A Disposition to Be Rich: How a Small-Town Pastor's Son Ruined an American President, Brought on a Wall Street Crash, and Made Himself the Best-Hated Man in the United States

Description

Documents the story of Gilded Age con artist Ferdinand Ward, recounting how his large-scale pyramid operation and other sensational schemes triggered one of the greatest financial scandals in American history.;pt. 1. The Puritan -- The Higher Calling -- Labouring in Hope -- Chastened and Sanctified -- pt. 2. One of the Worst Boys -- A Contest for Principle & Truth -- The Triumph of the Monster, "War" -- Suspected of Evil -- pt. 3. The Young Napoleon of Finance -- The Avaricious Spirit -- The Bonanza Man -- The Imaginary Business -- Tears of Grateful Joy -- The End Has Come -- pt. 4. The Best Hated Man in the United States -- A Magnificent and Audacious Swindle -- A Verdict at Last -- The Model Prisoner -- All That Loved Me Are in Heaven -- pt. 5. The Loving Father -- Driven to Desperation -- The Kidnapping -- Epilogue: The Loving Father. pt. 1. The Puritan -- The Higher Calling -- Labouring in Hope -- Chastened and Sanctified -- pt. 2. One of the Worst Boys -- A Contest for Principle & Truth -- The Triumph of the Monster, "War" -- Suspected of Evil -- pt. 3. The Young Napoleon of Finance -- The Avaricious Spirit -- The Bonanza Man -- The Imaginary Business -- Tears of Grateful Joy -- The End Has Come -- pt. 4. The Best Hated Man in the United States -- A Magnificent and Audacious Swindle -- A Verdict at Last -- The Model Prisoner -- All That Loved Me Are in Heaven -- pt. 5. The Loving Father -- Driven to Desperation -- The Kidnapping -- Epilogue: The Loving Father.