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| Astor, Anderson Cooper's follow up to Vanderbilt: a compelling mix of known and little known stories. |
Astor is the second book co‑written by journalist Anderson Cooper chronicling the rise and fall of an American dynasty with full Gilded Age notoriety. His first, Vanderbilt, (see our review Vanderbilt, BTS blog November, 2021) explored the clan he knows firsthand as the son of Gloria Vanderbilt and the great‑great‑great‑grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who launched the family fortune in shipping and railroads. For his follow‑up, Cooper turns his attention to the Astors, revealing—much as he did in Vanderbilt—how early generations amassed staggering wealth through drive and ambition, only for later heirs to tarnish, squander, or simply misplace their silver spoons.
Although I knew the broad Astor arc—from John Jacob Astor’s late‑18th‑century fur‑trade and real‑estate empire to his daughter‑in‑law’s dominance of Gilded Age society - I didn't know much beyond the tragic death of John Jacob Astor IV on the Titanic and the subsequent decline of the family's prominence.
As with Vanderbilt, Cooper and his writing partner, Katherine Howe, present old and new Astor lore in a readable, entertaining style, complete with tantalizing tangents and bits of trivia.
A brief tour through the Astor saga:
William Backhouse Astor Sr., son of the original John Jacob, married Margaret Livingston Armstrong and had ten children, including the industrious JJ Jr. and William Backhouse Jr.—the latter a noted partier and husband of the formidable Caroline Astor.
William and Margaret’s first daughter, Emily—grandmother of the “Astor orphans”—was named for Emily St. Aubert, the heroine of Ann Radcliffe’s gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho. (BTS note: Austen enthusiasts will recall that another devoted reader of Udolpho is Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey.)
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| Rachel outside Waldorf Astoria 2015 |
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| Rachel inside the Waldorf Astoria |
- The Waldorf‑Astoria Hotel began as a somewhat reluctant partnership between cousins William Waldorf “Will” Astor and John Jacob “Jack” Astor IV. Originally two separate hotels on Thirty‑Fourth Street—now the site of the Empire State Building—the Waldorf‑Astoria moved to its current Park Avenue location in 1931. My daughter Rachel and I stayed there in 2015, before its most recent renovation, back when it didn’t take an Astor‑level savings account to spend the night. (See BTS blog Adoring the Waldorf Astoria, August, 2015)
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| The bronze clock in Waldorf Astoria lobby. |
- Jack Astor had one son with his first wife: Vincent Astor. Vincent married three times but had no children. His third wife, Brooke Astor, became a legendary socialite who lived to 105 and remained in the headlines right up to her death in 2007. Her son from her first marriage was later convicted of elder abuse and imprisoned in his eighties.
Condensing more than 250 years of family drama into just over 250 pages is no small feat, but Cooper and Howe manage it with style. They deliver a fascinating narrative about a name that still evokes good manners, old money, and impeccable taste. Cooper even closes with a pop‑culture wink: the Muppets’ elderly balcony critics, Statler and Waldorf.
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| Waldorf with Statler |
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| At our "box", emulating Astors (or Muppets) |
It’s a compelling tale of ambition, greed, society, aspiration, and tragedy. Like HBO’s Succession, it isn’t always comfortable to witness—but it’s even harder to look away.
Fun fact:
Ironically, I purchased this book, about the, at one time, richest folks in America, first published in 2023, this month while thrifting with my son and daughter-in-law. With the list price of $32.99 displayed on its mint-condition book jacket, a green sticker add-on boasted mark-down cost of only $4.00. Bonus: green sticker items were half off on the day of our visit. Buying a book about billionaires for less than a cup of hot tea, priceless!
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