Astor

The number one New York Times bestselling authors of Vanderbilt return with another riveting history of a legendary American family,the Astorsand how they built and lavished their fortune. The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story–of ambitioninventiondestructionand reinvention. From 1783when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United Statesuntil 2009when Brooke Astor’s sonAnthony Marshallwas convicted of defrauding his elderly motherthe Astor name occupied a unique place in American society. The family fortunefirst made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empirewas then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generationsAstors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural lifebut also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanicone of many shocking and unexpected twists in the family’s story. In this unconventionalpage-turning historical biographyfeaturing black-and-white and color photographs#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.