A Disposition to Be Rich (by Geoffrey C. Ward)

The subtitle of this book is either "Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age" or "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." Either way, it's a fascinating non-fiction book about a Bernie Madoff-style character during the Golden Age, written by his great-grandson, Pulitzer nominee Georfrey C. Ward.

I read this for the "non-violent true crime" category of the Read Harder Challenge. (I tried to read The Library Book, but got bored.) This is meticulously footnoted and researched, full of vivid detail about the entire Ward family, and all Ferd's victims (including Ulysses Grant).  The author steps in at the beginning and end to discuss the impact to his family -- his grandfather was Ferd's son, and was once kidnapped by Ferd in order to try and get his hands on family money.

Fascinating portrait of the "family sociopath" and a slice of life in Gilded Age America. Really enjoyed this.