yacht race gripping. I will try their book on the Astors next to see how closely Fellowes hews to the facts in the case of Mrs. Astor.