-
The Vanderbilts
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Here's the Deal
- A Memoir
- By: Kellyanne Conway
- Narrated by: Kellyanne Conway
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a highly respected pollster for corporate and Republican clients and a frequent television talk show guest, Kellyanne Conway had already established herself as one of the brightest lights on the national political scene when Donald Trump asked her to run his presidential campaign. She agreed, delivering him to the White House, becoming the first woman in American history to manage a winning presidential campaign. Who she is, how she did it, and who tried to stop her is a fascinating story of personal triumph and political intrigue that has never been told…until now.
-
-
I vote Democrat and I like Kellyanne however,
- By patrikiwi on 06-01-22
By: Kellyanne Conway
-
The Social Graces
- By: Renée Rosen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1876. In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry, and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence - what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor - the Mrs. Astor.
-
-
Disappointing Effort
- By HistoryNerd on 05-11-21
By: Renée Rosen
-
The Palace Papers
- Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family.
-
-
Tina Brown reads her book
- By Karen on 04-26-22
By: Tina Brown
-
The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
-
-
Very interesting and well read!
- By Raven on 09-01-18
By: Anne de Courcy
-
Vanderbilt
- The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
- By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times best-selling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty - his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts.
-
-
A Wonderful modern history…
- By P. J. Jough-Haan on 09-22-21
By: Anderson Cooper, and others
-
Fortune's Children
- The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt
- By: Arthur T. Vanderbilt II
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by descendant Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, Fortune's Children traces the dramatic and amazingly colorful history of this great American family, from the rise of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt to the fall of his progeny - wild spendthrifts whose profligacy bankrupted a vast inheritance.
-
-
The Rise and Fall of the Gilded Age
- By Hilary on 10-22-14
-
Here's the Deal
- A Memoir
- By: Kellyanne Conway
- Narrated by: Kellyanne Conway
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a highly respected pollster for corporate and Republican clients and a frequent television talk show guest, Kellyanne Conway had already established herself as one of the brightest lights on the national political scene when Donald Trump asked her to run his presidential campaign. She agreed, delivering him to the White House, becoming the first woman in American history to manage a winning presidential campaign. Who she is, how she did it, and who tried to stop her is a fascinating story of personal triumph and political intrigue that has never been told…until now.
-
-
I vote Democrat and I like Kellyanne however,
- By patrikiwi on 06-01-22
By: Kellyanne Conway
-
The Social Graces
- By: Renée Rosen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1876. In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry, and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence - what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor - the Mrs. Astor.
-
-
Disappointing Effort
- By HistoryNerd on 05-11-21
By: Renée Rosen
-
The Palace Papers
- Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family.
-
-
Tina Brown reads her book
- By Karen on 04-26-22
By: Tina Brown
-
The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
-
-
Very interesting and well read!
- By Raven on 09-01-18
By: Anne de Courcy
-
Vanderbilt
- The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
- By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times best-selling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty - his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts.
-
-
A Wonderful modern history…
- By P. J. Jough-Haan on 09-22-21
By: Anderson Cooper, and others
-
Fortune's Children
- The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt
- By: Arthur T. Vanderbilt II
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by descendant Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, Fortune's Children traces the dramatic and amazingly colorful history of this great American family, from the rise of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt to the fall of his progeny - wild spendthrifts whose profligacy bankrupted a vast inheritance.
-
-
The Rise and Fall of the Gilded Age
- By Hilary on 10-22-14
-
American Empress
- The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post
- By: Nancy Rubin Stuart
- Narrated by: Lee Ann Howlett
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American Empress is the best-selling history of the dramatic life of heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, daughter of breakfast-cereal magnate C.W. Post, founder of the Postum Cereal Company.
-
-
Wow what a fantastic story and person
- By Zombie support Group on 03-18-21
-
Lady in Waiting
- My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown
- By: Anne Glenconner
- Narrated by: Anne Glenconner
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the fifth Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed "the greatest disappointment" and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive court life with her sense of humor intact.
