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The Club No One Wanted to Join: Madoff Victims in Their Own Words
Book by Twenty-nine Authors
- GenresNonfiction
229 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2010
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59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 25, 2014
Let me begin by saying I have always enjoyed "oral history" and I accepted quite a bit about this being a self-published endeavor before beginning to read this in one afternoon.
I have read a few books about Madoff and the author of Wizard of Lies recommended this as a first-person narrative written by those touched by this terribly tragedy. Whereas most of us assumed his victim were all people who could have afforded to lose what they'd invested this book illustrates in his victims own words the sacrifices many made throughout their working lives to save and many lost it all. Families often pooled money to be able to invest with this golden boy of Wall Street so entire family's savings were wiped out in addition to college funds grandparents had set up and charitable trusts.
The viewpoint of the many failures of the government was interesting but as interesting to me was the fact that everyone seemed to count the amount they lost not as what they invested but the fiction dished out by this swindler. It was all a lie the earnings, the totals, the amounts they paid state and Federal taxes on all these years. Many did due diligence and investigated this fellow as best they could, they had leads to him from trusted friends and family members. Many were in Florida and were living lives they'd dreamed of all their working lives and had to sell everything and try to rebuild by living with relatives in cooler climes and making major lifestyle adjustments. Many were retired and had to try to rebuild their resumes to get jobs way under their skill sets just to put food on the table. Many more are living on social security alone, no small feat for anyone.
The message as loud and clear, diversify, don't put all your eggs in one basket, lawyers get paid no matter what, and you never know until it happens what changes await your life once you have gone from a comfortable life with ample savings to losing everything.
I forgave alot of editing errors and typos to hear in their own words what they hoped to tell others. A great companion book to other books on Madoff. Not a one-off read however. You'd have to be fairly interested in the topic to pick this up to supplement your reading on the subject but it is like little else I have read and certainly proves how on-line communities in the face of tragedies such as these can be quite healing.
I have read a few books about Madoff and the author of Wizard of Lies recommended this as a first-person narrative written by those touched by this terribly tragedy. Whereas most of us assumed his victim were all people who could have afforded to lose what they'd invested this book illustrates in his victims own words the sacrifices many made throughout their working lives to save and many lost it all. Families often pooled money to be able to invest with this golden boy of Wall Street so entire family's savings were wiped out in addition to college funds grandparents had set up and charitable trusts.
The viewpoint of the many failures of the government was interesting but as interesting to me was the fact that everyone seemed to count the amount they lost not as what they invested but the fiction dished out by this swindler. It was all a lie the earnings, the totals, the amounts they paid state and Federal taxes on all these years. Many did due diligence and investigated this fellow as best they could, they had leads to him from trusted friends and family members. Many were in Florida and were living lives they'd dreamed of all their working lives and had to sell everything and try to rebuild by living with relatives in cooler climes and making major lifestyle adjustments. Many were retired and had to try to rebuild their resumes to get jobs way under their skill sets just to put food on the table. Many more are living on social security alone, no small feat for anyone.
The message as loud and clear, diversify, don't put all your eggs in one basket, lawyers get paid no matter what, and you never know until it happens what changes await your life once you have gone from a comfortable life with ample savings to losing everything.
I forgave alot of editing errors and typos to hear in their own words what they hoped to tell others. A great companion book to other books on Madoff. Not a one-off read however. You'd have to be fairly interested in the topic to pick this up to supplement your reading on the subject but it is like little else I have read and certainly proves how on-line communities in the face of tragedies such as these can be quite healing.
January 31, 2011
I watched this unfold on the news as Madoff was arrested and then convicted of his ponzi scheme that left tons of people financially devastated. I hadn't ever heard of a ponzi scheme before Madoff was all over the news. When I was offered to review this book I jumped on it. I wanted to find out what really happened to some of his victims in their own words.
