In December 2008, the world watched as master financier Bernard L. Madoff was taken away from his posh Manhattan apartment in handcuffs, accused of swindling thousands of innocent victims-including friends and family-out of billions of dollars in the world's largest Ponzi scheme. Madoff went to jail; he will spend the rest of his life there. But what happened to his devoted wife and sons? The people closest to him, the public reasoned, must have known the truth behind his astounding success. Had they been tricked, too?
With unprecedented access to the surviving family members -- wife Ruth, son Andrew and his fiancéee Catherine Hooper -- journalist Laurie Sandell reveals the personal details behind the headlines.
How did Andrew and Mark, the sons who'd spent their lives believing in and building their own families around their father's business first learn of the massive deception? How does a wife, who adored her husband since they were teenagers, begin to understand the ramifications of his actions? The Madoffs were a tight-knit and even claustrophobic clan, sticking together through marriages, divorces, and illnesses. But the pressures of enduring the massive scandal push them to their breaking points, most of all son Mark, whose suicide is one of the many tragedies that grew in the wake of the scandal.
Muzzled by lawyers, vilified by the media and roundly condemned by the public, the Madoffs have chosen to keep their silence -- until now. Ultimately, theirs is one of the most riveting stories of our time: a modern-day Greek tragedy about money, power, lies, family, truth and consequences.
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"I have always been interested in con-artists, especially good old Bernie Madoff (he's at a lower level than Ben Bernanke, but still it's a good read). This is an extremely well written book by Laurie Sandell, and you may even feel sorry for sorry for some of the family members. One thing I want to point out here, this really is not about Bernie Madoff, this is about his family and the after math of the whole 50 BILLION (yes billion) scam he had going on since the mid 80's. It's a sad story, one son kills himself, yet at the same time, one son is beating the scrutiny and adversity thrown to him by peers and wolves, and leading a somewhat normal life. If you have ever been scammed or just want to read a true blood American scam heart breaking story; this is the book for you."
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Todd (5 out of 5 stars)