Truth and Consequences
Life Inside the Madoff Family
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
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.
Customer Reviews
Truth and Consequences
It was an interesting read, and taking the human element into consideration, Madoff not only destroyed the lives of his investors, he destroyed his immediate family. Little did Ruth and Andrew know that 2 years later, a second worse December would be upon them, and I speak also as a survivor of immediate family suicide. I do not believe that Ruth or her sons had any complicity.
As far as Catherine's extensive inclusion, I think that after Mark's suicide and other planned books coming, she (and Andrew) had enough of being victimized by the media, and did the right thing by having this book written by a third party.
The writing wasn't great, the first chapter was awful, but after that very compelling. This is an incredible family tragedy that cost lives.
Awful and Boring Read!
I would give this book zero stars, if that was an option. First, it was so focused on painting Catherine in a glowing light that it felt forced and insincere. What's more, I do not care about Catherine and her history, clothing selection or color of her pedicure. I also read the sister-in-law's book (wife of Mark), which was compelling, raw and genuine. By the end, I was skipping every graph that focused on Catherine. Pass on this book.
Excellent read
Laurie Sandell painted such a genuine picture of the Madoff family. They were so courageous to open up to Laurie and I'm glad the journey brought them some healing.