-
-
Horrible Reading
- By Teddy hall on 03-27-20
By: Anne Glenconner
-
The Rainbow Comes and Goes
- A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss
- By: Anderson Cooper
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of ninety-one, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a yearlong conversation unlike any they have ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.
-
-
Enjoyed the early parts
- By Dedrick on 07-06-16
By: Anderson Cooper
-
Love, Lucy
- By: Lucille Ball
- Narrated by: Lucie Arnaz
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love, Lucy is the valentine Lucille Ball left for her fans—a warm, wise, and witty memoir written by Lucy herself. The legendary star of the classic sitcom I Love Lucy was at the pinnacle of her success when she sat down to record the story of her life. No comedienne had made America laugh so hard, no television actress had made the leap from radio and B movies to become one of the world’s best-loved performers. This is her story—in her own words.
-
-
What a great book
- By SCOTT on 07-11-18
By: Lucille Ball
-
Both/And
- A Life in Many Worlds
- By: Huma Abedin
- Narrated by: Huma Abedin
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of Indian and Pakistani intellectuals and advocates, Abedin grew up in the United States and Saudi Arabia and traveled widely. Both/And grapples with family, legacy, identity, faith, marriage, motherhood - and work - with wisdom, sophistication, grace, and clarity.
-
-
Amazing book, absolutely recommended!
- By Prerit Pramod on 11-05-21
By: Huma Abedin
-
The Beauty of Living Twice
- By: Sharon Stone
- Narrated by: Sharon Stone
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharon Stone, one of the most renowned actresses in the world, suffered a massive stroke that cost her not only her health, but her career, family, fortune, and global fame. In The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone chronicles her efforts to rebuild her life and writes about her slow road back to wholeness and health. In a business that doesn’t accept failure, in a world where too many voices are silenced, Stone found the power to return, the courage to speak up, and the will to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children around the globe.
-
-
Change after a close encounter with Death
- By Maktoum Saeed Al-Maktoum on 04-04-21
By: Sharon Stone
-
Park Avenue Summer
- By: Renée Rosen
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur, Renée Rosen
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss, who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big-city dreams and unexpectedly lands a job working for the first female editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, Helen Gurley Brown. For Alice, who wants to be a photographer, it seems like the perfect foot in the door, but nothing could have prepared her for the world she enters.
-
-
Interesting Take on 1960s NYC
- By HistoryNerd on 05-07-19
By: Renée Rosen
-
The Barbizon
- The Hotel that Set Women Free
- By: Paulina Bren
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to New York’s legendary hotel for women, the Barbizon. Liberated after WWI from home and hearth, women flocked to New York City during the Roaring Twenties. But even as women’s residential hotels became the fashion, the Barbizon stood out; it was designed for young women with artistic aspirations, and included soaring art studios and soundproofed practice rooms. More importantly still, with no men allowed beyond the lobby, the Barbizon signaled respectability, a place where a young woman of a certain class could feel at home.
-
-
A Very Enjoyable Non Fiction, Mostly Easy Listening
- By Frank Donnelly on 03-23-21
By: Paulina Bren
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
-
WOW! What a fascinating story!
- By martha on 12-17-13
By: Ron Chernow
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
Awesome, loved it.... but.
- By Jody on 01-30-19
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
The Millionaire Mind
- By: Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D., William D. Danko Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Cotter Smith
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To become a millionaire, you have to think like one. The Millionaire Mind shows you how. Also available: The Millionaire Next Door.
-
-
The Millionaire Next Door is the better choice
- By Wendy on 03-19-15
By: Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D., and others
-
America's First Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, best-selling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph - a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.
-
-
Absolutely Loved This Story!
