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Astor
- The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
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Astor
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Summary
The number one New York Times bestselling authors of Vanderbilt return with another riveting history of a legendary American family, the Astors, and how they built and lavished their fortune.
The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story—of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention.
From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society.
The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic, one of many shocking and unexpected twists in the family’s story.
In this unconventional,compelling historical biography, #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.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Astor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Small
- 14-11-23
Very Interesting
I’d love it if Anderson Cooper kept these history’s of these American dynasties going. I loved the book on his own Vanderbilt family do I was interested to see how he tackled the Astors.
The Astors in New York were the self-appointed social superiors of Anderson Cooper’s Vanderbilt ancestors. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional but the Astors come off as way more boring and stuck up when compared to the Vanderbilts who loved their money and never passed up an opportunity to show it off.
I think actually for all the Astors early wealth it never matched up to Vanderbilt, Carnegie or Rockefeller.
Nonetheless this was an interesting listen and a family as full of characters as you’d expect where great wealth over a long time is concerned.
A shame there wasn’t a chapter on the way the Astors have assured themselves of true longevity though. The current Viscount Astor in the UK is hugely wealthy still and to this day sits in the House of Lords. They are not down or out yet.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- GrandGennetay
- 13-02-24
Very dull reading voice.
It was interesting enough but only just. The reader has a very flat voice but I got used to that. Unforgivable though is his prononciation of Cliveden and Hever. The smallest amount of research would have been sufficient.
There are better books about the family.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marcela Ferri
- 29-12-23
Outstanding book
What a beautiful reading and detailed writing showcasing such valuable piece of history.
NYC feels different now.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Suzanne M.
- 12-02-24
A lot of regurgitated stuff
It concerned me that the narrator could not correctly pronounce ‘Cliveden’ and there were some factual errors in there. It was ok but not much more.
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