Description
A comprehensive history of fraud in America, from the early nineteenth century to the subprime mortgage crisis
In America, fraud has always been a key feature of business, and the national worship of entrepreneurial freedom complicates the task of distinguishing salesmanship from deceit. In this sweeping narrative, Edward Balleisen traces the history of fraud in America-and the evolving efforts to combat it-from the age of P. T. Barnum through the eras of Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff. This unprecedented account describes the slow, piecemeal construction of modern institutions to protect consumers and investors-from the Gilded Age through the New Deal and the Great Society. It concludes with the more recent era of deregulation, which has brought with it a spate of costly frauds, including corporate accounting scandals and the mortgage-marketing debacle. By tracing how Americans have struggled to foster a vibrant economy without encouraging a corrosive level of cheating, Fraud reminds us that American capitalism rests on an uneasy foundation of social trust.
About the Author
Edward J. Balleisen is professor of history and public policy and vice provost for interdisciplinary studies at Duke University.
Reviews
"Winner of the 2018 Ralph Gomory Prize, Business History Conference"
"Edward J. Balleisen, Winner of the 2018 Harold F. Williamson Prize, Business History Conference"
Book Information
ISBN 9780691183077
Author Edward J. Balleisen
Format Paperback
Page Count 496
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press
