More than a statue: Cooper explores the Vanderbilt legacy

NEW YORK — When Anderson Cooper was 6 years old, his father took him to see the statue of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt near New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Now 54 and a father himself, Cooper has taken a second look and, with historian Katherine Howe, written the book “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty” that explores the family’s complicated legacy. “Certainly, when I started working in news, I didn’t want to show up on stories and have people say, ‘Oh, this guy is a Vanderbilt’ or whatever,” Cooper said. “But I certainly understand the drive to make a name for yourself and try to create something in your chosen field, and do things that feel important.” After his mother’s death, Cooper began to explore the journals, letters, documents and photos she left behind and, he wrote, “began to hear the voices of those people I never knew.” When his own son was born in 2020, he wondered what he would tell him about the family, what lessons could be learned.