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When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods & Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age
This newest book by Pulitzer Prize winner Justin Kaplan is a sparkling combination of biography, social history, architectural appreciation, and pure pleasure
Endowed with the largest private fortunes of their day, two heirs of arch-capitalist John Jacob Astor battled with each other for social primacy. William Waldorf Astor (born 1848) and his cousin John Jacob Astor IV (born 1864) led incomparably privileged lives in the blaze of public attention. Novelist, sportsman, and inventor, John Jacob went down with the Titanic, after turbulent marital adventures and service in the Spanish-American War. Collector of art, antiquities, and stately homes, William Waldorf became a British subject and acquired the title of Viscount Astor.
Endowed with the largest private fortunes of their day, two heirs of arch-capitalist John Jacob Astor battled with each other for social primacy. William Waldorf Astor (born 1848) and his cousin John Jacob Astor IV (born 1864) led incomparably privileged lives in the blaze of public attention. Novelist, sportsman, and inventor, John Jacob went down with the Titanic, after turbulent marital adventures and service in the Spanish-American War. Collector of art, antiquities, and stately homes, William Waldorf became a British subject and acquired the title of Viscount Astor.
In New York during the 1890s and after, the two feuding Astors built monumental grand hotels, chief among them the original Waldorf-Astoria on lower Fifth Avenue. The Astor hotels transformed social behavior. Home of the chafing dish and the velvet rope, the Waldorf-Astoria drew the rich, famous, and fashionable. It was the setting for the most notorious society event of the era—a costume extravaganza put on by its hosts during a time of widespread need and unemployment. The celebrity-packed lobbies, public rooms, lavish suites, and exclusive restaurants of the grand hotels became distinctive theaters of modern life.
181 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2006
707 people are currently reading
3154 people want to read
About the author
Justin Kaplan
40 books12 followersJustin Daniel "Joe" Kaplan was an American writer and editor. The general editor of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, he was best known as a biographer, particularly of Samuel Clemens, Lincoln Steffens, and Walt Whitman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
May 11, 2023
The Gilded Age in New York City, when overindulgence, ostentation, class distinction, and money,money, money reigned supreme. The author concentrates on the Astor family whose real estate dealings shaped the skyline and life style of the rapidly growing metropolis.
The founding father, John Jacob Astor, had the foresight to begin buying property in the early days of the city which he rightly imagined would grow rapidly into a major world center for business. His sons and grandsons continued purchasing real estate through the years until they owned most of Manhattan. And then they began to concentrate on erecting luxury hotels.
At this point in the book, the narrative switched to the hotels....the decor, the services offered, the cuisine, the staff, and even the bathrooms. The two Astor brothers (grandsons of the family founding father) battled to see who could build the biggest and the best and my interest waned. Although there was still some information about the Astor family, the main focus becomes the hotels which became world famous. But how much do you need to know about a hotel(s)? This slowed down the story and caused me to lower my rating. It is an interesting book but not exactly what I expected.
The founding father, John Jacob Astor, had the foresight to begin buying property in the early days of the city which he rightly imagined would grow rapidly into a major world center for business. His sons and grandsons continued purchasing real estate through the years until they owned most of Manhattan. And then they began to concentrate on erecting luxury hotels.
At this point in the book, the narrative switched to the hotels....the decor, the services offered, the cuisine, the staff, and even the bathrooms. The two Astor brothers (grandsons of the family founding father) battled to see who could build the biggest and the best and my interest waned. Although there was still some information about the Astor family, the main focus becomes the hotels which became world famous. But how much do you need to know about a hotel(s)? This slowed down the story and caused me to lower my rating. It is an interesting book but not exactly what I expected.
October 27, 2014
I’m a historical voyeur. I enjoy looking back and seeing the way that people used to live in all walks of life. And of course a peak into the uber-rich’s lifestyle is always interesting. That is what drew my attention to this book.
If you’re interested in historical New York hotels, why they were built, why they were destroyed, and a very little detail about the goings-ons in them back in the day, this book might almost be for you. If you are interested in ritzy New York generally from about 100-125 years ago, this book is not for you. I guess I just didn’t take the author’s title literally enough. I guess at one point the Astor family owned a not inconsequential chunk of Manhattan. And that is all that this book is about–oh, with a little sibling rivalry built in so that we leave New York for a few pages to visit England. Otherwise, it’s about the Astor family’s acquisition of property and pissing match as to who could build the biggest, most ostentatious hotel.
