Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty (by Anderson Cooper)
As a young girl, my parents took me to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I was overcome with fascination of this magnificent home and could barely grasp the reality that people actually lived there at one time. The Biltmore Estate left such an impression on me that I longed to return. When my husband and I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, a visit to this grand home was a piece of cake. Fortunately, my husband fell in love with the estate too. We made several trips to Asheville, allowing us the opportunities to see the sprawling, meticulous grounds during all of the seasons. When the time came to plan our wedding, we couldn’t think of a more special place than Biltmore Estate to have our ceremony and reception. Even now, we live within a reasonable driving distance, and are able to continue to enjoy visiting all that Biltmore has to offer its guests. Photography credit for the below pictures goes to PoeSoul Studio.
With each visit, I wanted to know more about the family behind this glamorous home and their history. I love reading books about Biltmore Estate and the Vanderbilt family. As a fan of Anderson Cooper, I couldn’t wait to read his take of this fascinating family.
I really didn’t know what to expect from Anderson’s book, Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, that he co-authored with Katherine Howe. I’ve known for a long time that his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, was related to THE VANDERBILTS and that Anderson always seemed to shy away from talking about his Vanderbilt roots. He addresses this in his book and I completely understand his perspective. Anderson provides a very in-depth history of this intriguing family. He covers the beginning of the family tree with Cornelius Vanderbilt, aka The Commodore. The reader learns how the family grew and lived on Staten Island and built mansions on Fifth Avenue, New York. My heart broke as he shared about Alice of the summer home, The Breakers, built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II in Newport, Rhode Island. It was fascinating to learn about the lives and tragic deaths of the Vanderbilts. Thus far, my reading of the Vanderbilt family has mostly focused on George Washington Vanderbilt of the Biltmore Estate. If I’m understanding the family tree correctly, George is the grandson to the Commodore. However, Anderson doesn’t talk about George. And I’m okay with that.
As the book nears its conclusion, Anderson shares about his mother, Gloria, and her tumultuous childhood. I learned so much about her! I was pretty surprised with her excessive spending habits. I guess that mentality comes with having generational wealth, sometimes. Anderson opened up about the death of his father and his brother’s suicide. I felt so sad as he talked about significant moments of his life with Gloria. Anderson has a very gifted way of disclosing deep emotions surrounding specific, traumatic events without having to describe to the the reader the gritty details of such events. This portion of the book became an emotional story.
Choosing to read the audiobook was a no brainer for me. Anderson Cooper narrates and I love his voice! It was an excellent reading experience.
In the photos above, you will notice my pop up book, Great American Houses and Gardens by Chuck Fischer. My mom gave me this book for Christmas several years ago for my love of the Biltmore Estate. The book is super cool as it includes Monticello, Winterthur gardens, and the Governor’s Palace in Colonial Williamsburg. With each home and garden pictured a booklet describing the location is included.
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