Vanderbilt, Arthur T., II 1950–

PERSONAL: Born February 20, 1950, in Summit, NJ; son of William R. (an attorney) and Jean (a housewife; maiden name, White) Vanderbilt. Education: Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1972; University of Virginia, J.D., 1975.

ADDRESSES: Home—Summit, NJ. Office—Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart, & Olstein, 5 Becker Farm Rd., Roseland, NJ 07068. Agent—Lescher & Lescher Ltd., 155 E. 71st St., New York, NY 10021. E-mail—atvauthor@aol.com; avanderbilt@carellabyrne.com.

CAREER: Attorney and writer. Deputy attorney general of state of New Jersey, Trenton, 1976–78; assistant counsel to governor of New Jersey, Trenton, 1978–79; Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart, & Olstein (law firm), Roseland, NJ, partner, 1982–. Frequent guest on television and radio shows.

MEMBER: American Bar Association, American Judicature Society, Authors Guild, Authors League of America, National Writers Union, National Association of Bond Lawyers, New Jersey Bar Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Scribes Award, American Bar Association, 1976, for Changing Law; inducted into New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame, 2001.

WRITINGS:

Changing Law: A Biography of Arthur T. Vanderbilt, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1976.

Jersey Justice: Three Hundred Years of the New Jersey Judiciary, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (New Brunswick, NJ), 1978, 2nd edition, 1996.

An Introduction to the Study of Law, Gann Law Books, 1979.

Law School: Briefing for a Legal Education, Penguin (New York, NY), 1981.

Treasure Wreck: The Fortunes and Fate of the Pirate Ship "Whydah," Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1986.

Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, Morrow (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor, with Carla Vivian Bello) New Jersey's Judicial Revolution: A Political Miracle, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (New Brunswick, NJ), 1997.

Order in the Courts: A Biography of Arthur T. Vanderbilt, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (New Brunswick, NJ), 1997.

Golden Days: Memories of a Golden Retriever, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Making of a Bestseller: From Author to Reader, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1999.

Gardening in Eden: The Joys of Planning and Tending a Garden, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II is an attorney specializing in public utilities, municipal bonds, general obligation bonds, and revenue bond financing. A regular guest on television and radio programs, where he speaks on topics related to writing and publishing, he is also the author of memoirs, biographies, and a number of legal works. As a writer's advocate, Vanderbilt encourages authors to be involved "in every stage of the publication process and in the promotion of the book," as he commented in an interview with Jenna Glatzer on the Absolute Write Web site. He elaborates on this advice, and provides additional guidance for writers who want to nurture and support their own work, in The Making of a Bestseller: From Author to Reader. He also offers encouragement through the stories of several bestselling authors, such as Jacqueline Susann, who overcame obstacles to their success.

In Golden Days: Memories of a Golden Retriever Vanderbilt tells the story of Amy, his beloved Golden Retriever, and the dog's life and untimely death from lymphoma. He reflects on the importance of pets in families, and relates the important lessons about life, living well, and mortality that pets can provide. Booklist reviewer John Rowen called Vanderbilt's writing "informative and affectionate without being sappy." A Publishers Weekly contributor considered the book to be "appealing," as well as "charming, if slightly sentimental."

Gardening in Eden: The Joys of Planning and Tending a Garden is a personal memoir of Vanderbilt's affection for gardening, which he has done for more than twenty years on a small half-acre patch at his home in suburban New Jersey. He relates how gardening gradually took on more significance in his life. Covering a range of topics that are likely to resonate with gardeners and horticulturalists of all types, he discusses the distinct delights of greenhouses in winter, the onset of spring fever on the first nice day after winter plays itself out, and the activities of the inhabitants of a wild pond. The book provides "gardening tips and lyrical descriptions of the wonder of gardening," observed Sue O'Brien in the Library Journal. Booklist reviewer Carol Haggas concluded that the book is a "lyrical, lovely paean to the delights and disappointments of a lifetime spent tending his garden."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Vanderbilt, Arthur T., II, Golden Days: Memories of a Golden Retriever, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Vanderbilt, Arthur T., II, Gardening in Eden: The Joys of Planning and Tending a Garden, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 1998, John Rowen, review of Golden Days: Memories of a Golden Retriever, p. 1415; January 1, 2003, Carol Haggas, review of Gardening in Eden: The Joys of Planting and Tending a Garden, p. 825.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2002, review of Gardening in Eden, p. 1836.

Library Journal, January, 2003, Sue O'Brien, review of Gardening in Eden, p. 141.

Publishers Weekly, March 9, 1998, review of Golden Days, p. 56.

Virginia Quarterly Review, summer, 1990, review of Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, p. 93.

ONLINE

Absolute Write, http://www.absolutewrite.com/ (February 15, 2006), Jenna Glatzer, "Interview with Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II."

BookPage, http://www.bookpage.com/ (February 15, 2006), Ann M. Shayne, "The Noble Goal: Getting a Garden Going in the Right Direction," review of Gardening in Eden.

Arthur T. Vanderbilt Web site, http://www.vanderbiltbooks.com (February 15, 2006).