Madoff with the Money

I read Madoff with the Money by Jerry oppenherimer from cover to cover in one sitting. He did an excellent job of researching all the facts and did a splendid job with the story. A Must Read!!

You always knew there were super-crooks out there, but what Bernard Madoff has done is beyond comprehension. Stealing $50 billion from unsuspecting clients while remaining a pillar of the financial establishment is breathtaking in its criminal audacity. It's an amazing story ably told by Jerry Oppenheimer in `Madoff with the Money'. I felt I actually grew up with Madoff, experienced his nefarious thrills as he filled his personal vault with other people's cash, suffered the rush of terror that invaded his soul when they caught up with him. It's all in the book, a vivid trip into the mind of a fraudster supreme. Oppenheimer digs deep leaving no psychological stone unturned, reveals how the rich and famous were duped along with Jewish charities -- and even members of Madoff's own family. An angry Jane Fonda says she'd like to shake Madoff until his teeth drop out. Larry King is chewing his famous suspenders in rage having invested with Madoff. A member of the Baskin Robbins family was forced to rent out rooms in his house after Bernie made off with a chunk of his savings. It's all in the book, one revelation after another -- a great read, thoroughly recommended.

Ever since I read "Toy Monster," Jerry Oppenheimer's fine book about the Mattel Toy company and its founders, I was waiting for his next "big reveal." Now it's here, and "Madoff With the Money" exceeded my expectations of fine reporting and fascinating details. (While my heart goes out to almost all of his victims, I admit a personal delight at Jane Fonda's distress.) Mr. Oppenheimer's excellent reporting has made this astonishing story comprehensible. B. Madoff is human sludge, but he is also a "villain" I would have thought only the late Ian Fleming could have conceived. There were warnings from intelligent people as to what this man was doing. Those who did not listen to the warnings, or refused to act for their own reasons, should be ashamed for the rest of their lives. At last the phrase "un indicted co-conspirators" has meaning again. I recommed this book to anyone who is looking for a fascinating "page-turner," or who wants a lesson is how important it is to look that mythical "gift horse" not only in the mouth but all the way down its throat.

It seems the more that's written on Madoff, and there's alot out there, the more enigmatic the man becomes. Yet again, Jerry Oppenheimer succeeds in shedding light on a controversial subject's character in a way that other sources to date haven't been able to achieve, and I found this book to be the best, most satisfying reporting so far. And who doesn't want the tidbits?

Having read Oppenheimer's portrait of Bernie Madoff, I feel as if I know the man, as though I was there with him as he became entangled in his own lust for money, as he spun his web of audacious deception, as he gloated over his victims' gullibility. The painstaking research behind this latest Oppenheimer project shows through; the work of an investigative reporter who really knows his job. We follow Madoff from his working class New York beginnings through his days as a Wall Street power house until the grim day the jail cell slams behind him -- leaving trusting clients devoid of $50-billion. This book shows Madoff as a man without mercy, a Ponzi scheme King who not only robs Jewish charities but who also gets into the coffers of the rich and famous such as Jane Fonda, Larry King and a Baskin Robbins heir -- even plundering his own sister-in-law's savings. All is recounted in Oppenheimer's usual breezy, highly readable fast-moving style. This author gives what no other has done so far, revelations of Madoff's obsessions, fetishes, a look into the mind of a master criminal. This is the best book I've read on a fraudster who fascinates. Oppenheimer definitely uncovers the truth behind the man and his incredible scam. It's a must read you just can't put down. Tony Brenna, Seattle.