{"product_id":"a-disposition-to-be-rich-ferdinand-ward-the-greatest-swindler-of-the-gilded-age-paperback","title":"A Disposition to Be Rich: Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGeoffrey C. Ward\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFerdinand 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.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeoffrey C. Ward\u003c\/b\u003e is the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Civil War\u003c\/i\u003e (with Ken Burns and Ric Burns), and the author of \u003ci\u003eA First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography and the 1990 Francis Parkman Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 464\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 23, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51758970601760,"sku":"9780345804693","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/ad83abf03b4d38d4f7aeca6bc1d23abb.webp?v=1780140232","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/a-disposition-to-be-rich-ferdinand-ward-the-greatest-swindler-of-the-gilded-age-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}