Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

Written by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Narrated by Anderson Cooper

New York Times bestselling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty—his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts.

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—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers—the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius’s grandson and namesake had built—the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all.

Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family’s empire, basked in the Commodore’s wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other.

Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9780062964656

Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is an anchor at CNN and a correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes. He has won twenty Emmys and numerous other major journalism awards. Cooper is the author of the New York Times bestseller Astor (with Katherine Howe) and three number one New York Times bestsellers: The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Dispatches from the Edge, and Vanderbilt (with Katherine Howe). He lives in New York with his two sons.

Reviews for Vanderbilt

[Helene Redding · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it. A fascinating look into the Uber rich in America. There is a saying in Lancashire “ Clogs to Clogs “ in 3 generations, and while it took longer here it does demonstrate that if people haven’t made the wealth themselves it is not valued. Rather sad really

[jlbazinet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting, nearly, first hand account of one of America’s wealthiest families that shaped our country into what it is today. Accurate, but not complimentary.

[Alison · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is exactly the kind of historical non-fiction I enjoy. Wonderful pacing, wonderful storytelling, incredibly well researched and executed. I enjoyed Anderson Cooper's narration and look forward to listening to more of his books. Highly recommend.

[diane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting with a lot of history I didn't know. Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe, thx for a great book!

[Mowana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful book from a close & distant perspective of Anderson Cooper that tells of an era that left a small architectural trace but a big social footprint.

[Anthony Yap · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very nice brief history of the Vanderbilt family. Although tragic, the story is not unique. I think it's a recurring anomaly when a empire is subsequently destroyed by its lineage. It is so apparent that it may be considered " a coomon course in history"

[B McCombs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! So interesting to learn such details of an iconic family. I do wish Anderson included a family tree to follow along with the ancestors he included in this book. Though I can only imagine trying to keep such a family tree condensed to the book’s family members mentioned. Kudos to Anderson and Katherine!

[Reuben Tom Kee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An Excellent account with just the right amount of history to avoid being a textbook. Narration is superb and perfectly suitable as Anderson has a wealth of experience in public speaking. It is sad in seeing how family can be an enemy unto itself. One can certainly imagine and feel the angst of a young boy coming of age with the dreadful realization that with such illustrious background of his mother that the dynasty was being ended with her, and in his lifetime. Add to that, the unfortunate death of his only brother added further devastating trauma. It is also noteworthy that Anderson seems in part to be fulfilling the wish of his mother and in part perpetuating the continuation of the family bloodline by fathering a son through a surrogate. Anderson gives us hope also of the promise of more progeny to come,

[Elwyn Hudson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The wealthy are so much like everyone else. And this book is a good example.

[George Szmaj · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had no idea. Readable interesting historical Very enjoyable! Yea

[Robyn Coburn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautifully evocative book with splendid and luscious descriptions of events and people. It reads like an epic - almost like James Michener but it’s real events. I enjoyed Anderson Cooper’s reading - of course he speaks well. All I need is a family tree to keep track of these people who seem as damaged by wealth, as they were given ease. I love the grim contrasts to contemporaneous events that the writers found.

Some misconceptions also cleared up. Honestly, I’m keen to read Amy Vanderbilt’s etiquette book - while keeping a sharp eye open for irony.

[marcello_324836275 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fascinating book about an American dynasty!

Anderson Cooper’s narration of the book about his own family was masterful, as were the poetic words he co-wrote with Katherine Howe. Although Cooper is a direct descendant of the Commodore, he gives a frank account of his family’s tragedies (and triumphs).

The book will be a lasting legacy for a near-legendary family and is a gemstone of American cultural history.

[victoria navarro ocampo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it. I listened Anderson Cooper’s narration while reading the book on paper. I really enjoyed it. He is the best!

[auchamore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating! Loved Andersons narration. Highly recommend. Great listen. Really enjoyed.

[Paula Weander-Huettl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing history and storyline of his family and those that grew up within that family line and friends. Really gave me a lot of information that I just had no idea. It was not boring and drew you through the context of the material very pleasantly. I would recommend anyone who wants to know of that era to read this book

[w2nmq4g2sb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was fascinating! Like Anderson, my family was part of new Amsterdam, the DeForest family. It’s interesting to think how centuries ago this country began, and to live through those centuries via this amazing family saga. We visited the Breaker’s last summer— it is an awesome structure. Unimaginable that it could be built so quickly. I enjoyed hearing about its last resident, very sad.

I love this book and will immediately dive into his book about the Astors, a nice break from my normal English reformation reading! He’s a wonderful author, and of course a brilliant narrator. I will think about this book often and I will look for furnishings in old films for sure!

[anneb2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Listening to Anderson Cooper, who has the Commodore’s blood in his veins, read this engrossing history of the arc of the Vanderbilt family fortune made the book come even more alive. It’s a splendid tale of New York history, society foibles, architectural marvels and the power of family. Wyatt Cooper is lucky to have this account of his ancestors’ journey.

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mostly interesting history of this wealthy American dynasty.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I knew little about the Vanderbilts until I read Anderson Cooper’s enlightening exploration of his family’s twist- filled legacy. In many respects, it was a lively lesson in American history that shed light on numerous eras, the rise of some business icons and the pitfalls that can come with accumulated wealth. Some of the sections went on a bit too long for my liking – including one too many extravagant balls/parties. Then again, this a biography of the Vanderbilt family. Overall, I found Cooper’s work interesting and well worth my time.

[cherybear · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good. Not as good as The Rainbow Comes and Goes. Would have liked even more photos.

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anderson Cooper writes about his mother's family, the Vanderbilts. Over the course of 8 generations, they came to New Amsterdam from The Netherlands, started farming and ferrying, and eventually built a huge fortune and squandered it on their lavish lifestyles. The women of the family are especially interesting and terrifying as they attempt to marry off their daughters, build ever bigger houses and throw parties to compete with the other families in "The 400." Cooper seems to have a good understanding of his mother and how her early trauma made her the way she was. Money does not guarantee happiness.

[maggieflo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audiobook edition, narrated by the author Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt’s son.
It’s a mildly interesting account of the lives of several members of the family beginning with Cornelius (The Commodore) Vanderbilt and his large family of 13 children. The Commodore started making his fortune early on by operation a small ferry from Staten Island. This expanded to steamships and railroads. How was worth $105 million when he died in 1877. Vanderbilt University in Tenessee is named after him.
Cooper highlights the most influential and peculiar members of the family and discusses the family mansions in New York and the Breakers in Rhode Island. the parties, yachts, marriages, mistresses, children, scandals, alcoholism, publicity, infighting and snobbery that infiltrated the family.
He discusses the trauma that his mother Gloria endured as a nine year old at the centre of the custody battle between her mother Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.
Interesting story.

[cariola_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've always had a fascination with the Vanderbilt family and was excited to see this book by Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor and a member of the most recent generation of Vanderbilts. I purchased the audiobook, and it did not disappoint. I finished it in two days--a testament to how engaging the story is and to Cooper as a reader.

Cooper begins with Cornelius Vanderbilt, the family patriarch who was known as "The Commodore." He worked on his father's ferry as a boy and, with a loan from his mother, purchased his own boat when only a teenager. It was he whop made the family fortune in shipping and railroads. Cooper makes a brief digression a few chapters later to take us back to the first family member to emigrate to New York from the Netherlands. He arrived as an indentured servant in 1650. Like many immigrant families, the Vanderbilts struggled through generations until The Commodore rose to the top of American industry and commerce. Love him or hate him (and many certainly hated him), he was one heck of a self-0made man.

The Vanderbilts did not lead a charmed life. The Commodore had thirteen children but discounted his nine daughters and wrote off two of his sons in his will. One son died young, another suffered from epilepsy and was for a time confined to a mental institution, and a third was rejected as a "wastrel"--a drinker with debts. That left his son Billy and Billy's four sons to inherit most of the Vanderbilt fortune. Although they reigned at the top of New York high society for decades, the family history is riddled with multiple divorces, scandals, suicides, alcoholism, and tragedies, including one son who went down with the Lusitania. Cooper spares no details. It wasn't until near her death that his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, began to talk abut her troubled childhood and the infamous legal case in which her paternal aunt and her mother battled over her custody. Gloria was estranged from her mother until shortly before her death; she considered her nurse, nicknamed Dodo, as her mother, even fantasizing that she was her biological mother, and she never forgave her mother or her aunt for agreeing to fire Dodo. She and Anderson suffered through the early death of his father, Wyatt Cooper, from cancer and his brother Carter's suicide at the age of 23; Anderson was in the room when he jumped from the family's 14th-story apartment window.

Part of Cooper's purpose in revealing so much about his family is to let the public know that money does not always bring happiness--nor does it last. While he acknowledges that the Vanderbilt name opened doors for him along the way, by the time his father died, there was no fortune left for Gloria or for her sons to inherit. Gloria had to work hard and make her own way in the world through modeling, fashion design, and a home decor line. Sadly, she retained her Vanderbilt tastes and went through any money she earned like it was water. Cooper himself earned spare cash as a teenager by modelling and says that early on he did his best never to let people know about his Vanderbilt background.

This is a fascinating portrait of an extraordinarily successful and extraordinarily flowed family, told candidly by one of the last Vanderbilt descendants with great personal insight but empathy by one of the last Vanderbilt descendants. If you love family sagas or reading about Old New York or Hollywood society, or just have a curiosity about the lives of a renowned American family, this is one you won't want to miss.