Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

In what ways does the Astor family exemplify the American Dream? What arguments does the book make against that positive interpretation? Using textual evidence, examine the extent to which these arguments are convincing.

Analyze how the book portrays John Jacob Astor’s success and what made him so successful: hard work, good business sense, ruthlessness, or something else?

Cooper and Howe state at the end, “In some respects, we all already live in Astoria” (277). What do they mean? Using evidence from the text and other sources, build an argument linking US society to John Jacob Astor’s vision.