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Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

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Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

When 11-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the 19th century, no one could have imagined that one day he would build two empires --- one in shipping and another in railroads --- that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson, Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence.

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

  • Publication Date: September 20, 2022
  • Genres: History, Nonfiction
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
  • ISBN-10: 0062964623
  • ISBN-13: 9780062964625