Astor: The Rise and Fall of An American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

 When Franklin Delano Roosevelt heard that his friend Vincent Astor spent $125,000 a year on his luxury yacht even during the Great Depression, he declined an invitation to go on yet another cruise, and  told him that it might be time to 'soak the rich' if they could afford such 'unnecessary extravagance'! Needless to say, they didn't remain friends.

Vincent Astor wasn't the only Astor to indulge in such extravagance. This book abounds with tales of the voracious Astors who built New York with money made from the cruelty of beaver-hunting, and slum-owning. There was Caroline with her fantastic parties, the Four Hundred and her rivalry with Ava Vanderbilt, William Waldorf Astor with his glamorous hotels and Cliveden, and Brooke Astor who put up with her nasty husband's difficult character, drinking and womanising, receiving almost $130 million in his will.

It's a story of great glamour, and great brutality with never a dull moment. In the end, the fortune of this leading family of America disappeared. How did this happen? Prepare for a wild journey into the rise and fall of this fascinating family.

I received this free ebook from Edelweiss.plus in return for an honest review.