diff --git a/src/bin/genesis.rs b/src/bin/genesis.rs
index 787a7ef646..e10aa377ba 100644
--- a/src/bin/genesis.rs
+++ b/src/bin/genesis.rs
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<error::Error>> {
     let pkcs8: Vec<u8> = serde_json::from_str(&buffer)?;
     let mint = Mint::new_with_pkcs8(tokens, pkcs8);
 
-    let mut ledger_writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, true)?;
+    let mut ledger_writer = LedgerWriter::open(&ledger_path, true)?;
     ledger_writer.write_entries(mint.create_entries())?;
 
     Ok(())
diff --git a/src/bin/ledger-tool.rs b/src/bin/ledger-tool.rs
index 53502535cb..38334d46f9 100644
--- a/src/bin/ledger-tool.rs
+++ b/src/bin/ledger-tool.rs
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ fn main() {
         .get_matches();
 
     let ledger_path = matches.value_of("ledger").unwrap();
-    let entries = match read_ledger(ledger_path) {
+    let entries = match read_ledger(ledger_path, true) {
         Ok(entries) => entries,
         Err(err) => {
             println!("Failed to open ledger at {}: {}", ledger_path, err);
diff --git a/src/crdt.rs b/src/crdt.rs
index fd3345081a..ee05a72306 100644
--- a/src/crdt.rs
+++ b/src/crdt.rs
@@ -1211,7 +1211,7 @@ impl Crdt {
     ) -> JoinHandle<()> {
         let debug_id = obj.read().unwrap().debug_id();
 
-        let mut ledger_window = ledger_path.map(|p| LedgerWindow::new(p).unwrap());
+        let mut ledger_window = ledger_path.map(|p| LedgerWindow::open(p).unwrap());
 
         Builder::new()
             .name("solana-listen".to_string())
@@ -1914,7 +1914,7 @@ mod tests {
 
             let path = format!("/tmp/farf/{}-{}", name, keypair.pubkey());
 
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&path, true).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&path, true).unwrap();
             let zero = Hash::default();
             let one = hash(&zero.as_ref());
             writer
@@ -1924,7 +1924,7 @@ mod tests {
         }
 
         let ledger_path = tmp_ledger("run_window_request");
-        let mut ledger_window = LedgerWindow::new(&ledger_path).unwrap();
+        let mut ledger_window = LedgerWindow::open(&ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         let rv = Crdt::run_window_request(
             &window,
diff --git a/src/fullnode.rs b/src/fullnode.rs
index 96de8484c2..e366f0de38 100644
--- a/src/fullnode.rs
+++ b/src/fullnode.rs
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ impl FullNode {
         info!("creating bank...");
         let bank = Bank::new_default(leader);
 
-        let entries = read_ledger(ledger_path).expect("opening ledger");
+        let entries = read_ledger(ledger_path, true).expect("opening ledger");
 
         let entries = entries.map(|e| e.expect("failed to parse entry"));
 
diff --git a/src/ledger.rs b/src/ledger.rs
index 6657a0a126..d76c745cfa 100644
--- a/src/ledger.rs
+++ b/src/ledger.rs
@@ -93,11 +93,10 @@ fn u64_at<A: Read + Seek>(file: &mut A, at: u64) -> io::Result<u64> {
 
 impl LedgerWindow {
     // opens a Ledger in directory, provides "infinite" window
-    pub fn new(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<Self> {
+    //
+    pub fn open(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<Self> {
         let ledger_path = Path::new(&ledger_path);
 
-        recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
-
         let index = File::open(ledger_path.join("index"))?;
         let index = BufReader::with_capacity((WINDOW_SIZE * SIZEOF_U64) as usize, index);
         let data = File::open(ledger_path.join("data"))?;
@@ -112,13 +111,9 @@ impl LedgerWindow {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn verify_ledger(ledger_path: &str, recover: bool) -> io::Result<()> {
+pub fn verify_ledger(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<()> {
     let ledger_path = Path::new(&ledger_path);
 
-    if recover {
-        recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
-    }
-
     let index = File::open(ledger_path.join("index"))?;
 
     let index_len = index.metadata()?.len();
@@ -150,10 +145,22 @@ pub fn verify_ledger(ledger_path: &str, recover: bool) -> io::Result<()> {
             ))?;
         }
 
