‘ASTOR’ by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe
ASTOR: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe.
There’s something intriguing within bookselling - curious readers delving into the pages of memoirs and biographies about historical leaders, world-changers and those that existed in powerful positions with vast fortune. Astor is one for the fans of this genre and for those that loved Vanderbilt: The Rise And Fall Of An American Dynasty. Author Anderson Cooper is Gloria Vanderbilt’s son, so the curiosity factor was stirred as to what he would write about his family ‘rivals’.
From Walldorf Germany, John Jacob Astor arrived in New York in 1783 then wedded to Sarah Cox Todd. With ruthless ambition the Astor fortunes were birthed. Not content to merely hunt the prized fur pelts, Jacob set in place a plan to dominate the North American fur trade and lucrative exports. Through shrewd trade deals and agreements, Jacob fed the ‘consumer revolution’.
Son William took his father’s powerful place as ‘the richest man in America’ and so began the dynasty. From vast real estate, wealth that ruled in the New York Gilded Age society, the legendary Waldorf-Astoria hotel then family grief in the Titanic disaster. The Astors are a hallmark of American history with the rise and falls, fortunes favoured and lost but establishing America as a world power – such was their influence.
Great-Grandchild of the original John Jacob Astor, wanna-be English Gentry Will Astor drained his American fortunes from rents and tenements to fund his self-absorbed life of artistic existence in England and Europe. But he was in battle with his Aunt Caroline who favoured her son Jack to become CEO to the Astor fortunes. Caroline, known as The Mrs Astor established fame and fortune through her social ‘rule’. Jack later died in The Titanic disaster and there’d be no rival to the statement that Jack was the ‘most famous death from the Titanic tragedy’. This is just a taste of the lives, scandals, bitter feuds, court cases and positioning to gain influence or controls that are well documented in this extensive family biography.
Even if you visit modern-day New York you don’t have to go far to see the Astor influence. Grand buildings, art & design, landscapes and layout are due to the investments from this extraordinary family. Astor is a truly remarkable insight into the rise, ruthless expansion and then ultimate fall of this American dynasty – many soap-operas pale into comparison to the stories that Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe bring to the pages!
Available in store, online and as a most excellent audiobook read by Anderson Cooper.
