About this title: Cornelius Vanderbilt - "The Commodore" - was born in 1794. At the age 16 he borrowed $100 from his mother to buy a boat and began a ferry service to Manhattan. By the time of his death in 1877 he had built a far-flung steamship and railroad empire and accumulated an estate worth over $100 million. The bulk of his money went to his son, William, who duly mimicked his father's business strategies and doubled the fortune. William's son Willie married the restless Alva Smith, who constructed a string of multimillion dollar mansions and threw a $250,000 costume ball that got the Vanderbilts into ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Reader copy. 1991 Sphere Books. Paperback. Some marks and minor creasing to cover with some edge wear. Tanning to page edges. Text and pictures very clean and crisp. A very readable copy. read more
Description: Fine. 0688103863 Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing. Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. like-new. onle has minimal spine creasing. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Perennial, New York
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: xii + 496 pages. Illustrated with 32 pages of photographic reproductions. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Spine and edges of covers worn, 1/2" closed tear at base of spine, else a very good copy. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: Very Good. This Stated First Edition book is in very good condition. The binding is tight and pages are clean. The cover has bumps and scuffs. It has been corner bumped. There is creasing on the spine. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Perennial
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. bright shiny brand new, great gift. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: New. 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, ... read more
Edition: First Paperback Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: William Morrow & Co, New York U. S. A.
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: As New. 0688103863. Acidfree NrFine 1stEd w/ 32pp of plates, brown cov wraps attached upsidedown; no names, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours.; 496 pages; \nFrom Publishers Weekly Among the author's earlier books is Changing Laws, an award-winning biography of his grandfather, Arthur T. Vanderbilt. His latest history, witty, entertaining and sad, also merits a prize for the writer, a lawyer and one among many members of the fabled family ... read more
Edition: First Edition/Third Printing
Binding: Pictorial Cover/Softbound
Publisher: Quill/William Morrow, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780688103866ISBN:0688103863
Description: Very Good + No Jacket. Major Publisher. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book is pristine inside except for a name inked inside the front. The covers have only very light wear. Photo illustrated with 496 pages. read more
"I picked up this book at the library after a recent trip to Newport, where we toured the Breakers and Marble House, two magnificent 'cottages' built by Vanderbilts for millions of dollars and used by their owners for about 1 year. Who are these crazy Vanderbilts?
The saga of the Vanderbilts can at times be mistaken for fiction. The cankerous patriarch Commodore... the social schemer Alva... the unwilling bride Consuelo... the staid Cornelius and Alice... the custody fight over young Gloria... supporting characters like Mrs. Astor and Ward McAllister... this is entertaining stuff, and the book provides an excellent historical view of the Gilded Age.
I was grossly fascinated by the excesses of this privileged class with nothing to do but find new ways to entertain themselves within their rigid social structure (like having a dinner where every guest is seated on horseback or only baby talk is spoken). Us poor people, at least our lives have purpose... dreary, monotonous purpose..."
"This book started my current obsession with the Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age. The stories in this book about what these people did and how they spend their money fascinated me."
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