Fortune's Children by Arthur T. Vanderbilt 2nd Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.19 You Save: $11.80 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.00 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Fortune's Children
Book Review: Fascinating Story
Summary: 3 Stars
While I found the subject matter absolutely compelling, I was a little disappointed in some aspects of the book itself. First the good parts: extremely well-documented history with lots of first person quotes and in depth character details; excellent pictures; fascinating story especially the chpaters on the Commodore, Alva and Alice. Now the parts that could have been better: I kept getting the later characters confused, a family tree would have helped enormously; the one Vanderbilt house I toured in Hyde part this summer was mentioned only in the footnotes. What hpappened? Who of the family is still alive today? The most important thing that I would have like to see in this book was some analysis about what conclusions the author may have drawn about his family's history. He does not attempt any kind of analysis. Overall, an enjoyable read but not much depth.Book Review: Fascinating book about fascinating people
Summary: 5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am passing it along to friends. Only one item confused me: the author refers to the daughter of William H. Vanderbilt as ELIZA Vanderbilt Webb. We have been to Shelburne Farms where they refer to her as LILA. Can anyone enlighten me on this?Book Review: Fascinating, but ultimately sad...
Summary: 4 Stars
After a recent visit to the Biltmore Estate, I picked up Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt by Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II. I wanted to learn more about Cornelius Vanderbilt and his descendents. What a truly fascinating but ultimately sad story.
Fortune's Children opens with a short history of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Born on Staten Island and relatively uneducated, the Commodore began his maritime career at the age of 16 when he borrowed $100 from his mother to purchase a boat. Vanderbilt started a ferry service and from there, purchased a fleet of sailing ships and then steam ships. At an age when most men were no longer alive, he abandoned the water for railroads. When he died at age 82, he was the richest man in America. With an estate of approximately $105,000,000, he left the bulk of his wealth ($95,000,000) to oldest son, William H. By the time of William's death, he had doubled this fortune.
While for the Commodore, "Money was the basis of his self-esteem, it was his tally of his wins, of his success, of his self-worth, and there would never be enough to satisfy him. For his descendents, the most important reason was to "use their fortune just as they damned please, to create whatever reality they wanted, to give free rein to their every impulse." In fact, these later generations became "the new American nobility." As the Commodore's fortune flowed down through William's children and grandchildren, it slowly trickled away. The reasons include taxes, large families (thus diluting the trust funds), depressed markets, failure to work and continue to make money, and decadent hedonism. The Commodore's grandson, George W. Vanderbilt, II was running out of money before he was able to finish his masterpiece, Biltmore. Several descendants died penniless. "When 120 of the Commodore's descendants gathered at Vanderbilt University in 1973 for the first family reunion, there was not a millionaire among them."
Sadly, all the Vanderbilt New York City mansions have been razed. Most of the estates that remain are those that have been turned into tourist destinations (The Breakers, Belcourt Castle and Biltmore), or those purchased by colleges or country clubs (Florham, Idlehour, and Vinland).
The author spends much time on those Vanderbilts who helped lead the United States into the Gilded Age including William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Cornelius II and Alice Vanderbilt, Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough, Cornelius III and Grace, Harry and Gertrude Whitney, etc. He also touches on the custody battle over little Gloria Vanderbilt. Fortune's Children includes many interesting photographs of the Vanderbilts, their homes, their ships, and others important to this story. But the one thing that was lacking was a family tree. I found myself getting confused once the author started into the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A family tree would have made things easier. I would have also liked a little more information about the Commodore's daughters and sons-in-law.
In the middle of the battle over the Commodore's will, the New York Daily Tribune ran an editorial in 1877 that stated "The Vanderbilt money is certainly bringing no happiness and no greatness to its present claimants, and we have little doubt that in the course of a few years, it will go the way of most American fortunes; a multitude of heirs will have the spending of it, and it will be absorbed in the vast circulating system of the country." This author of this editorial couldn't have called it more accurately if he had used a crystal ball.
Book Review: Fortune's Children
Summary: 5 Stars
Extremely interesting account of the demise of the Vanderbilt fortune. Obviously, this will not be available at the Biltmore Estate bookshop!Book Review: Fortune's Children
Summary: 4 Stars
Being a recent visitor to The Breakers and a past visitor to the Vanderbilt mansion on the Hudson River in New York, I am fascinated by this family and their lives.
I am still reading this book and find it quite interesting, but I would have liked to have a family tree just as another reviewer mentioned and definitely more pictures would have been appreciated.
I know that I will be purchasing other Vanderbilt books to quench my thirst for knowledge of this family.