Anderson Cooper investigates the story of a fabulously wealthy American family when his book Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune comes out September 19. The book looks at the famed family as John Jacob Astor arrives from Germany in 1783, on to Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, defrauding his elderly mother a couple centuries later. It also details how the family business evolved from beaver trapping to Manhattan real estate, and how the Astor family was prominent in Gilded Age New York political and cultural life.
Katherine Howe authored the book with Cooper. HarperCollins is the publisher.
“The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story — of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention,” said HarperCollins.
Cooper and Howe previously partnered on the book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Cooper’s mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. He hosts Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN and is a correspondent on 60 Minutes.
Howe’s books include the novel The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs and the non-fiction book The Penguin Book of Witches.
Andy Cohen interviews Cooper about the new book at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan September 20.