My historical life-and-times voyeurism was not fed. The end.
If you’re interested in historical New York hotels, why they were built, why they were destroyed, and a very little detail about the goings-ons in them back in the day, this book might almost be for you. If you are interested in ritzy New York generally from about 100-125 years ago, this book is not for you. I guess I just didn’t take the author’s title literally enough. I guess at one point the Astor family owned a not inconsequential chunk of Manhattan. And that is all that this book is about–oh, with a little sibling rivalry built in so that we leave New York for a few pages to visit England. Otherwise, it’s about the Astor family’s acquisition of property and pissing match as to who could build the biggest, most ostentatious hotel.
My historical life-and-times voyeurism was not fed. The end.
September 12, 2019
Pages 116-120
For his London business headquarters, . . . he [William Waldorf Astor] bought the building on Victoria Embankment at Temple Place. . . .
From this secure office on Victoria Embankment, said H.G. Wells, who interviewed him there for his 1906 book, The Future in America, William Waldorf Astor drew "gold from New York" -- perhaps $6 million a year in rents -- "as effectually as a ferret draws blood from a rabbit." He commanded an empire of office buildings; immense apartment houses on upper Broadway; blocks of decaying but invariably profitable tenement properties; the northern half of the famous old Astor House, built by his great-grandfather and still doing business; the Waldorf half of the Waldorf-Astoria; and all of another hotel, the New Netherland, . . . .
Apart from the buildings in New York he had put up and the rents sweated from decaying slum properties there, Astor's wealth represented the unearned increment of Manhattan land bought for a few dollars by earlier generations of Astors and now worth many times more than what they had paid for them. The owners had done virtually nothing in the meantime to alleviate the misery and increase the value of their extensive tenement holdings beyond holding them. The Astors toiled not, neither did they spin, but an earthly father, free enterprise, and compound interest had endowed them with the glories of Solomon. The enormous surplus value vested in their property did not belong to the Astors, it could be said by single taxers, socialists, and other reform-minded thinkers of the era: it belonged to the sweated wage earners whose labor had turned a low-lying village on Manhattan Island into the de facto commercial capital of the United States. . . .
Page 149
. . . For two or three decades, much as [Queen] Victoria had presided over her empire and her household, Mrs. Astor [Caroline, wife of John Jacob Astor IV, first cousin of William Waldorf Astor] had presided over New York "society" and its inner group, the so-called Four Hundred. She favoured the old colonial and Knickerbocker families, Schermerhorns and Armstrongs, from whom she was descended, and she looked down on relative newcomers such as the Vanderbilts. During her reign, Caroline Astor imposed principles of decorum on a self-appointed American aristocracy that was founded on descent, inherited money, and a code of exclusion but on no discernible intrinsic merit such as intellect, learning, or originality.
For his London business headquarters, . . . he [William Waldorf Astor] bought the building on Victoria Embankment at Temple Place. . . .
From this secure office on Victoria Embankment, said H.G. Wells, who interviewed him there for his 1906 book, The Future in America, William Waldorf Astor drew "gold from New York" -- perhaps $6 million a year in rents -- "as effectually as a ferret draws blood from a rabbit." He commanded an empire of office buildings; immense apartment houses on upper Broadway; blocks of decaying but invariably profitable tenement properties; the northern half of the famous old Astor House, built by his great-grandfather and still doing business; the Waldorf half of the Waldorf-Astoria; and all of another hotel, the New Netherland, . . . .
Apart from the buildings in New York he had put up and the rents sweated from decaying slum properties there, Astor's wealth represented the unearned increment of Manhattan land bought for a few dollars by earlier generations of Astors and now worth many times more than what they had paid for them. The owners had done virtually nothing in the meantime to alleviate the misery and increase the value of their extensive tenement holdings beyond holding them. The Astors toiled not, neither did they spin, but an earthly father, free enterprise, and compound interest had endowed them with the glories of Solomon. The enormous surplus value vested in their property did not belong to the Astors, it could be said by single taxers, socialists, and other reform-minded thinkers of the era: it belonged to the sweated wage earners whose labor had turned a low-lying village on Manhattan Island into the de facto commercial capital of the United States. . . .
