Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

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

5 reviews

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Every year for New Year's Eve, my partner and I watch CNN's show, hosted by Anderson Cooper and (for the past few years now) Andy Cohen. It is the most wholesome (and hilarious) NYC NYE coverage and it reaffirms my love of Cooper every dang year. After this year's giggling fit in relation to a John Meyer in a cat cafe in Tokyo (Google it - it's worth it), I decided I needed a little more of him in my life to start the year, and decided to give this book a go.

So as we all (maybe?) know, Anderson Cooper is a Vanderbilt, as far as family tree. So of course, as a journalist I am not surprised that he would choose to research into and write about his own ancestry and family heritage. (Of note, definite credit to Katherina Howe as well, historian and novelist who co-wrote this book.) Starting with the man who started the shipping, and later railroad, dynasty in the mid 1800s - Cornelius Vanderbilt - Cooper and Howe follow the family through the generations, choosing a few key figures to trace the story through, as the inherited fortune was fought over, defended and, by the time of Cooper's mother (with the finishing touches put on it by herself), was squandered.

Look. First of all, and highly importantly, I listened to the audiobook. And I could listen to Anderson Cooper talk for...ever? OMG. Yes. So you know, bear that in mind through this review, because my impressions might have been lulled into...whatever they were...due to my enjoyment of the narration. Haha.

The rise to power of this family against the backdrop of the same for NYC, and really the US as a nation (spanning and covering historical periods and moments from antebellum to postbellum, the women’s suffrage movement, the sinking of the Lusitania, America’s Cup, the film industry/Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and more) is spellbinding. It's narrative nonfiction on par with Keefe (see my thoughts on Empire of Pain and Rogues). The focus is, absolutely, the family, but there are some contextual moments as well, like mentioning other key situations (mining disasters) and populations (black and Asian suffragettes) that happened during these years.

There was a light attempt at some inclusivity through these "asides," like some comments on class disparity issues, slavery and racism, the profligacy and ruthlessness that created the capitalism (and legacy of) we deal with today, and a (rightly critical) lack of cognitive dissonance in racism vs feminism and non-intersectional feminism. And there was a clear and constant acknowledgment of privilege throughout. However, as might be expected with how close he is to this story, there is a benefit of the doubt given, especially for those he knew directly (like his mother), to the unique, but real, experiences of traumas that came as a part of that access to excess and expectation (and the failings of the humans individually...which is very much real, but not an understanding extended to many other, less privileged, populations).

Other thoughts and reactions I had... The trajectory of celebrity gossip over time, and how it became what it is today, was fascinating. I enjoyed the structure, the focus on individual family members that are not (perhaps) all as well known, but allowed for highlighting some different aspects/achievements/dramatics/historical points, while still mapping the overall family arc. And oh my goodness, one of my favorite parts was the epilogue, hearing all the places the Vanderbilts' had homes/properties and what is on those sites now, in NYC; it was such a very cool palimpsest of the architecture and history of the city.

Before starting this, I honestly had no idea that the Vanderbilt money was no more (I just knew the name was famous and the family was rich and figured/assumed it still was). Reading about how the family saga encapsulated and acted almost as a microcosm of America - a mad dash of crushing people underfoot to get to the top and then handling so badly that it’s all lost - was captivating. I literally could not look away from the opulence and drama (a few times, the novel Age of Innocence was mentioned as a comp/fictional version of some of these peak years for the Vanderbilts, and it has made me really want to pick that classic up sooner rather than later). But for real, this family saga had me in its clutches and before I even realized it, the book was over. Definitely worth the read!

“This is the story of the greatest American fortune ever squandered.”

“Gilded sin is so much more interesting than ragged sin. […] Scandal dressed in ermine and purple is much more salacious than scandal in overalls or a kitchen apron.”

“The story of one life, or a constellation of lives, tossed into the firmament to make a dynasty, will never entirely be what history thinks it is.”

Content Warnings