Astor

The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe

Narrated by: Anderson Cooper

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

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,compelling 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Really interesting

Such an interesting look into the history of this family and it’s place in US history.

Excellent novel. Fascinating history of a family

Anderson does a great job of narrating this in depth history of the Astors. Interesting and compelling

Anderson is one of the best story tellers I've had the opportunity to listen to

I agree with the other reviews, I only wished this was longer. I love listening to Anderson narrate his books, he's a great story teller and I enjoyed this title very much.

Wonderful book!

I just love Anderson Cooper and I could listen to his voice forever. This is the 2nd book I’ve read by him and he’s a wonderful author and an even more exquisite story teller.

Excellent!

Anderson Cooper has once again created a captivating and educational story that I wanted to listen to until the end! The story is great & he is the perfect storyteller! Hi wanted more!

Interesting Start To Finish

First let me say I love Anderson Cooper. I’m proud of him and his achievements as if I were his Mom (which I’m old enough to be). This book does not disappoint. I love history and it was very interesting how the Astors reigned over the Guilded Age. His descriptions of New York City, then and now and the sums of money then and now were amazing. This book was definitely researched and the characters well documented. In the descriptions and anecdotes of Brooke Astor it’s fun to think that Anderson met her and could reference her family back to his family, the Vanderbilts. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am hoping there is another book by these two authors in the works.

Felt like time travel

I can listen to Anderson’s smooth voice for a long time. It is interesting to hear the story of the Astors from his point of view. I felt I could understand the atmosphere of the gilded age in New York. I learned a lot and it certainly kept my interest.

The details

Love all gilded age stories, this one is good and refreshing, with an excellent narration from Anderson Cooper

turns out we don't have to eat the rich-- they may eat themselves

this was a good overview of the Astor clan. it's written with a tone that is both richly illustrative but dryly humorous. accessible but not pedestrian. Anderson cooper does a great narration even though he has some curious pronunciations of some words. the book itself is highly episodic, and this may annoy some folks who wanted more of a deep dive into Peak Astor, which honestly makes up only a couple of chapters of the book. great content and some interesting angles, like the history of the Astor hotel bar as a famous gay hangout in the midcentury, or the bizarre tie-in of the Other Astor and the weird Astors of the 20th century. there are deeper dives to be had in the Astor history of the gilded age. but this is a great and fun read

Great story

History delivered with a human touch but always authentic if barely believable. Loved Anderson’s delivery.