Ferdinand Ward was the Bernie Madoff of his generation—a supposed genius at making big money fast on Wall Street, who turned out to have been running a giant pyramid scheme that ultimately collapsed in one of the greatest financial scandals in American history. The son of a Protestant missionary and small-town pastor with secrets of his own to keep, Ward came to New York at twenty-one and in less than a decade, armed only with charm, energy, and a total lack of conscience, made himself the business partner of a former president of the United States and was widely hailed as the "Young Napoleon of Finance." In truth, he turned out to be a complete fraud, his entire life marked by dishonesty, cowardice, and contempt for anything but his own interests.Drawing from thousands of never-before-examined family documents, Geoffrey C. Ward traces his great-grandfather's rapid rise to riches and fame, and his even more dizzying fall from grace. There are mistresses and mansions along the way; fast horses, crooked bankers, and corrupt New York officials; courtroom confrontations and six years in Sing Sing; and Ferdinand's desperate scheme to kidnap his own son to get his hands on the estate his late wife had left the boy. A Disposition to Be Rich is a great story about a classic American con artist, told with boundless charm and dry wit by one of our finest historians.
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"While slow at first in the early life of F. Ward, the remainder of the book is a fascinating look at a 19th century Bernie Madoff. Its remarkable to realize some people can make their whole lives a lie..." — Collins (4 out of 5 stars)
"While slow at first in the early life of F. Ward, the remainder of the book is a fascinating look at a 19th century Bernie Madoff. Its remarkable to realize some people can make their whole lives a lie..."
"[Ward] narrates a rollicking financial picaresque, but infuses it with psychological depth.”
“Engaging accounts of American history and culture are author Ward’s métier. Here, Dean assures their success as an audiobook.”
[Ward] narrates a rollicking financial picaresque, but infuses it with psychological depth.
“[A] wry and engrossing tale of Gilded Age greed that resonates powerfully in our own time.”
" Fascinating read, though a little dry at times. Very interesting to learn about the 19th century Madoff who ruined U.S. Grant. "
" I really enjoyed this book. "
" Good read. Mr. Ward does a good job of brining his great-grandfather to life. It moved quickly and didn't get too bogged down in any of the financial details. "
" Did we really need to find out about the author's missionary ancesots? Their tales could be edited out to focus on the main character. "
Geoffrey C. Ward, historian and screenwriter, is the author of nineteen books, including A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Francis Parkman Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written or cowritten many documentary films, including The War, The Civil War, Baseball, The West, Mark Twain, Not for Ourselves Alone, and Jazz.
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.
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