The Vanderbilts

September 1, 1989
Those fond of the smell of money will adore this book, crammed with photographs of Persian rugs, crystal chandeliers, a never-ending train of evening dress and sprawling grounds of New England castles. In chronicling the rise of the Vanderbilts, Patterson ( Living It Up ) traces the ever-interesting story of American-style getting and spending. As devotees of Edith Wharton--and others practiced at distinguishing ``old'' from merely ``big'' money--may be surprised to learn, the first ``van der Bilt'' of record was a resident, ca. 1650, in Flatbush, N.Y. The family never had much money until, in the 19th century, Cornelius parlayed a $100 investment into America's greatest fortune. Railroads entered Vanderbilt holdings relatively late: Cornelius, the man whose statue scowls over Manhattan's Grand Central Station, had no use for the locomotive until, in his old age, a son showed him he could turn a profit with railroads.