Catastrophe: The Story of Bernard L. Madoff, the Man Who Swindled the World

The foreword to this book is dated precisely 32 days later than the original news story of the discovery of the Madoff scandal. That is eloquent testimony to the authors' objective - they felt the need for an immediate book on the subject. I have seen the objection raised that an immediate book of this kind cannot be the latest word on the story, but although that is undoubtedly true it is not much of a discovery. Nobody yet knows how many more chapters of this saga have still to unfold, and to me it is a good idea to collect the early disclosures as quickly as possible. Newspaper and broadcast reports are patchy and temporary by their nature, a book less so. Just as important to me as a reader is that in the hands of the right authors an early book can capture a lot of the sense of breathless rush (not to say outright panic in some quarters) that surrounded the Madoff disaster. I am really quite impressed by the job the Strobers have done under the circumstances. The main sign of haste is that the book is slightly repetitious here and there, but not to any bothersome extent. Their narrative is clear and literate, and although there are plenty of quotations these are skilfully placed so as to provide variety, and they do not suggest padding. The authors make some attempt to account for the personality of Bernard Madoff, but the main focus is on the actual events. To me, this is the right way of doing it. The first need is clarity about what actually happened, so far as that can be ascertained early on in the saga, the actual sequence of events is exciting enough in its own right to constitute a sufficient narrative thread, and I actually doubt that we are ever going to improve greatly on the simple perception regarding Madoff that his nature was inherently criminal. One respect in which I want to commend this book strongly is the way in which Deborah and Gerald Strober handle the delicate question of Madoff's Jewishness. I presume the authors are themselves Jewish, but what is categorical fact requiring no presumptions is that Madoff was active in numerous Jewish charities and other enterprises and associations, and that these were consequently among his victims who suffered most. The tone that the Strobers adopt is measured and rational, and to me as a gentile it seems absolutely exemplary. The issue cannot be avoided, so it should be handled without either embarrassment or posturing or over-reaction, and that is the way the thing is done here. They quote some comments, predictably anonymous, from blogs and chatrooms that are of an odiously anti-semitic nature, but they have more sense than to exaggerate the significance of this kind of thing. The people who go in for that sort of smear will attack any community they perceive as vulnerable. Otherwise, from the simple standpoint of the historical record, it is useful to have the impact of Madoff on the Jewish world set out clearly with the help of insiders' familiarity. There is a string of a

This is a decent quickie compilation of the news stories that involve the latest Individual Ponzi King, as opposed to the government's King of Kings Ponzi Scheme, Social Security. As one would expect in this early stage of the still developing tale of massive financial fraud and betrayal, not many questions are fully answered and in most cases, much larger questions remain. How Madoff accomplished this fraud for so many years still isn't certain? Why did he do it is not answered by this book? How could he do the hurtful crimes he did to charities and many of his friends and relatives and live with himself isn't answered either. "Madoff represents the quintessential `smartest kid in the class,' who must continually prove to himself that he can outwit everyone else and game a system based upon ethical behavior and personal honesty. "The `smartest kids' of whatever age, religion, gender, or race, consider their classmates, friends, colleagues, and in Madoff's case, especially, his clients, as naïve fools and targets of rapacious criminality," was only one expert's opinion. Other questions asked but not really answered included: "Is Bernard Madoff mentally disturbed? Is he a sociopath? Or is he completely rational, but totally amoral?" "Could he instead been acting as a front man for the Mafia, a foreign government, or a private individual?" Who else was involved in this massive crime? Were his family members also involved? Did he fall on his sword to protect others? One expert who did "Due Diligence" of Madoff in 2002 had been warned that he might not be operating a legitimate business, but was still very impressed with his personal interview with Madoff. "His brokerage offices were incredibly well organized and spotlessly clean (the only truly paperless trading floor I have ever seen, and I have seen about a hundred) the staff all looked young and preppy, almost like actors." Despite Madoff's excellent interview, this expert decided against investing with him. Not so with many other sophisticated investors who were also impressed by his modern, efficient operation. As pointed out in several comments, "What were all these staff members doing working so diligently at their desks if they weren't actually trading?" This is a sad, sad story about many elderly people who had invested their entire life savings with Madoff only to discover one morning that they were totally wiped out. The book spends a lot of time trying to explain Bernie's ability to seduce people into trusting him. Too much time and effort was devoted to how Madoff's action will color the general public's opinions of Jewish people in general. To the majority of people in the world, that's not really a big deal. Everyone knows that crooks, cheats and scam artists abound in every ethnic group. This time it was a Jewish guy who swindled his own group, but it wasn't just them he was trying to cheat. They were simply the easiest for him to swindle since he was one of their own. He had

Look, a lot of what's in here is nothing new. I've been following this story since it broke and I know two people who worked for him. But I still recommend it because you need to ask questions before your sign over your money to these hucksters. There are plenty of legitimate advisors and brokers out there, and it is not hard to spot the shysters. Unfortunately there will always be Madoffs out there.

This book's main benefit is that it compiles the multi-faceted facts of Bernard Madoff's case in one volume. It adds little new to the debate, but makes the charges more comprehensible in the face of numerous reports and confusing commentary. For those of us who want to understand, this book is helpful. The content is mostly public-domain information. News reports, web sites, and blogs comprise most of the narrative. You could find these reports yourself for free, but that's too much work. The public-domain content is amplified by new interviews and open speculation. Some of this new material repeats itself. This book is current through mid-January, 2009. Though that's nearly three months old as I write, little new has been added to this story, which languishes in courtroom hell. Therefore this is most of the information you need to understand a case which the authors admit probably won't go to trial for years. Our authors' zeal to damn Madoff can be grating. They sometimes act like his prosecutors in the court of public opinion. Though Madoff admits to some of his crimes, and there is little doubt of his guilt, I'd prefer straight reportage. We're already deluged with commentary, I need facts. I respect the authors for admitting gaps in their data. There is much we may never know about this case. Not only do the Strobers acknowledge how much they don't know, they speculate knowledgably about what these gaps imply for the legal and financial case. This is mostly helpful. This piece of spot reportage is handy. It will soon be dated, and probably won't survive multiple printings. But if you hope to understand how one man created such a mess for so many people, the facts you need are between these covers.

TAKES THE MEGA NUMBERS AND TURNS THEM INTO HUMAN EQUATIONS. THE PERSONAL STORIES OF THE ORDIMARY VICTIMS OF THE MOST FANTASTIC CRIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY.I ALTERNATED EMOTIONS BETWEEN TEARS AND RAGE. UNFORGETTABLE!