Arthur T. Vanderbilt II

For fans of Downton Abbey, a real-life American version of the Crawley family--Fortune's Children is an enthralling true story that recreates the drama, splendor, and wealth of the legendary Vanderbilts.Vanderbilt: The very name is synonymous with the Gilded Age. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. Yet, less than fifty years after his death, no Vanderbilt was counted among the world's richest people. Written by descendant Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, Fortune's Children traces the dramatic and amazingly colorful history of this great American family, from the rise of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt to the fall of his progeny--wild spendthrifts whose profligacy bankrupted a vast inheritance.

Though an old man, Thomas Jefferson wrote at Monticello, "I am but a young gardener." Every gardener is.In Gardening in Eden, we enter Arthur Vanderbilt's small enchanted world of the garden, where the old wooden trestle tables of a roadside nursery are covered in crazy quilts of spring color, where a catbird comes to eat raisins from one's hand, and a chipmunk demands a daily ration of salted cocktail nuts. We feel the oppressiveness of endless winter days, the magic of an old-fashioned snow day, the heady, healing qualities of wandering through a greenhouse on a frozen February afternoon, the restlessness of a gardener waiting for spring.With a sense of wonder and humor on each page, Arthur Vanderbilt takes us along with him to discover that for those who wait, watch, and labor in the garden, it's all happening right outside our windows.

When the pirate ship Whydah went down in a violent storm just off the coast of Massachusetts in 1717, she took a huge treasury of stolen gold and jewels with her. Pieces of eight have continued to wash ashore since that ill-fated voyage, luring treasure seekers and undersea salvage experts. Here is the story of this plunder, of the pirates who amassed this horde during one legendary year upon the Spanish Main, and the tragedy of their loss upon the shoals of Cape Cod. It is updated to cover salvage efforts still underway in the Whydah's deep-sea grave.Had it not been for the love of Maria Hallett, whose spirit is still said to stalk the coast, Captain Samuel "Black" Bellamy might not have risked the Whydah's return through those threatening shoals, so close to the "hanging port" of Boston. This book traces the story of those who survived the wreck only to be imprisoned and then assailed by the soul-saving Reverend Cotton Mather.This is a true adventure of the high seas; a story inextricably melded with legend of the Cape Cod coast.

Antiques aren't for everyone but Arthur Vanderbilt's enthusiasm in The Soul of a House makes it seem like they absolutely should be. A nineteenth century clipper on a rough sea, a Chinese vase, a knickknacks box, a Hepplewhite, who knows what can be found in an old money American country house when it goes up for sale, curtains and all. But that is only the start: what about the thrill of the auction when an item fetches triple the purchase price? What about that rare piece that you get home only to discover it is worth millions? For Arthur Vanderbilt, antiques are alive with history, alive with that part of a family now gone, the arm of a chair worn smooth because that is where the dog rested its head every night.The Soul of a House is a fascinating read for those with any interest in the world of antiques as a hobby or a business.

Writer F. Scott Fitzgeralds career itself is a metaphor for the vagaries of book publishing. If Fitzgerald would have had his way, we would today refer to The Great Gatsby as either Gold-Hatted Gatsby, Trimalchio in West Egg, or The High-Bouncing Lover. A few years before Gatsby, Fitzgerald had become a literary sensation at the age of 23; Helen Hooven Santmyer, a contemporary of Fitzgeralds, would not have a successful novel published until she was 88 and living in a nursing home. In this book, the author explores that mysterious place in publishing where art and commerce can either clash, mesh, or both. Along the way, a wide range of authors--from the literary greats to todays commercial superstars--editors, agents and publishers share their thoughts, insights and experiences: What inspires writers? (John Steinbeck, for example, wrote every novel as if it were his last, as if death were imminent.) Why are some books successful and appreciated, while others fall into oblivion? The answers are often elusive, never absolute, but the stories and anecdotes are always fascinating.

“A Slant of Wind” is wonderfully funny, illuminating, informative, gossipy, wise. Arthur Vanderbilt writes so convincingly of the paradoxes, perils, and pleasures of the writing life, with reference to such notables as Scott Fitzgerald and Gore Vidal, that one would swear he’d lived among them as a close friend. The most beautiful of the recollections is “My Huckleberry Memories of Gloria Vanderbilt” — an account of a late-in-life (for Gloria) friendship with her writer-cousin Arthur from a distant branch of the Vanderbilt family. Highly recommended.” — Joyce Carol Oates

Discusses the skills and aptitudes necessary to study law, gives advice on classroom procedure, study methods, and research, and describes the practical aspects of legal work

Book by Vanderbilit, A.

Major crimes in the United States reached an all-time high in 1954, exceeding the two-million mark for the third successive year. In spite of such groups as the famous Kefauver Committee, organized crime continues to entrench itself in the cities. Meanwhile, amid public apathy, the court calendars grow longer and justice is delayed. Thousands of new laws are passed each year, often without proper study, so that no lawyer today can achieve real mastery of even one major branch of his profession. In this little book, literally a challenge, Chief Justice Vanderbilt speaks out against these situations and abuses. Drawing on his experience as Chief Justice under the reformed court system provided by the 1947 New Jersey Constitution, he explains the need for reform, the importance of judicial administration, the problems of selecting judges and jurors, and the importance of legal procedure. In the matter of law reform he has long been known as a leader and fighter. In his book, originally delivered as the White Lectures at the University of Virginia Law School, he asks his readers to meet the challenge of law reform.Originally published in 1955.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

It is tiny specks of gold from the blowing dust of our lives that can be the most memorable. Way does indeed lead on to way, and there is never time to revisit the wonder of these special moments in our lives--except in memory. The people are gone. The places we knew are gone. Seasons turn. Years rush by. Decades vanish.And then, something will remind Sunlight swimming on a carpet as if filters through the blowing leaves of the tree outside your window. The way a fat cloud sails through the blue, windy sky. A face in a passing car. The sound of a voice. A fragment of a song from long ago.And suddenly, a glimpse of a memory starts to come into focus, until, once again, I'm back. These are not transformational moments. And it may be that they mean nothing. Or maybe everything. Either way, for a few minutes, come join me there.