home > The Rise of Mr. Ponzi - The Actual 1936 Autobiography of Charles Ponzi

Some believed his book was forever lost to history. Others assumed it was only a legend in the first place- just another in a seemingly endless series of bogus get-rich-quick schemes perpetrated by a master of the craft?

Could it possibly be true? Did the world's most notorious con-artist, Charles Ponzi himself, actually write his memoirs- his own personal account of his ascendency from obscurity and poverty into staggering wealth, fame, and eventual infamy.

And if he DID author such a work- what on earth became of it? Despair, Inc. has finally discovered the answer. And on October 29, 2009, we announced a fully-illustrated and carefully-documented version of the legendary lost work available to the world at large. The book features:

•The Rise of Mr. Ponzi - Charles Ponzi's original and unedited text of his 1936 Masterpiece
•Who Is Charles Ponzi? - Over 150 pages of meticulously researched history unveiling for the first time what really happened to Charles Ponzi. It's two books for the price of one!
•Dozens of historic photos, many never published in book form
•Dozens of newspaper articles
•Previously unpublished government documents related to the Ponzi affair
•Foreward by Dr. E.L. Kersten
•And Much more...

Owning a first-edition version of Despair's gorgeous and historic paperback isn't just an investment in your betterment. It may be the investment of a lifetime… In the fullness of time, who knows? Who can even begin to speculate about what a first-edition version of Despair's gorgeously-illustrated re-issue of this profound work might someday be worth? Could a first-edition print of Despair's The Rise of Mr. Ponzi- already a steal at $29.95- soon find its own value quickly inflating? Double, tripling, even quadrupling in value in only a very short period of time- as other fans of historic autobiographies learn of the incredible scarcity of such a singularly important book? A book which certain anonymous-but-nevertheless-extremely-influential luminaries within the investing community have referred to as, "The number-one must-own holiday book for the 2009 gift-giving season!" And who dare even begin to dream what sort of interest this book might generate for that huge audience of modern Ponzi-scheme victims out there? Those fleeced by the lesser Ponzi acolytes like Madoff and Stanford? Will they not – upon learning of the dwindling supply of first-edition Ponzi autobiographies – react in an immediate impulse purchase of the work? Can they resist the temptation to seek sweet solace for their bitter wounds by hastily buying one copy- (or many)- so as to gain a deeper insight into the mind of the Con Man? Would they not be willing to pay many times the original purchase price in order to have an invaluable first-edition copy of Despair's release of The Rise of Mr. Ponzi?! THE MIND BOGGLES AT THE POTENTIAL WEALTH THAT MIGHT CONCEIVABLY BE RETURNED TO THOSE ENTERPRISING SLICKERS WHO HAD THE FORESIGHT TO INVEST QUICKLY- WHILE THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY WAS BRIEFLY OPEN!!! HURRY UP, DON'T BE CHUMP, SEE? BUY IT NOW- OR YOU'LL BE THE WISEGUY WHO FINDS HIS HEAD IS BEING WRAPPED UP IN A BIG BIT OF COLORED PAPER THAT SAYS,"SUCKER" ALL OVER IT! YES, I'M TALKING TO YOU, MUG! (Can you tell my bedtime reading has been for the last three weeks? I thought so...)