Exile on Wall Street; soul-searching at Cramer Partners.('Confessions of a Street Addict')

At the peak of his Wall Street success, James J. Cramer would get up at 3:45 A.M. at his home, in Summit, New Jersey, and go online and write a short article for the investment Web site he had co-founded, TheStreet.com. Then his chauffeur would drive him to the offices of the hedge fund he managed, at 100 Wall, where he would arrive at his trading desk at 5:30 A.M. and begin working the overseas exchanges. Later in the early morning, he would appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" or CNBC's "Squawk Box," assailing the camera in his impassioned, hectoring whine as he sussed out the movements of the markets. He would then go back to his company and trade all day, from the ...