The story of Bernard Madoff rivals outrageous fiction. It was astonishing that this seemingly kindly, respectable financier, a pioneer in electronic trading, a founding partner in the Nasdaq exchange, turned out to have been running a $65-billion Ponzi scheme that victimized country-club elites, middle-class retirees, foundations, universities, Holocaust victims, and his his own sister. But the revelations kept on coming: Madoff's own mother had run a scam brokerage, and an accountant had lodged multiple complaints against Madoff with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which had turned a deaf ear. Madoff neither made a single investment, nor less delivered a return, for at least 13 years. The author compares Madoff to F. Scott Fitzgerald's fictional Jay Gatsby,a classic self-made American man, who wanders from his family roots, gets involved in nefarious activities, and turns wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, largely, it appears, by serving as a front man while dealing dodgy bonds. The American fascination with Madoff, writes Freedman, is ultimately one of fascination with fictions bolstered by financial advisers who supported Madoff's claim that over time, the market could deliver consistently higher returns than any other investment. And Americans believed them, swelling the stock market with their retirement accounts, college funds--even, in unfortunate instances, household cash.