A Disposition to Be Rich: Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age

A New York Times Notable Book The compelling behind-the-scenes story of the greatest swindler of the Gilded Age, whose villainy bankrupted Ulysses S. Grant and stunned the world of finance--told by his great-grandson, award-winning historian Geoffrey C. Ward. Ferdinand Ward, the son of a Protestant missionary and small-town pastor, moved to New York at twenty-one and, in less than a decade, made himself the business partner of a former president and established himself as the "Young Napoleon of Finance." In truth, he was running a massive pyramid scheme. Drawing from thousands of family documents never before examined, Geoffrey C. Ward traces his great-grandfather's rapid rise to riches and fame, and his even more dizzying fall from grace, in a narrative populated with mistresses, crooked bankers, corrupt New York officials, and a desperate kidnapping scheme. Here is a great story about a classic American con artist.

• | Author: Geoffrey C. Ward
• | Publisher: Vintage
• | Publication Date: Apr 23, 2013
• | Number of Pages: 464 pages
• | Binding: Paperback or Softback
• | ISBN-10: 0345804694
• | ISBN-13: 9780345804693