Page 149
. . . For two or three decades, much as [Queen] Victoria had presided over her empire and her household, Mrs. Astor [Caroline, wife of John Jacob Astor IV, first cousin of William Waldorf Astor] had presided over New York "society" and its inner group, the so-called Four Hundred. She favoured the old colonial and Knickerbocker families, Schermerhorns and Armstrongs, from whom she was descended, and she looked down on relative newcomers such as the Vanderbilts. During her reign, Caroline Astor imposed principles of decorum on a self-appointed American aristocracy that was founded on descent, inherited money, and a code of exclusion but on no discernible intrinsic merit such as intellect, learning, or originality.
August 22, 2013
I was disappionted in the lack of history about the Astors. It was more about their hotels than anything. The last chapter talks about what happened to the hotels/houses the Astors owned and not what happened to the Astors. The sentences are sometimes jumbled or in need of proper punctuation too. If you are looking for a good book about the Astor family, this is not it.
July 2, 2010
This guy won a Pulitzer for his biography on Mark Twain, and obviously he decided to cash in on that prize and write a book just substantial enough to be reviewed by a few friendly authors and then dropped into a bookstore with a minimum of effort and research.
I do, though, finally feel like I understand the impenetrable Astor family dynasty (the genealogy chart at the beginning certainly helped). Though Melville said John Jacob Astor's name "rings like unto bullion," he was born to a butcher in Waldorf, Germany and to the end of his life spoke with a German accent and would wipe his mouth on other guests' sleeves at meals. He was hardly to the manor born, yet when the War of 1812 destroyed his Northwest fur outpost, he made one of the smartest moves in business history and invested all his money in New York real estate (he later said that "Could I begin life again, knowing what I now know, and had money to invest, I would buy up every foot of land on the island of Manhattan"). Of his two sons one (John the II) was an "imbecile," while the other, William Backhouse, spent his life trying to prove that the poor butcher's son was descended from a "Count Pedro d'Astorg of Castille." His grandsons, William Waldorf and John IV, competed to build the biggest hotel in the world then combined them into the Waldorf-Astoria, on land later taken by the Empire State Building.
Two other interesting facts. William Waldorf Astor fled the United States after losing an election to Congress, declaring that democracy in his home country was run by imbeciles who had no respect for class. He then bought up the estate of Cliveden in Buckinghamshire and used it as a base for his ultra-reactionary views. In the 1930s it became the spirtual center of the infamous "Cliveden set," semi-Nazi sympathizers who urged peace with Hitler at all costs. Then, in 1961, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan's Secretary of War, John Profumo fell in love with a teenage call-girl named Christine Keeler at a Clivden house party after she danced naked in front of the Cliveden pool. It just so happened that she was also the lover of a Russian spy, thus helping to bring down the MacMillan government.
There you have it, a few names, a few fun facts, and 200 extra pages of drivel.
I do, though, finally feel like I understand the impenetrable Astor family dynasty (the genealogy chart at the beginning certainly helped). Though Melville said John Jacob Astor's name "rings like unto bullion," he was born to a butcher in Waldorf, Germany and to the end of his life spoke with a German accent and would wipe his mouth on other guests' sleeves at meals. He was hardly to the manor born, yet when the War of 1812 destroyed his Northwest fur outpost, he made one of the smartest moves in business history and invested all his money in New York real estate (he later said that "Could I begin life again, knowing what I now know, and had money to invest, I would buy up every foot of land on the island of Manhattan"). Of his two sons one (John the II) was an "imbecile," while the other, William Backhouse, spent his life trying to prove that the poor butcher's son was descended from a "Count Pedro d'Astorg of Castille." His grandsons, William Waldorf and John IV, competed to build the biggest hotel in the world then combined them into the Waldorf-Astoria, on land later taken by the Empire State Building.
Two other interesting facts. William Waldorf Astor fled the United States after losing an election to Congress, declaring that democracy in his home country was run by imbeciles who had no respect for class. He then bought up the estate of Cliveden in Buckinghamshire and used it as a base for his ultra-reactionary views. In the 1930s it became the spirtual center of the infamous "Cliveden set," semi-Nazi sympathizers who urged peace with Hitler at all costs. Then, in 1961, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan's Secretary of War, John Profumo fell in love with a teenage call-girl named Christine Keeler at a Clivden house party after she danced naked in front of the Cliveden pool. It just so happened that she was also the lover of a Russian spy, thus helping to bring down the MacMillan government.
There you have it, a few names, a few fun facts, and 200 extra pages of drivel.
