Drawing on never-before-seen documents and told from a unique insider's viewpoint, the CNN anchor tells the story of his legendary family and their remarkable influence.

From the Publisher: A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism. Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt is an American icon. Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington's presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation's largest fleet of steamships to lord of a railroad...

"Set aboard a nineteenth century riverboat theater, this is the moving, page-turning story of a charmingly frank and naive seamstress who is blackmailed into saving Ranaways on the Underground Railroad, jeopardizing her freedom, her livelihood, and a new love. It's 1838, and May Bedloe works as a seamstress for her cousin, the famous actress Comfort Vertue--until their steamboat sinks on the Ohio River. Though they both survive, both must find new...

The worst maritime disaster in American history wasn't the Titanic. It was the steamboat Sultana on the Mississippi River and it could have been prevented.