Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff

In Fraud Edward J. Balleisen, an associate professor of history at Duke University, explores how policy makers have struggled to define and deal with the problem of business malfeasance. The book covers nearly two centuries of organizational fraud (fraud committed on behalf of firms against others) and shows how attitudes on this have swung from caveat emptor (buyer beware) to caveat venditor (seller beware) and back. Relying on extensive source materials, Balleisen provides a strong and accessible exploration of a topic that will interest business historians. Fraud is divided into four parts, the first focusing on how fraud was treated in the nineteenth century and outlining the rationale for why caveat emptor ruled the day. In preindustrial America, markets were local and relied on social and business networks to weed out bad actors. This reliance on the market, combined with a surprising tolerance for creative fraud, reinforced the need for individual vigilance to avoid being duped.