Fortune's Children

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 973.08621 EAN: 9780688103866 ISBN: 0688103863 Label: Harper Paperbacks Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 512 Publication Date: 1991-02-20 Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Release Date: 1991-02-20 Studio: Harper Paperbacks
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Editorial Reviews: Vanderbilt: the very name signifies wealth. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built up a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. Yet, less than fifty years after the Commodore's death, one of his direct descendants died penniless, and no Vanderbilt was counted among the world's richest people. Fortune's Children tells the dramatic story of all the amazingly colorful spenders who dissipated such a vast inheritance. 32 pages of photographs.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A look into some Vanderbilts Comment: Arthur Vanderbilt II takes great care in researching and describing his own family tree. despite the fact that there are still many Vanderbilts that are missing, such as Frederick Vanderbilt who built the mansion in Hyde Park, NY, the book is a very good quick reference of the family tree. This is a must have for historians of the Guiled Age and Vanderbilt family, as Arthur has compiled an extensive bibliography of re fences and primary sources that are immensely important for further research. Customer Rating: Summary: Fortune's Children Comment: Extremely interesting account of the demise of the Vanderbilt fortune. Obviously, this will not be available at the Biltmore Estate bookshop! Customer Rating: Summary: Fortune's Children Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: Why you shouldn't leave your kids any money Comment: It was like reading a trashy novel - but this is nonfiction. I found it fascinating to read how a mob mentality can take over a person even when it is "mobs" of money surrounding them. Greed and status overtook any common sense, or even love for their children. I now understand why Andrew Carnegie gave all his money away. Customer Rating: Summary: Compelling Comment: Since the book was written by a Vanderbilt, I dubiously expected a sanitized version and was delightfully surpised to find the author was brutally honest about the characters covered. This book was engrossing. I could not put it down. The portion about the Gloria Vanderbilt custody case was particularly engaging - what a piece of work the maternal grandmother was. But the book as a whole was a gem - I devoured every page and was sad to see it end. I do agree with the previous reviewer who said a genealogical tree would have helped to refer to when reading about the characters and keeping track of how they were all related to each other, especially since the family was so fecund and so many of the men had similiar names. I think it also interesting the author does not mention precisely which branch of the family he is descended from. So perhaps he is trying to maintain some of his own identity. But all in all, this excellent read has whetted my desire to read more about the Vanderbilts, as well as other East Coast aristocratic families. More Reviews