Cornelius Vanderbilt
Wikipedia: Cornelius Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilts (Hardcover) by Jerry E. Patterson The Vanderbilt Women: Dynasty of Wealth, Glamour and Tragedy (Paperback) by Clarice Stasz Fortune's Children (Paperback) by Arthur T. Vanderbilt 2nd The following quote is quite revealing concerning Agents of the Money Power. From the Library Journal comments on "Fortune's Children," found on Amazon.com site.
"This could give Donald Trump nightmares: It is the story of how the seemingly solid fortune of railroad mogul Commodore Vanderbilt was dissipated down to practically nothing in the space of a century. In this family history, Vanderbilt dramatizes both the successes and excesses of America's Gilded Age--the enormous new wealth, the lavish lifestyles, and, later, the desperate schemes to maintain social status and fortune (contesting wills, matchmaking with nobility, and, most notably, battling for custody of "Little Gloria"). But the story is not so much about people as the palaces they built--the Breakers, the Biltmore, and mansions which used to occupy blocks of now-prime Manhattan real estate--all of which became white elephants sold to preservation societies or Towers of Babels that fell under a wave of taxes and upkeep cost. An absorbing social history. BOMC alternate." - Judy Quinn, "Library Journal" Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
© 2006 by Edward Ulysses Cate
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