-        let entry = entry_at(&mut data, data_offset)?;
-        last_len = serialized_size(&entry).map_err(err_bincode_to_io)? + SIZEOF_U64;
-        last_data_offset = data_offset;
+        match entry_at(&mut data, data_offset) {
+            Err(e) => Err(io::Error::new(
+                io::ErrorKind::Other,
+                format!(
+                    "entry[{}] deserialize() failed at offset {}, err: {}",
+                    index_offset / SIZEOF_U64,
+                    data_offset,
+                    e.to_string(),
+                ),
+            ))?,
+            Ok(entry) => {
+                last_len = serialized_size(&entry).map_err(err_bincode_to_io)? + SIZEOF_U64
+            }
+        }
 
+        last_data_offset = data_offset;
         data_read += last_len;
         index_offset += SIZEOF_U64;
     }
@@ -167,7 +174,8 @@ pub fn verify_ledger(ledger_path: &str, recover: bool) -> io::Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
-fn recover_ledger(ledger_path: &Path) -> io::Result<()> {
+fn recover_ledger(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<()> {
+    let ledger_path = Path::new(ledger_path);
     let mut index = OpenOptions::new()
         .write(true)
         .read(true)
@@ -261,16 +269,21 @@ pub struct LedgerWriter {
 }
 
 impl LedgerWriter {
+    // recover and open the ledger for writing
+    pub fn recover(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<Self> {
+        recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
+        LedgerWriter::open(ledger_path, false)
+    }
+
     // opens or creates a LedgerWriter in ledger_path directory
-    pub fn new(ledger_path: &str, create: bool) -> io::Result<Self> {
+    pub fn open(ledger_path: &str, create: bool) -> io::Result<Self> {
         let ledger_path = Path::new(&ledger_path);
 
         if create {
             let _ignored = remove_dir_all(ledger_path);
             create_dir_all(ledger_path)?;
-        } else {
-            recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
         }
+
         let index = OpenOptions::new()
             .create(create)
             .append(true)
@@ -360,11 +373,15 @@ impl Iterator for LedgerReader {
 }
 
 /// Return an iterator for all the entries in the given file.
-pub fn read_ledger(ledger_path: &str) -> io::Result<impl Iterator<Item = io::Result<Entry>>> {
+pub fn read_ledger(
+    ledger_path: &str,
+    recover: bool,
+) -> io::Result<impl Iterator<Item = io::Result<Entry>>> {
+    if recover {
+        recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
+    }
+
     let ledger_path = Path::new(&ledger_path);
-
-    recover_ledger(ledger_path)?;
-
     let data = File::open(ledger_path.join("data"))?;
     let data = BufReader::new(data);
 
@@ -682,21 +699,21 @@ mod tests {
         let entries = make_tiny_test_entries(10);
 
         {
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
             writer.write_entries(entries.clone()).unwrap();
             // drops writer, flushes buffers
         }
-        verify_ledger(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        verify_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         let mut read_entries = vec![];
-        for x in read_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap() {
+        for x in read_ledger(&ledger_path, true).unwrap() {
             let entry = x.unwrap();
             trace!("entry... {:?}", entry);
             read_entries.push(entry);
         }
         assert_eq!(read_entries, entries);
 
-        let mut window = LedgerWindow::new(&ledger_path).unwrap();
+        let mut window = LedgerWindow::open(&ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         for (i, entry) in entries.iter().enumerate() {
             let read_entry = window.get_entry(i as u64).unwrap();
@@ -706,19 +723,19 @@ mod tests {
 
         std::fs::remove_file(Path::new(&ledger_path).join("data")).unwrap();
         // empty data file should fall over
-        assert!(LedgerWindow::new(&ledger_path).is_err());
-        assert!(read_ledger(&ledger_path).is_err());
+        assert!(LedgerWindow::open(&ledger_path).is_err());
+        assert!(read_ledger(&ledger_path, false).is_err());
 
         std::fs::remove_dir_all(ledger_path).unwrap();
     }
 
     fn truncated_last_entry(ledger_path: &str, entries: Vec<Entry>) {
         let len = {
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
             writer.write_entries(entries).unwrap();
             writer.data.seek(SeekFrom::Current(0)).unwrap()
         };
-        verify_ledger(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        verify_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         let data = OpenOptions::new()
             .write(true)
@@ -728,13 +745,13 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     fn garbage_on_data(ledger_path: &str, entries: Vec<Entry>) {
-        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
+        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
         writer.write_entries(entries).unwrap();
         writer.data.write_all(b"hi there!").unwrap();
     }
 
     fn read_ledger_check(ledger_path: &str, entries: Vec<Entry>, len: usize) {
-        let read_entries = read_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap();
+        let read_entries = read_ledger(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
         let mut i = 0;
 
         for entry in read_entries {
@@ -745,7 +762,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     fn ledger_window_check(ledger_path: &str, entries: Vec<Entry>, len: usize) {
-        let mut window = LedgerWindow::new(&ledger_path).unwrap();
+        let mut window = LedgerWindow::open(&ledger_path).unwrap();
         for i in 0..len {
             let entry = window.get_entry(i as u64);
             assert_eq!(entry.unwrap(), entries[i]);
@@ -770,11 +787,14 @@ mod tests {
 
