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.

Steven H. Gittelman has served as president of the Board of Trustees at The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum for fifteen years. This is his second volume on the lives of various Vanderbilts.This book represents a particular pleasure as he has had the rare joy of writing it with his daughter, Emily.

Emily Gittelman is a recent graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She was born the year that her father started volunteering at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and grew up around stories of the Vanderbilt family. She is honored and thrilled to be part of this project and sharing this experience with her father.