This book is written by several of the actual victims of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme. They tell their side of what happened to them in their own short stories. As I read each individual story I was sadden that they invested in good faith in some cases their entire life savings to something that they trusted and lost it all. I had thought gosh these people had to be really naive to get taken to the cleaners when I first heard about it on the news. But now that I have read their story I realized these were smart people who had checked things out and had made their decision based on what they had researched or on advice of trusted friends or family. I can't even imagine going threw what they just did.
Reading the stories in this book left me heartbroken at time but I am glad I got the chance to read it. I would recommend this to anyone.
* I have been provided a complimentary copy of The Club No One Wanted To Join for review threw an opportunity from the Alexandra Roth on behalf of the Madoff victims. By receiving a complimentary copy and a giveaway opportunity it in no way obligates me to write a good or bad review. I am an honest reviewer and my reviews are based on my own opinion and written only by me.*
This book is written by several of the actual victims of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme. They tell their side of what happened to them in their own short stories. As I read each individual story I was sadden that they invested in good faith in some cases their entire life savings to something that they trusted and lost it all. I had thought gosh these people had to be really naive to get taken to the cleaners when I first heard about it on the news. But now that I have read their story I realized these were smart people who had checked things out and had made their decision based on what they had researched or on advice of trusted friends or family. I can't even imagine going threw what they just did.
Reading the stories in this book left me heartbroken at time but I am glad I got the chance to read it. I would recommend this to anyone.
* I have been provided a complimentary copy of The Club No One Wanted To Join for review threw an opportunity from the Alexandra Roth on behalf of the Madoff victims. By receiving a complimentary copy and a giveaway opportunity it in no way obligates me to write a good or bad review. I am an honest reviewer and my reviews are based on my own opinion and written only by me.*
Read
August 10, 2024This was unlike any other book I have ever read. As you can tell by my reviews I normally go for Christian Romance as my typical genre. It’s always nice to break out of your box, however, so I was interested when Alexandra wrote and asked me if I’d like to review this book. Although I remembered hearing about Madoff and his ponzi scheme at the time it was just another big headline about the newest big guy gone bad. I didn’t know anyone who was effected by his corruption so quickly forgot about it.
This book explained what happened in detail and since it was written by the victims of the scam it was moving and compelling. It really is shocking to me that people who worked their entire lives to save for retirement could lose everything in the blink of an eye. It helped show me how fragile life is and if I learned one thing it is that when you’re saving or investing money you need to make sure to diversify even if you are completely positive the person you’re investing/saving with is wonderful and the best!
I thought it was interesting how in a couple of the stories it was couples who were affected and each wrote their side of what happened. I found comparing the different points of view extremely interesting.
The book isn’t all gloom and doom though. Many of the people say that they came out richer as they realized the wealth of family and friends surrounding them, and that money is not the greatest thing in life.
I would recommend this book because it helps you focus on the fragility of life and that anything you hold onto for security, other than God, could be snatched away from you in a second so you need to treat it as such. I also think it’s good to educate people and to try to help these victims who were so mercilessly preyed upon!
This book explained what happened in detail and since it was written by the victims of the scam it was moving and compelling. It really is shocking to me that people who worked their entire lives to save for retirement could lose everything in the blink of an eye. It helped show me how fragile life is and if I learned one thing it is that when you’re saving or investing money you need to make sure to diversify even if you are completely positive the person you’re investing/saving with is wonderful and the best!
I thought it was interesting how in a couple of the stories it was couples who were affected and each wrote their side of what happened. I found comparing the different points of view extremely interesting.
The book isn’t all gloom and doom though. Many of the people say that they came out richer as they realized the wealth of family and friends surrounding them, and that money is not the greatest thing in life.
I would recommend this book because it helps you focus on the fragility of life and that anything you hold onto for security, other than God, could be snatched away from you in a second so you need to treat it as such. I also think it’s good to educate people and to try to help these victims who were so mercilessly preyed upon!
November 12, 2011
The Club that No One Wanted to Join was edited by Erin Arvelund and compiled by Alexandra Roth. It is great collection of the Madoff victims or as some of them call themselves, the Madoff survivors.
