Ponzi's Scheme (Abridged): The True Story of a Financial Legend Audiobook

" I couldn't put this down. If you are interested in understanding what has happened in today's markets in terms of general greed and outright fraud, you have to read this book. The drivers that led to this scheme are eerily similar to the drivers that have fueled the market collapse from over exuberance to outright fraud. It is almost frightening to see that little has changed when you compare Ponzi's scheme to Madoff's! For those of you familiar with the fall of communism in Russia, the MMM fund scandal is essentially the same story. "

" Very well written and interesting story. Incredible that Charles Ponzi's business grew to the size it became in just 9 short months. "

" A surprisingly fun read. Goes down easy with an almost playful writing style giving a sweet flavor to some careful research. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this story is how short Ponzi's run actually was. "

" Irony is that people still fall for these schemes, the only difference was that Charles Ponzi really believed he could make it work! I was intrigued and impressed that he made 7 million at that time. The story makes me want to yell, "show me the money!" "

" Read for the Rockville, MD bookclub, in June. Will add my review "

" I read it a few years ago, before Ponzi schemes were all cool again... enjoyed learning about the guy, may re-read this one. "

" A good telling of an amazing eight month run "

" It's interesting to read about Boston in the 1920's; It's also interesting to learn that politicians were misbehaving then as now. "

" Really interesting to actually read the story behind the legend, but this was too heavy on lists-of-facts [long lists] - so it was a catalog but would have been much better with some more analysis of the why and discussion of Ponzi's psyche. "

" Interesting listen. Author thinks he really thought he could earn the money and intended to pay everyone. "

" A nice overview of Charles Ponzi, the real man behind the 'Ponzi Scheme.' Especially interesting given recent banking/financial scandals. "

" Great book to an interesting subject. you always hear of "Ponzi schemes," but you never know where it came from. This book answers that and makes you think the Who should have sung, "We WILL get fooled again." Human nature. "

" A decent book thoroughly detailing Ponzi's Scheme. Not dry, but adds the now stale and predictible flourishes I've come to expect from narrative non-fiction. "

" This was an account of the rise of Charles Ponzi, who came up with a "rob Peter to pay Paul" money-making scheme in the 1920's so big in scale it has lent its name to every similar scheme since then. Interesting, but could have been half the length. "

" Quite interesting. Kind of liked the guy,but that's he point who would trust money to someone you didn't like. "

" I don't know, maybe this is actually good, but I got bored after about 50 pages and stopped reading. As with a lot of nonfiction, the style of writing made it seem like the author wanted to show off how much research he'd done rather than tell an interesting story. "

" If you've ever wondered what the original Ponzi Scheme was all about, this book details the man and the short-lived financial empire that he built. "

" This book is well written and easy to follow. Of you want a good book about Mr. Ponzi this is your book. "

" Great book to an interesting subject. you always hear of "Ponzi schemes," but you never know where it came from. This book answers that and makes you think the Who should have sung, "We WILL get fooled again." Human nature. "

" A very well told non-fiction story that reads like a good fiction book. Zuckoff had me cheering for Ponzi. "

" This book is well written and easy to follow. Of you want a good book about Mr. Ponzi this is your book. "

" If you've ever wondered what the original Ponzi Scheme was all about, this book details the man and the short-lived financial empire that he built. "

" Listened to the audio book. Ponzi was an interesting figure and so was the depiction of the times. Well written in the vein of "Isaac's Storm" or "The Devil in the White City" although it doesn't go as far to interweave several stories. "

" Very good book for anyone wondering about what a Ponzi scheme really is. "

" This was an account of the rise of Charles Ponzi, who came up with a "rob Peter to pay Paul" money-making scheme in the 1920's so big in scale it has lent its name to every similar scheme since then. Interesting, but could have been half the length. "

" I read it a few years ago, before Ponzi schemes were all cool again... enjoyed learning about the guy, may re-read this one. "

" What could be more timely. I read this book to better understand the Madoff affair. These guys are such rogues. But the most enlightening part was to learn how they deceived themselves into thinking they could make it all come out even.........eventually! "