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You've heard of the scheme. Now comes the man behind it. In Mitchell Zuckoff's exhilarating book, the first nonfiction account of Charles Ponzi, we meet the charismatic rogue who launched the most famous and extraordinary scam in the annals of American finance.It was a time when anything seemed possible--instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury--and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors' money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the "rob Peter to pay Paul" scam to an art form and raked in millions at his office in downtown Boston. Ponzi's Scheme is the amazing true story of the irresistible scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history--and uttered the first roar of the Roaring Twenties.Ponzi may have been a charlatan, but he was also a wonderfully likable man. His intentions were noble, his manners impeccable, his sales pitch enchanting. Born to a genteel Italian family, he immigrated to the United States with big dreams but no money. Only after he became hopelessly enamored of a stenographer named Rose Gnecco and persuaded her to marry him did Ponzi light on the means to make his dreams come true. His true motive was not greed but love.With rich narrative skill, Mitchell Zuckoff conjures up the feverish atmosphere of Boston during the weeks when Ponzi's bubble grew bigger and bigger. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was taking in more than $2 million a week. And then his house of cards came crashing down--thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier's Boston Post. In Zuckoff's hands, Ponzi is no mere swindler; instead he is appealing and magnetic, a colorful and poignant figure, someone who struggled his whole life to attain great wealth and who sincerely believed--to the very end--that he could have made good on his investment promises if only he'd had enough time. Ponzi is a classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, and the unexpectedly moving story of a man who--for a fleeting, illusory moment--attained it all.From the Hardcover edition.
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Previews available in: English
Showing 6 featured editions. View all 6 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend
January 10, 2006, Random House Trade Paperbacks
Paperback
in English
0812968360 9780812968361
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2
Ponzi's Scheme
2005, Random House Publishing Group
Electronic resource
in English
1588364488 9781588364487
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3
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend
March 8, 2005, Random House
Hardcover
in English
1400060397 9781400060399
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4
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend
March 8, 2005, Random House Audio
Audio CD
in English
- Abridged edition
0739318772 9780739318775
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5
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend
September 2005, Books On Tape
Audio CD
in English
1415916306 9781415916308
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6
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend
March 8, 2005, Random House Audio
Audio Cassette
in English
0739318764 9780739318768
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- Created April 30, 2008
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August 12, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
April 16, 2010 | Edited by bgimpertBot | Added goodreads ID. |
April 14, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Linked existing covers to the edition. |
April 30, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record |