Hello.

Welcome to Inside the Cover, your locally produced show for those who love to read.

I recently finished Astor by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe.

This book was copyrighted in 2023, and I finished my copy on January 16, 2024.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Astor is subtitled The Ris and Fall of an American Fortune.

While this is of course, accurate, I thought it was a bit insufficient as a descriptor.

Astor begins and ends wit discussion about Brooke Astor, the last remaining doyenne of New York High Society.

In the book's introduction, Cooper speaks to his first meeting with Mrs. Astor, the widowed spouse of Vincent Astor.

in 1981. Cooper was 13, and he was lunching with his mother and brothe at Mortimer's, a tony Upper East Side restaurant on the corner of 75th and Lexington.

Gloria Vanderbilt was then 57 and Mrs. Astor was 79.

And they are described thusly: “The last two exemplars of Gilded Age New York dining shoulder to shoulder.” Near the end of the book, the reader is taken to Brooke Astor's death on August 13, 2007 at the age of 105.

The last Mrs. Astor to rule New York died with her caregivers, butler and Annette de la Renta her closest friend and fiercest protector by her side, telling her she was loved.

Integral to this ending wa the alleged elder abuse of Mrs. Astor by her son and how her grandson, an historic preservationis and professor at Roger Williams University, had filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of his father, Tony Marshall, as the socialites guardian.

In between, Cooper and Howe provide so much information about the Astor family and New York City.

I learned that the first John Jacob Astor was born in Waldorf, Germany, in 1763.

I learned about the expansion of the Northwest United States after the Lewis and Clark expedition.

I learned about the importance of fur trade and the mechanics of how animal traps work.

I learned that in the spring of 1808, Astor created the American Fur Company, capitalized with stock valued at $1 millio to begin his project of empire.

His fortune was subsequently enhanced with the acquisition of real estate in New York City and he entered the hotel trade at age 70 with the Park Hotel later to be called Astor House.

I learned that Astors so William Backhouse Astor endowed what is now the New York Public Library, an institution that is arguably a signal achievement in American Public Life.

I learned about the magnificent homes of the Astors along Fifth Avenue.

I learned how the Waldorf Astoria Hotel came to be.

And I also learne that their original setting was where the Empire State Building so regally stands today.

I learned the circumstance of how Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, known as Jack came to perish on the Titanic.

I also learne about the three different movies about the sinking of the Titanic and the various purposes and motivations behind their filming.

In James Cameron's famou version, Jack Astor was so minor a character that he was given only a few unmemorable lines, although the reality is that he was the most famous passenger aboard the ill fated ship.

I learned about Mrs. Astor's bar in the Astor Hotel at the corner of Broadway and 44th Street.

It was an early gay bar, and the writers provide detailed information about the significance of the left side of the bar and the right side of the bar.

Please note that this book is not a significant contribution to American literature.

However, I found it to be a very enjoyable and entertaining read.

It appears to be carefully researched with lots of footnotes and a substantial index.

I read to be entertained and to learn.

This book certainly measured up in those regards.

The stories of the money made, saved, spent, donated and squandered.

The history of New York City and the United States are well worth the read.

I am happy to recommend Astor and Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe.

Goodnight and see you next time.