April 29, 2009
I read this in conjunction with the first two books of The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, in an effort to read both nonfiction and historical fiction about the same time period. It was very interesting! This book focuses on the lives of John Jacob Astor IV and his cousin, William Waldorf Astor, in the late 1800's to early 1900's. It specifically targeted the grand hotels that they created (Waldorf-Astoria, New Netherland, St. Regis, etc.) but also on their personal and social lives. It's a quick read but full of illustrative detail. And I loved that there was a lot of overlap with The Luxe novels.
October 6, 2018
Not as interesting as I hoped. More about the hotels than the people.
June 17, 2008
I am at page 75 and bored out of my mind. . . who knew someone could make the Astors boring. Thus far, the book lacks a point of view and is merely a dry recitation of facts and quotes about the Astors. I am giving it another 25 or 30 pages before I throw in the towel!
Well, I made it through it, but am left with a couple of factoids and very little information or perspective. SUCH a disappointment!
Well, I made it through it, but am left with a couple of factoids and very little information or perspective. SUCH a disappointment!
September 11, 2023
This book focuses on the Astor family, specifically John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor. The two were cousins with an indescribable amount of family wealth and status. There was information about other members of the Astor family included in this book, and it fit in well with the narrative and context of this story.
Unfortunately, this book was around 200 pages. If you are looking for a deep dive into the history of the Astor family or these two cousins, there are other books available that really get into it. On the plus side, it was a short read and is helping me reach my goal quickly. The author did leave me with a healthy idea of what kind of people these two were, as well as plenty of information about the hotels they build and other business endeavors. This book was recommended to me because of my interest in the Gilded Age, and I was not disappointed by it. I am not sure where I developed an interest in architecture from, but I have one.
Unfortunately, this book was around 200 pages. If you are looking for a deep dive into the history of the Astor family or these two cousins, there are other books available that really get into it. On the plus side, it was a short read and is helping me reach my goal quickly. The author did leave me with a healthy idea of what kind of people these two were, as well as plenty of information about the hotels they build and other business endeavors. This book was recommended to me because of my interest in the Gilded Age, and I was not disappointed by it. I am not sure where I developed an interest in architecture from, but I have one.
August 21, 2020
Much to my family's annoyance, I read this on vacation and intermittently shared what I was learning about the Astors. (They politely nodded and resumed applications of sunscreen.) Author Justin Kaplan manages here to provide just enough entertaining details to make the book an engaging read straight through to the end. The Astors created a paradigm shift in innkeeping, leading to today's entire spectrum of hotels---from the Super 8/Motel 6/Red Roof/La Quinta/No Assembly Required genre along the interstate to the mints-on-the pillow five star deals. Kaplan's book traces the rise and fall and really clever ideas of this family who found a way to make a bunch of money by helping people pretend (even for just one night) that they already have a bunch of money. Great Great Grandpa Astor came to the US and realized that although inns were plentiful, they were awkward--no privacy, no choice of meals, and women and men were isolated from each other. Further, the US's quickly growing "new money" class had nowhere to showcase their recently acquired status. Astor's dream was to create a conspicuous palace of elegance and luxury, making it available, one night at a time, to anyone willing to pay for it. The realization of that dream involved developing so much of hotel-staying that we take for granted--private hotel rooms, restaurants with menus (instead of one-dish-fits-all), nicely-appointed lounges in hotel lobbies, bell hops/doormen in Marching Band-looking uniforms, even chafing-dishes and the humble velvet rope. It's all there--and it includes a little good gossip, too, about the socialite wives and mistresses, the untimely death of John Jacob Astor on the Titanic, the lavish Manhattan parties, and of course the personal eccentricities that tend to accompany great wealth.
On a personal note, my own great great grandparents (should those "G's" be capitalized?) ran a little hotel along the Mississippi River in northern Missouri. My grandma has told me stories of happy times spent visiting her grandparents there, and entertaining herself while her grandparents did the hard work of innkeeping. While my great great grandfather did the check-ins, kept the books, made repairs, etc, my great great grandmother hand-washed linens everyday in a big iron kettle in the yard, plus cooked the evening meal for all the guests to be served in a large dining room. In the evenings, the men would sit in the parlor and smoke, and the women basically were expected to keep to themselves in their rooms. (Grandma said that women didn't travel as frequently as men did though, and rarely stayed in hotels on their trips.) In the morning, a light breakfast of rolls, coffee and tea was served before checkout. Then most of the guests got on a riverboat and headed up or downstream to wherever.
