Customer Reviews

The Vanderbilts

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book serves a myriad of purposes. If you are interested in turn of the century architecture, this book is for you. If you are interested in the social mores of the day, this book is for you. If you are interested in the Vanderbilt familiy in particular, and America's aristocracy in general, this book is for you. With hundreds of wonderful photos and illustrations, and an objective account of the history of one of America's richest families, "The Vanderbilts" takes the reader back to an era of nonchalant decadence. A time when prosperity was the plaything of the gods, and the gods were called Vanderbilt, and were lead by "The Commodore". America today is enriched by the spoils of their success, boasting some of the best in arcitecture and art collections. The family who gave us Grand Central Station, The Metropolitan Opera, and a good deal of the exhibited contents of the Met Museum also provide us with a fascinating tale of the rise and reign (and stumbles and pratfalls along the way) of American royalty.

If you are a fan of the Vanderbilts or of the Gilded Era, this book is a must. I have to admitt that I own lots of coffee table books. Usually, I just look at the pictures, read the captions, but never a word of the text. This book caught my attention from the start. It's a wonderful history of the Vanderbilt family, although not too heavily involved. I found that the family tree charts were loads of help while reading the book ... with such a large family it would be easy to forget who's who.
The pictures are exquisite, they bring the Vanderbilts and their fabulous homes to life. There are 291 illustrations, 92 of them are in full color.
I bought this book on a visit to George Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in the mountains of North Carolina. If you live any where near the area, I highly recommend a visit. The house, gardens and winery are out of this world!

This book is wonderful, I really could not put it down. The pictures are exquisite and the text is highly informative. The Vanderbilts may have not always been happy, but by God they did enjoy their money. Unlike many of the Gilded Age American aristocrats, like the Rockefeller's and Carnegie, the Vanderbilts where not ashamed of their money and they wanted to show it off...granted they do not have the lofty philanthropic legacy of the Rockefeller's or Andrew Carnegie, but they did give us wonderful estates and a taste of what it was like to be fabulously wealthy at this amazing time, they lived like French nobility before the Revolution, and to this day when you list the ten greatest American mansions, you can bet that the Vanderbilts will be well represented. This book captures all of this and more...if you have any interest in this Age or this family or quite frankly interesting people and good writing then you will enjoy this book, it really is a five star book.

This is a beautiful coffee book that is actually interesting to read. Lots of georgeous pictures and very helpful family trees make for an interesting read. Although, by the last chapter, I was so far down the family tree that I found it a little confusing to remember who is who. This is still a juicy nonfiction account of the descendents of a level of wealth I cannot even comprehend. I also think someone familiar with New York City would find this book especially interesting because it talks about the areas of the city where they had their mansions.

LIVING IN THE SHADOW AND SPELL OF BILTMORE, IMAGINE MY SURPRISE AT FINDING BILTMORE BUT ONE OF MANY FINE HOUSES BUILT BY THIS GREEDY FAMILY IN SEARCH OF EXTRAVAGANCE, SAFETY AND MODERN CONVENIENCE. THE INFORMATION PRESENTED SHEDS A WHOLE NEW LIGHT ON THE VANDERBILT FAMILY AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL LIVES, REVEALING NOT ONLY THE INDIVIDUAL STYLES OF THE HOMES BUT OF THEIR CAUSES AND CRUSADES AND UNBELIEVABLE SHENANIGANS. I WORE OUT THE ROAD TO THE LIBRARY AND NEARLY WENT BROKE PAYING FINES UNTIL I LEARNED I COULD OWN THIS BOOK THAT HAS CHANGED MY THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR LOCAL "CASTLE." WE STILL LOVE BILTMORE - WE STILL ABHOR THE GREED OF THIS FAMILY THAT THOUGHT NOTHING OF STRANDING RAILROAD PASSENGERS IN THE SNOW. JUST AS WE CAN'T WAIT TO VISIT ASHEVILLE AGAIN, WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS FASCINATING ACCOUNT AGAIN!!

Oh my... what a beautiful book! The color photographs of the estates, family members and artwork were compelling! This could easily just be a 'coffee table book', however, it is also packed with detailed information about the Vanderbilt's and the oppulent life-styles they lived! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Victorian era, whether it be the industrial age, the clothing, the architecture or life-style, or the Vanderbilt's themselves! This book also offers a family tree for various branches of the family over 100-150 years, which was beneficial while reading, because there were so many cousins through multiple generations, it was difficult to keep track of everyone! A book you can curl-up with on a cold evening, and get lost in an era of opulence we can only dream of today!

This is a very informative book about a self-made family that became very wealthy and well known. This was a great buy. $20.00 cheaper than I could get it at the Builtmore Estate.
Thank you Amazon!

If the colorful and less than admirable qualities of the illiterate 'Commodore' Vanderbilt and his brood are of interest add "Fortune's Children" to your list of books. The old man owned the New York Central Railroad, and his office was in New York's Grand Central Terminal ( It is NOT a station ). How he made, by borrowing a hundred dollars from his mother while on their farm on Staten Island, a fortune that ended at his grave on Staten Island is a tale worthy of outlandish fiction worthy of a few years of Soap Opera episodes. The story is filled with back stabbing Business deals, a man more concerned with the future of his money than his family, gold digging hoes, and how this fabulous fortune vanished in 3 generations of the wildest most wasteful spending one could imagine. I highly recommend 'Fortune's Children'. the book offered here is a teaser to that book, and it has a lot of excellent illustrations.

The book is well written and like looking at the colored pictures.I am fascinated by stories of famous, rich people.I try to imagine what it would be like if I am in that situation.It is hard for me to put the book down.I like Anderson Cooper and curious about him but he is so private.

This is a wonderful book, however, it took forever to get to me! About 3 weeks from the day I ordered it. I ordered another book the same day and received it within a week. Will not order from that company again.