Vanderbilt family descendent Anderson Cooper and co-author Katherine Howe explore the nuanced stories of the Vanderbilt dynasty's most notable figures and their roles in its rise and decline.

Despite the family's reputation, the first Vanderbilts in America were not wealthy. They started as indentured servants and farmers after arriving in America around 1660.

In 1794, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was born. He went on to grow the massive fortune that we associate with the Vanderbilt name.

Although his descendants continued the Vanderbilt legacy, their power, status, and wealth would eventually dwindle.

Disinterested in the Vanderbilts for most of his life, journalist and news anchor Anderson Cooper became curious about his family's history after the passing of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.

In Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, Cooper investigates the lives of the most notable Vanderbilts while co-author Katherine Howe, historian, lends her background in American and New England history.

Throughout, Cooper and Howe explore the very human experiences that characterized the lives of one of the wealthiest families in American history.