Thank God for the Astors and their vision of a better vacation. I will remember them each trip that I am NOT confined to my hotel room as the sun sets. :o)
On a personal note, my own great great grandparents (should those "G's" be capitalized?) ran a little hotel along the Mississippi River in northern Missouri. My grandma has told me stories of happy times spent visiting her grandparents there, and entertaining herself while her grandparents did the hard work of innkeeping. While my great great grandfather did the check-ins, kept the books, made repairs, etc, my great great grandmother hand-washed linens everyday in a big iron kettle in the yard, plus cooked the evening meal for all the guests to be served in a large dining room. In the evenings, the men would sit in the parlor and smoke, and the women basically were expected to keep to themselves in their rooms. (Grandma said that women didn't travel as frequently as men did though, and rarely stayed in hotels on their trips.) In the morning, a light breakfast of rolls, coffee and tea was served before checkout. Then most of the guests got on a riverboat and headed up or downstream to wherever.
Thank God for the Astors and their vision of a better vacation. I will remember them each trip that I am NOT confined to my hotel room as the sun sets. :o)
April 13, 2021
Blue Light Special 02/26/21 for $1.99
Affleunza..Entitled...Special Snowflake..
How many of those terms ring out in our everyday lives? How many times have we seen the news of kids doing stupid stuff or worse getting ridiculously low sentences for breaking the law..Reading how a guy pitched a fit because his Maserati was towed because HE parked in a handicap zone?
This isn't a new social disorder..oh no..The Astors of NYC had more money than sense...& there wasn't a lot of sense to start. Their friends made up the 400, a group of the most powerful people in the US & then richest.
Page after page of unhappy millionaires do little too inspire empathy for a family who cared little for others. Shakespeare's Coriolanus is mentioned & is most apt.
If you enjoy Gilded Age stories, give it a whirl.
Affleunza..Entitled...Special Snowflake..
How many of those terms ring out in our everyday lives? How many times have we seen the news of kids doing stupid stuff or worse getting ridiculously low sentences for breaking the law..Reading how a guy pitched a fit because his Maserati was towed because HE parked in a handicap zone?
This isn't a new social disorder..oh no..The Astors of NYC had more money than sense...& there wasn't a lot of sense to start. Their friends made up the 400, a group of the most powerful people in the US & then richest.
Page after page of unhappy millionaires do little too inspire empathy for a family who cared little for others. Shakespeare's Coriolanus is mentioned & is most apt.
If you enjoy Gilded Age stories, give it a whirl.
March 21, 2022
Meh, lots of info here but poorly organized and much of it not about the Astors.
Okay I guess
Okay I guess
June 28, 2020
This was paced very erratically, with anecdotes told out of order when they would have clearly benefited from a chronological telling. What was the deal with the preface being concerned with nothing but John Jacob Astor on the Titanic? It was a good story, but it really would have been more of a climax to the actual book-- it certainly seemed as if Kaplan wanted to have that as a climax. He spoiled his own grand denouement!
The first fourth of this, maybe even third, was a slog. It was boring and uninspired. The most interesting bits are about how the Astors are descendants of a German beer swilling butcher (and how later on, they try so extremely hard to prove that they were from royal ancestry to reason their wealth and their lackluster (to them, anyway) familial history). BUT! Then come the hilarious stories of the rich running around Manhattan getting into all sorts of ridiculous antics. There's a bit about an Astor (William Astor?) buying a St. Bernard from a gypsy who convinced him that he was buying a highbred "bear dog", leading him to hypothesize about inter-species breeding. There is a $5000 bet made where the Astors cut down a redwood and have two dozen people sit around it's fallen trunk to have a great feast.
There is a very right-on chapter, possibly the only well written one, that details the public responses to the Astor families generally profound stupidity, and how they made all their money from being landlords and did honestly very, very little with their lives besides relish in wealth. Another great part is when Willy Astor is asked by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow if he ever felt bad for the tenants he foreclosed upon, and Willy just says no, because he is only collecting his own money from them. Those fuckers!!!!!
I was mostly disappointed with how little attention the Astor women got. They were barely mentioned! Not even the Caroline Schermerhorn, who was albeit given more face-time than most other women in the book, gets much breathing room.