- By Bernard on 05-01-16
By: Stephanie Dray, and others
Publisher's Summary
Cornelius Vanderbilt parlayed a $100.00 investment into the largest private transportation company in the world while creating an American Dynasty in New York, Newport, Vermont, and Asheville, North Carolina. This history of his family and their lush, opulent lifestyle is filled with juicy stories and fun tidbits about their lives in the Gilded Era.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Vanderbilts
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tracy
- 12-03-13
It only brushes the cold marble surface
What disappointed you about The Vanderbilts?
Listening to this book was like expecting an entertaining description of a dinner party and being read only the ingredient list that went into the food. Besides the early story of "the Commodore" growing the wealth of the family, everything else is a bland repitition of "this person was the son/daughter of who, general disposition, jobs, marriage, houses, death, funeral at which church, reading the will" over and over. You hear more about their houses than their actual lives, and when the author write that there was "considerable scandals filling all the newspapers" he never gives you any of the details, which is almost as annoying as it is boring. There are some interesting facts and history in this book, but not enough.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
the narrator was almost monotone, but I guess he did about as well as he could with such monotone text.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John T
- 01-01-21
Robot Voice and BORING
If I had known that the voice for the book was a robot... I would have NEVER purchased this book. It’s slow and the robot voice is monotonous. DON’T BUY THIS & DON’T WASTE A CREDIT! 👎👎 💩
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Neil Chisholm
- 05-06-13
Obscene Riches
Everyone has heard about the Vanderbilts and their wealth but I was awed by their totally obscene wealth and their capacity to spend fortunes on mansions that were not noted for their architecture nor their contents just for their opulence and flashy luxury.
The original Vanderbilt made the majority of his money not by hard work but by manipulating the stocks and shares he held and this was how the family continued to hold onto and increase their incredible fortunes.
By and large the vast sums of money didn't seem to bring them happiness - there were famous custody cases, divorces and scandals and other than becoming the leaders of New York society none of them seemed to have a good time with their money.
It made interesting listening but at times the numbers and dates all got a bit confusing and the dollar amounts so vast that I had to repeat them outloud to comprehend them before gasping.
I enjoyed it but I sat there clasping my pearls at my throat at the sheer amounts of money spent on unimportant things while there were so many in great need and so little of their money was spent in philanthropy.
One to listen and gasp at and thank the lord that the gilded age has past!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr. Bill- Northern NJ-USA
- 10-11-20
Rich or Poor- It’s good to have Money
No new revelations here- I’m not sure what exactly I was anticipating, however I didn’t receive any new information
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lori
- 04-08-15
Good read.
Interesting. Fun. Good read if you want to visit any of the Vanderbilt houses. Even better the second time. End
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Donna M. Rhoten
- 10-19-20
History lesson
This book was very interesting history without being boring. This was a Very enjoyable listen.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeffrey J. Kemp
- 06-11-12
An interesting family.......
Would you consider the audio edition of The Vanderbilts to be better than the print version?
A subject I wouldn't normally purchase in print form
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Vanderbilts?
The reading of the Commodore's will
Have you listened to any of Ray Childs???s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
Any additional comments?
A fun, short biography of one of the most iconic names in 20th century history.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Diane
- 03-27-12
more of a summary than indepth.
What did you love best about The Vanderbilts?
Easy to listen to
Would you recommend The Vanderbilts to your friends? Why or why not?
not what I thought it would be
Which scene was your favorite?
none
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
no extreme reaction. waiting for more indepth re: Cornelius Vanderbilt and his influence on family and society and never got it
Any additional comments?
no
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KureMom
- 04-21-22
What a disappointment!
Monotone narrater makes this story about a fascinating family boring and uninteresting! I was looking foreword to listening to this!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janet S Mallory
- 04-20-22
The Vanderbilts
They were the epitome of the gilded age in the United States. It was a time when men of imagination became powerful millionaires. In some families it caused ruin - in some great philanthropy resulted. An interesting time in history.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Linda T
- 05-01-22
Dull
Concentrated to much on how much they had in the bank,what their houses were bought and sold for and it’s contents