         // restore last entry, tests recover_ledger() inside LedgerWriter::new()
         truncated_last_entry(&ledger_path, entries.clone());
+        // verify should fail at first
+        assert!(verify_ledger(&ledger_path).is_err());
         {
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::recover(&ledger_path).unwrap();
             writer.write_entry(&entries[entries.len() - 1]).unwrap();
         }
-        verify_ledger(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        // and be fine after recover()
+        verify_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         read_ledger_check(&ledger_path, entries.clone(), entries.len());
         ledger_window_check(&ledger_path, entries.clone(), entries.len());
@@ -789,11 +809,12 @@ mod tests {
 
         // make it look like data is newer in time, check writer...
         garbage_on_data(&ledger_path, entries[..entries.len() - 1].to_vec());
+        assert!(verify_ledger(&ledger_path).is_err());
         {
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::recover(&ledger_path).unwrap();
             writer.write_entry(&entries[entries.len() - 1]).unwrap();
         }
-        verify_ledger(&ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        verify_ledger(&ledger_path).unwrap();
         read_ledger_check(&ledger_path, entries.clone(), entries.len());
         ledger_window_check(&ledger_path, entries.clone(), entries.len());
         let _ignored = remove_dir_all(&ledger_path);
@@ -807,11 +828,13 @@ mod tests {
         let entries = make_tiny_test_entries(10);
         let ledger_path = tmp_ledger_path("test_verify_ledger");
         {
-            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
+            let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&ledger_path, true).unwrap();
             writer.write_entries(entries.clone()).unwrap();
         }
+        // TODO more cases that make ledger_verify() fail
+        // assert!(verify_ledger(&ledger_path).is_err());
 
-        assert!(verify_ledger(&ledger_path, false).is_ok());
+        assert!(verify_ledger(&ledger_path).is_ok());
         let _ignored = remove_dir_all(&ledger_path);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/replicate_stage.rs b/src/replicate_stage.rs
index 3a3ed7fbb6..744f5b4bab 100644
--- a/src/replicate_stage.rs
+++ b/src/replicate_stage.rs
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ impl ReplicateStage {
             exit,
         );
 
-        let mut ledger_writer = ledger_path.map(|p| LedgerWriter::new(p, false).unwrap());
+        let mut ledger_writer = ledger_path.map(|p| LedgerWriter::open(p, false).unwrap());
 
         let t_replicate = Builder::new()
             .name("solana-replicate-stage".to_string())
diff --git a/src/thin_client.rs b/src/thin_client.rs
index ee5e0b8d04..5023652660 100644
--- a/src/thin_client.rs
+++ b/src/thin_client.rs
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         let path = format!("/tmp/tmp-ledger-{}-{}", name, keypair.pubkey());
 
-        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&path, true).unwrap();
+        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&path, true).unwrap();
         writer.write_entries(mint.create_entries()).unwrap();
 
         path
diff --git a/src/write_stage.rs b/src/write_stage.rs
index b7fcf0df63..c43aa4739c 100644
--- a/src/write_stage.rs
+++ b/src/write_stage.rs
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ impl WriteStage {
             vote_blob_receiver,
         );
         let (blob_sender, blob_receiver) = channel();
-        let mut ledger_writer = LedgerWriter::new(ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        let mut ledger_writer = LedgerWriter::recover(ledger_path).unwrap();
 
         let thread_hdl = Builder::new()
             .name("solana-writer".to_string())
diff --git a/tests/multinode.rs b/tests/multinode.rs
index b61f083e14..6b9cf569a9 100755
--- a/tests/multinode.rs
+++ b/tests/multinode.rs
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ fn genesis(name: &str, num: i64) -> (Mint, String) {
     let mint = Mint::new(num);
 
     let path = tmp_ledger_path(name);
-    let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&path, true).unwrap();
+    let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&path, true).unwrap();
 
     writer.write_entries(mint.create_entries()).unwrap();
 
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ fn test_multi_node_ledger_window() -> result::Result<()> {
     // and force him to respond to repair from the ledger window
     {
         let entries = make_tiny_test_entries(alice.last_id(), WINDOW_SIZE as usize * 2);
-        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::new(&leader_ledger_path, false).unwrap();
+        let mut writer = LedgerWriter::open(&leader_ledger_path, false).unwrap();
 
         writer.write_entries(entries).unwrap();
     }