The first fourth of this, maybe even third, was a slog. It was boring and uninspired. The most interesting bits are about how the Astors are descendants of a German beer swilling butcher (and how later on, they try so extremely hard to prove that they were from royal ancestry to reason their wealth and their lackluster (to them, anyway) familial history). BUT! Then come the hilarious stories of the rich running around Manhattan getting into all sorts of ridiculous antics. There's a bit about an Astor (William Astor?) buying a St. Bernard from a gypsy who convinced him that he was buying a highbred "bear dog", leading him to hypothesize about inter-species breeding. There is a $5000 bet made where the Astors cut down a redwood and have two dozen people sit around it's fallen trunk to have a great feast.
There is a very right-on chapter, possibly the only well written one, that details the public responses to the Astor families generally profound stupidity, and how they made all their money from being landlords and did honestly very, very little with their lives besides relish in wealth. Another great part is when Willy Astor is asked by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow if he ever felt bad for the tenants he foreclosed upon, and Willy just says no, because he is only collecting his own money from them. Those fuckers!!!!!
I was mostly disappointed with how little attention the Astor women got. They were barely mentioned! Not even the Caroline Schermerhorn, who was albeit given more face-time than most other women in the book, gets much breathing room.
June 16, 2022
I had heard of the name John Jacob Aster (IV) because of a scene in Titanic (which, I realised, contains a factual error), and when I saw the title of this book, wanted to know more.
Although the talk about all these hotels and mansions became somewhat tedious by the half of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of this pater familias who came from small means and became at one time the wealthiest man of the States.
It fascinated me how these rich men came about their riches, and how they tried to outdo each other with the building of mansions and hotels, the one bitter and more luxurious than the other.
Although the talk about all these hotels and mansions became somewhat tedious by the half of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of this pater familias who came from small means and became at one time the wealthiest man of the States.
It fascinated me how these rich men came about their riches, and how they tried to outdo each other with the building of mansions and hotels, the one bitter and more luxurious than the other.
July 30, 2023
Vara asta aveam în plan să vizitez New York pentru prima dată, așa că aveam cartea asta pe lista de lecturi. Nu a fost să fie până la urmă călătoria fizică, însă am fost un pic virtual printr-o parte (de istorie) a orașului. O lectură ușurică și plăcută.
March 27, 2024
Maybe more a 2.5?
It was fine. But that's it, just fine. It's written weird at times and really isn't ~giving~. There is nothing new or important to say. It's a shoddy regurgitation at best.
It was fine. But that's it, just fine. It's written weird at times and really isn't ~giving~. There is nothing new or important to say. It's a shoddy regurgitation at best.
February 27, 2023
I really enjoyed the book and gave me a different understanding of that era. I think the storytelling sometimes jumped around so I got lost a couple of times. A great book overall and really dived into the 4th Gen of Astors and some of the psychology through clues from witnesses behind why they acted how they did and their lives.
May 2, 2018
When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods & Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age is about the grand hotels of the Gilded Age and more specifically the grand hotels built by the Astors, like the Waldorf-Astoria. The book is a biography of the Astor family, in particular William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor IV, first cousins, and hated rivals. Despite it's short size, this work presents a lot of interesting information on New York's wealthiest during the late 1800s / early 1900s; the luxurious parties they through, their lives of leisure and their relentless pursuit to have their new money make their class seem old, royal-like. Good stuff on how quickly Manhattan's landscape changed during the 19th century, as well as good stuff on the life of John Jacob Astor, the son of a German butcher, that built the Astor fortune. The author Justin Kaplan lets Henry James tell good chunks of the story through references of James own musings about the hotel culture unique to the United States at the time.
November 17, 2021
Interesting that I find the Murdochs and the Bezoses of the world to be completely morally repugnant, but I find the Astors and their contemporaries to be fascinating and almost comical in their wealth and values. I guess the Murdochs and Bezoses never invented the velvet rope or the elevator or a salad, and did not set the gold standard for hotels in America. (Just trying to justify to myself.) I love this time period so much, both for the robber baron glamor and the Progressive politics and causes that grew out of its excess. And boy was there a lot of excess. The Astors really were a villainous group, gleefully building stables right across to street from a synagogue, kicking out widows and orphans from their properties as they bought up as much of Manhattan as they possibly could, metaphorically kicking the working class and unions. This was an interesting if pretty quick read.
February 16, 2023
This was a really fun read. Sort of like reading 100-year-old gossip.
