Astor

The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

By: Anderson Cooper, 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.

Astor

So well done. Cooper has you booked from the first sentence . Loved it! Thank you!!!!

Left me wanting to learn more…

I love finishing a book and wanting to learn more about the topic, or find myself asking questions I’ve never thought of before…which usually leads me to my next book. Anderson seemed as if he was authentically enjoying the book as he read, which I like in an author/narrator.

Very Interesting!

Enjoyed learning about the Astor family. At times the book diverges on topics which while related to the Astors seem a little bit out of place.

Great story - well read!

Anderson Cooper makes you feel like you know the people ha is writing about. It is well researched and thoughtfully executed.

DID NOT WANT THIS TO END!!!!

After hearing Anderson Cooper tell the story of his Vanderbilt ancestry, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Astor. The book did not disappoint! There is just something about the way he tells this story that grabbed me and pulled me along through the generations of New York history. I am breathlessly awaiting news that Anderson Cooper will embark on telling yet another glittering tale!!!