Why do this? Why collect the stories of the experiences of so many who were cheated out a lot of money, in many cases, their retirement money or their life savings. Weren't the people who invested in Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme just greedy? NO!! And this book shows why.
They weren't just swindled by Bernie Madoff, former head of Nasdaq, they were let down or ignored by several regulators. Read the book to see the failures of the regulators to protect the investors. Often, they were referred to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC by trusted friends, by father and mothers and by financial advisors.
How this could have been prevented? I never want to be in their position, the simplest solution that I can think of is to diversify. Many of the people in the book did a reasonable amount of checking but they got the wrong answers. Also, there needs to be some more laws to protect the investors. They did not know that it was a ponzi scheme; they thought their money was going into investments. Ok, that is my short aside.
It is very troubling to read about people living on very little so that they can feel secure in their retirement and find out that it was all a big trick. Then, those who had houses had to sell them, those with medical bills couldn't pay them and to top it all off, people call them "greedy". That's not fair, not fair at all.
I recommend this book to everyone worried about their financial future (which should be everyone that I know).
Why do this? Why collect the stories of the experiences of so many who were cheated out a lot of money, in many cases, their retirement money or their life savings. Weren't the people who invested in Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme just greedy? NO!! And this book shows why.
They weren't just swindled by Bernie Madoff, former head of Nasdaq, they were let down or ignored by several regulators. Read the book to see the failures of the regulators to protect the investors. Often, they were referred to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC by trusted friends, by father and mothers and by financial advisors.
How this could have been prevented? I never want to be in their position, the simplest solution that I can think of is to diversify. Many of the people in the book did a reasonable amount of checking but they got the wrong answers. Also, there needs to be some more laws to protect the investors. They did not know that it was a ponzi scheme; they thought their money was going into investments. Ok, that is my short aside.
It is very troubling to read about people living on very little so that they can feel secure in their retirement and find out that it was all a big trick. Then, those who had houses had to sell them, those with medical bills couldn't pay them and to top it all off, people call them "greedy". That's not fair, not fair at all.
I recommend this book to everyone worried about their financial future (which should be everyone that I know).
September 11, 2016
Not quite what I was looking for but was incredibly interesting to read their stories.
January 30, 2011
This was such an amazing book. I thought that it would just be stories about these different victims, or survivors as they like to refer to themselves; but really, it was so much more. I learned so much more about the situation than I ever knew. Many of my pre-conceived ideas about this story were changed, and I did a total 180. The stories were powerful and emotional. I also learned so much about stocks and Wall Street and the financial system. I think EVERYONE should read this book and then recommend it to at least 10 friends. Its an easy read and it really won't take up much of your time. So even if you're busy you need to read this book. It is amazing!
January 8, 2012
I have mixed feelings about this. It would have been easier to get through if better edited, but then it wouldn't have been the victims "in their own words." Worth reading to get a clearer perspective on the broad cross-section of victims affected by the Madoff case. It also makes you realize just how badly the victims have been let down by SPIC and anyone who considers voting for a candidate that proudly proclaims they will repeal Dodd Frank should have their head examined.
April 3, 2016
I watch American Greed each time I can. I really enjoy that show. The difference between those victims and these victims, is the ones featured in this book really weren't....wait, let me change that line of thinking. Madoff was basically sanctioned by the SEC. He had been in business for more than 20 years.
Comparatively, military members get to retire after 20 years of service. Twenty years is considered somewhat of a benchmark.
Kind of hard to fault these investors. Just my opinion.
Comparatively, military members get to retire after 20 years of service. Twenty years is considered somewhat of a benchmark.
Kind of hard to fault these investors. Just my opinion.
April 30, 2015
A Good Read
Poignant details of how the Madoff victims have survived the trauma of losing everything that most had invested for retirement. The reality of this devastating event has changed lives forever and has been told by the victims in their own words.
Poignant details of how the Madoff victims have survived the trauma of losing everything that most had invested for retirement. The reality of this devastating event has changed lives forever and has been told by the victims in their own words.
March 4, 2016
So depressing, but glad I read. It could happen to anyone.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews