Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

Written by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Narrated by Anderson Cooper

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, #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.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9780062964687

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 Astor

[Joanna · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This sprawling family saga is extremely well told and is informative, insightful and entertaining.

[lydian6801 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not sure what I expected but this was not it.

[Elizabeth Quinby · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this as much as I loved Vanderbilt. Great book!

[hamfam301 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Narrator, subject matter, attention to detail, sensitivity, and historical perspectives for society

[Daryl Wilkins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well researched. Many topics pertinent to the decades described were included to add an interesting historical perspective. I feel like I know a bit more of the history of New York City and want to know more.

[w2nmq4g2sb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like most people, I have heard of the Astors, also like most people I really didn’t know anything about them. This book was very compelling. I finished it quickly, finding myself searching for snippets of time to continue with it, because the story had me hooked. Anderson definitely knows how to weave romance for the period and for the city of New York into the mix. I’m hoping that he finds another family to tackle, because I loved Vanderbilt and Astor!

[J Michelle Plaveczky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just love AC!! I love how he is so normal- it’s like he’s an observer of his extraordinary upbringing rather than a full participant in it- and I feel like this gives him perspective most of us wouldn’t have. I love how much he shares about himself and his own family, and his research into the Astors is excellent. I will be looking for the beavers next time I’m in the Astor Place subway station!!