The Astors

from dust jacket: "virginia Cowles, author of "The Rothschilds", now gives us another great international family: the Astors, whose immense fortune came from furs, ships, and real estate; whose mansions bejeweled Fifth Avenue, Newport, and England; who became leaders - first in America, then in Britain - of polite society; whose births and deaths, private feuds and public scandals, political ambitions and philanthropic munificence have been fascinating the world at large for close to two centuries. The story of their rise to prominence, of their long reign, of their influence and importance, is more than the saga of a rich and unusual family, for it illuminates from a unique vantage point the history of the past two hundred years."