Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

Coauthor Anderson Cooper brings both personal and professional credentials to the Astor story. Through his mother, he descended from the wealthy Vanderbilt dynasty and thus had privileged insight into the rarefied world of the New York City elite, including the remaining Astors, during his youth. He makes a point in the Introduction, however, to note that his mother chose to live her life contrary to the Vanderbilts’ expectations and therefore he grew up on the outskirts of that elite society. This allowed him to think critically about high society in general and the Vanderbilt and Astor dynasties specifically. His global travels since then exposed him to even wider perspectives even as he remained firmly planted in his identity as a denizen of New York City (which dominates the book).

Professionally, Cooper brings the training of a journalist to his portrayal of the Astor family both in his critical approach and his eye for scandal. His success anchoring CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360º since 2001 made him one of the most recognizable television journalists in the US. In addition, he is a correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes. He has won 18 Emmy Awards and two Peabody awards for this work.