Presenting...The Talented Mr. Rockefeller !!!

Dear Dreamers,

I was introduced to Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/ - and I have been going through the listopia- the best of 2000s. The list gives you a a variety of good books, and then you can pick the type of books you like to read. 

I recently finished reading - The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Impostor by Mark Seal

It’s the story of Clark Rockefeller- A German man who moved to the States and over a period of thirty years conned people by assuming various identities, including having a 12 year stint as Clark Rockefeller- a member of the famous American Rockefeller family. During his stint as a Rockefeller- he conned and married a Harvard MBA who worked as a business consultant. She made the big bucks and he spent it. He convinced every one who is the who’s who of the Boston and New Hampshire high life that he was a Rockefeller. Its an astonishing story of how a man reached top brass- landed jobs, entrance into top tier institutions/ clubs and a very accomplished wife based purely on the goodwill and naivety of people he met on his way, until his marriage ended and he kidnapped his daughter to end a spectacular run of this imposter.

The writer does a great job of detailing all the identities assumed by Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter ( Clark’s real name) right from before he landed into the US and how he essentially lived off other people’s good naturedness just by using his charm and eccentrically. His mantra essentially was ‘ The bigger the lie, people are more likely to believe it’.
While I read the book, I went from being mildly amused – to-impressed- to- very impressed- to- mildly irritated- to- plain distraught – to - exasperated at how naive people were being. I am sure it took a brilliant mind to con smart , intelligent, rich people for quarter of a century. But the book doesn't delve into Gerhart’s psyche. There is no rationale behind how he does it and why he does it, except that he has a desire for leading the life- and doesn't want to work for it. While reading the unbelievable cons that he pulls off I feel emotionless for the characters- over every identity he assumed, he left victims in his wake- he cheated them, don’t they feel angry, betrayed? Instead they are unnaturally detached? So it makes hard for me to connect with the people. Maybe I would have preferred just a little bit of drama? Instead at the end of it, I am just shaking my head in disbelief. …..
Was all of this so ridiculous that its unbelieveable and then before you know it- its absolutely believable? Excuse me ? Did I just get conned?
S