At a young age, Alfred Vanderbilt inherited a massive fortune of $40 million and control of the Vanderbilt railroading empire. With no interest in business matters, the youth squandered his wealth on horses and women on two continents. None of the Vanderbilts gave as much fuel for gossip to the curious public as Alfred. By the time the extravagant playboy boarded the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, he was the subject of numerous scandals, including the suicide of four different women. But as the ship went down, he spent the last minutes of his life rescuing women and children and forgoing his own life. How is it that this wraith, this gluttonous, opulent youth, could undergo an entire change of character in his last few moments? Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt follows Alfred's journey from philanderer to hero in this incredible, never-before-told story of the hero of the Lusitania.

By Steven H. Gittelman and Emily Gittelman

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Eighteen Minutes
Chapter 2: The Unlikely Heir
Chapter 3: The Gift
Chapter 4: An Equal Match
Chapter 5: Working Man: Whips, Skirts, and Coattails
Chapter 6: A Serpentine Curve: A Failure To Stop
Chapter 7: Extramarital Horsing Around
Chapter 8: A Whirling Abyss
Chapter 9: Severing Ties
Chapter 10: The Brighton Road
Chapter 11: A Reputation to Defend
Chapter 12: The Alibi
Chapter 13: In the Dark
Chapter 14: Indiscreet Romance
Chapter 15: A Rising Tide
Chapter 16: 1914
Chapter 17: Leaving Pier 54
Chapter 18: At Sea
Chapter 19: Eighteen Minutes
Chapter 20: Aftermath
Afterword
Bibliography
Index