The author seemed to enjoy poking some fun at the competing Astor cousins, William Waldorf and John Jacob the IV, both or whom did outrageous things no one without money could get away with. The book bogged down for me, in parts, with descriptions of mansions built by competitors. I found it hilarious to read about William Waldorf’s pathetic passion to become a British peer, and the mistakes he made along the way. Then once John Jacob the IV became his own man, after the passing of his formidable mother, he broke society’s rules (which were fading anyway from the culture, along with the times). Unfortunately for him his worst decision was booking an Atlantic crossing in April of 1912.
The author seemed to enjoy poking some fun at the competing Astor cousins, William Waldorf and John Jacob the IV, both or whom did outrageous things no one without money could get away with. The book bogged down for me, in parts, with descriptions of mansions built by competitors. I found it hilarious to read about William Waldorf’s pathetic passion to become a British peer, and the mistakes he made along the way. Then once John Jacob the IV became his own man, after the passing of his formidable mother, he broke society’s rules (which were fading anyway from the culture, along with the times). Unfortunately for him his worst decision was booking an Atlantic crossing in April of 1912.
May 17, 2016
Lots of interesting information. However, the names are confusing (which is hardly the writer's fault) because apparently every new heir was given the same or similar name is the original Astor. Also, the chronology is bit off because it keeps going back to the same years in each different chapter to discuss the time in different ways so you keep hoping to move forward but don't. Over all, though it was good.
Edit: On second thoughts, I'd rather nor be unfair. This book gives you a really nice picture of New York developing at the turn of the 20th century. It's not just a story of a rich family. It's a story of the city they exploited (the slums) and which they lorded over.
Edit: On second thoughts, I'd rather nor be unfair. This book gives you a really nice picture of New York developing at the turn of the 20th century. It's not just a story of a rich family. It's a story of the city they exploited (the slums) and which they lorded over.
March 21, 2022
I am fascinated by the late 1800 to early 1900 time period. In the US there was so much change taking place and a few prominent families seemed to be in the driver’s seat. The Astor family was definitely one of them. This book was a good introduction to the major players. I learned some basics to the families fortune and family struggles, but not a lot of detail. It definitely sparked my interest and desire to read more about only the Astors, but the time period. The titans of this period were fraught with contradictions and controversy.
February 6, 2017
The Astor fortune was made in fur trading and augmented by real estate. Fourth-generation cousins William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor III were essentially hoteliers, building ever-grander hotels in Manhattan. The cousins disliked one another. JJA perished on the Titanic. William disliked the U.S. and became a British citizen. Kaplan's very readable account is brisk and concentrates on the rival cousins and the hotels.
August 8, 2022
The book 'When the Astors Owned New York' is informative, but it limits itself to the main inheritors of the Astor fortune that looked after the business interests. Also, much attention was given to William Waldorf Astor and his latter-day fascination with all-things British, buying castles and chasing after a title (which he eventually received). You wouldn't expect that from a book with 'New York' in its title. Still, I would recommend this book.
March 27, 2022
The Astors represented great wealth, lavish living and membership in the elite of the Gilded Age society. They demonstrated excess in acquisitions, lifestyles and buildings. Justin Kaplan showcases the concept of the luxury hotel that these buildings introduced. His is a detailed, well-researched work that is a delight to read.
May 27, 2022
Good, especially if you are interested in architectural details. The book alternated between the lives of the Astors and the buildings they built, specifically hotels in Manhattan but other properties as well. I found it very sad how the 2 sides were estranged/angry at each other most of their lives. Wealth, power, everything money can buy but in the end, no happiness.
March 22, 2008
The first chapter of this book leads the reader to believe it will be an interesting and alltogether different take on the Astors and the superrich at the turn of the century. Yet, it turns out to be a trite and rather boring rendition of the same old dusty facts.
December 28, 2009
Like a 19th-century People Magazine. A bit predictable at times ("see how lonely the super-wealthy man is despite his wealth" kind of predictable). But an enjoyable read and it certainly gives you a feel for the place and time.
July 26, 2010
Book club book
A very wandering book. Never really seemed to focus--rather it was "check out this Astor story, now this one, and check out how much money they spent on parties"
Very, very disappointing. Kept thinking of the better books of the genre, like Alva and Consuelo.
A very wandering book. Never really seemed to focus--rather it was "check out this Astor story, now this one, and check out how much money they spent on parties"
Very, very disappointing. Kept thinking of the better books of the genre, like Alva and Consuelo.
February 24, 2013
Although this book is relatively short, it seems that the author was often searching for things to talk about. There is a large amount of pages dedicated to talking about hotels. Surely there must have been more he could have said about the Astors.
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