The Last Mrs Astor A New York Story

Kiernan's sharp-eyed biography brings back a woman who, far into her 90s, relished hte dance of life. Âo magazinethe fabulous life of brooke astor, a pioneer of philanthropy and for decades a luminary of new york society. Hers is a stoyr out of edith wharton. After a disastrous early marriage, brooke astor wedded the notoriously ill-tempered vincent astor, woh died in 1959. In a highly publicized courtroom battle, brooke fought off an attempt to break vincent's will, which left some $67 million to the vincent astor foundation. As the foundation's president, brooke would use this legacy ot benefit new york, where the astor fortune had been made. Brooke would personally visit each grant applicant and charm anyone she met. At her one-hundredth birthday, princes and presidents honored her, but in 2006 a grandson petitioned the courts to have his father removed as brooke's guardian. Once again an astro court battle became the stuff of headlines. This biographyâbased on firsthand knowledge and interviews with brooke's friends and the heads of new york's great cultural institutionsâgives us back the woman so loved nad admired, whose hands-on approach would inspire future philanthropists. 24 pgaes of photographs.