Ahoy there mateys! The Vanderbilts are a family I have been interested in due to some traveling I did as a kid seeing places like the Biltmore Estate and the Breakers.  Anderson Cooper is the great-great-great-grandson of the Commodore, Cornelius Vanderbilt who started the family fortune.  I listened to him read the story of his mother's family.  I particular enjoyed the stories of early days of the clan.  The excess and privilege is both fascinating and horrifying but no different then what we see the top 1% do today.  There is a lot of suffering and fighting too where money does not solve problems.  The major problems of the book came from when the author deals with the recent history of his mother.  The love he shows for her is lovely but her life felt very lightly touched upon.  I would have liked more about her business ventures and so much less about Truman Capote.  I also thought that the sailing section was too long even though I love ships (Arrrr!). I think in general this book skimmed over many things I wanted explored.  Personal preference but no regrets about the read.