The Big Con

Author : David Maurer
Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 030775572X
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.28/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Big Con written by David Maurer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2010-10-27 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called “a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain.” “Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” – i.e. cheated—of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo (the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting.

Author : Jonathan Chait
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 9780618685400
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Big Con written by Jonathan Chait and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A nationally syndicated columnist furnishes an eye-opening exposé that reveals how a small cadre of economic hucksters, obsessed with radical ideas that benefit no one but themselves and their business interests, have seized control of the American political system to dictate the nation's policies and American agenda.

Author : Nate Hendley
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Big Con written by Nate Hendley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines a broad range of infamous scams, cons, swindles, and hoaxes throughout American history—and considers why human gullibility continues in an age of easy access to information. Covering American cons and hoaxes past and present, including the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, the controversy over "subliminal messaging" (do bands, filmmakers, and advertisers really put secret messages in their works?), the panic about "satanic" daycare operators in the 1980s, and recent Internet scams, this book provides a fascinating, fact-based look at infamous frauds across the centuries. Offering an engaging mix of history, sociology, and psychology, author Nate Hendley gives readers an appreciation of how prominent scams, cons, "confidence men," and hoaxes have impacted American society, past and present. Each entry details the scheme or hoax and the pertinent con artist/schemer involved, examining the sociological, cultural, political, and/or economic effect of the scams. Each topic is accompanied by a short bibliography of further reading selections. As the old saying goes, "There is a sucker born every minute"—and there has always been a keen-eyed swindler to take advantage of the situation. The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History explores this sordid underbelly of American civilization and invites readers to revel in the felonious experience.

Author : David John Oates
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781291098105
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book THE BIG CON written by David John Oates and published by . This book was released on 2021-06-19 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An analysis of what lies behind the unprecedented measures taken in response to the current COVID crisis by means of the techniques of Reverse Speech, by the Founder of Reverse Speech, David John Oates. The book contains information transmitted in reverse through the words of the perpetrators of the current crimes against humanity under the disguise of emergency restrictions supposedly for the protection of the public in every country in the world, including mask mandates and mass so-called vaccinations using untested genetic procedures. Some of the true statements hiding behind the lies are truly sickening and show what a terrifying very-near-future is is store for us all unless we act now..

Author : David Shimer
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 059308196X
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rigged written by David Shimer and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive history of the covert struggle between Russia and America to influence elections, why the threat to American democracy is greater than ever, and what we can do about it. This is "the first book to put the story of Russian interference into a broader context.... Extraordinary and gripping" (The New York Times Book Review). Russia's interference in the 2016 elections marked only the latest chapter of a hidden and revelatory history. In Rigged, David Shimer tells the sweeping story of covert electoral interference past and present. He exposes decades of secret operations—by the KGB, the CIA, and Vladimir Putin's Russia—to shape electoral outcomes, melding deep historical research with groundbreaking interviews with more than 130 key players, from leading officials in both the Trump and Obama administrations to CIA and NSA directors to a former KGB general. Throughout history and in 2016, both Russian and American operations achieved their greatest success by influencing the way voters think, rather than tampering with actual vote tallies. Understanding 2016 as one battle in a much longer war is essential to comprehending the critical threat currently posed to America's electoral sovereignty and how to defend against it. Illuminating how the lessons of the past can be used to protect our democracy in the future, Rigged is an essential book for readers of every political persuasion.

Author : Amy Reading
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307473597
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Mark Inside written by Amy Reading and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2013-02-26 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1919, Texas rancher J. Frank Norfleet lost everything he had in a stock market swindle—twice. But instead of slinking home in shame, he turned the tables on the confidence men. Armed with a revolver and a suitcase full of disguises, Norfleet set out to capture the five men who had conned him, allowing himself to be ensnared in the con again and again to gather evidence on his enemies. Through the story of Norfleet’s ingenious reverse-swindle, Amy Reading reveals the fascinating mechanics behind the big con—an artful performance targeted to the most vulnerable points of human nature—and invites you into the crooked history of a nation on the hustle, constantly feeding the hunger and the hope of the mark inside.

Author : Tony Sales
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781913406394
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Big Con written by Tony Sales and published by . This book was released on 2020-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Joe Schreiber
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 0544320204
Total Pages : 245 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Con Academy written by Joe Schreiber and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2015 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Con man Will Shea may have met his match in scammer Andrea Dufresne as they make a high-stakes deal that will determine who gets to stay at Connaughton Academy, one of the most elite and privileged preparatory schools in the country, and who must leave.

Author : Dr Malcolm Kendrick
Publisher : Kings Road Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1843582368
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Great Cholesterol Con written by Dr Malcolm Kendrick and published by Kings Road Publishing. This book was released on 2008-07-07 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Statins are widely prescribed to lower blood cholesterol levels and claim to offer unparalleled protection against heart disease. Believed to be completely safe and capable of preventing a whole series of other conditions, they are the most profitable drug in the history of medicine. In this groundbreaking book, GP Malcolm Kendrick exposes the truth behind the hype. He will change the way we think about cholesterol forever. Rubbishing the diet-heart hypothesis, in which clinical trials 'prove' that high cholesterol causes heart disease and a high-fat diet leads to heart disease, Kendrick lambastes a powerful pharmaceutical industry and unquestioning medical profession, who, he claims, perpetuate the madcap concepts of 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol and cholesterol levels to convince millions of people to unnecessarily spend billions of pounds on statins. Clearly and comprehensively debunking assumptions on what constitute a healthy lifestyle and diet, "The Great Cholesterol Con" is the accessible, indispensable and absorbing case against statins and for a more common-sense approach to heart disease and general wellbeing. No more over-hyped miracle drugs; no more garlic, red wine, anti-oxidants, fruit or vegetables; even a vegetarian diet is rejected in this controversial yet authoritative critique of how we have been mislead over how food and drugs affect our coronary health. Here, for the first time, is the invaluable guide for anyone who though there was a miracle cure for heart disease, "The Great Cholesterol Con" is a fascinating breakthrough that will set dynamite under the whole area.

Author : Maria Konnikova
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143109871
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Confidence Game written by Maria Konnikova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It’s a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you can’t get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. “[An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe” –Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book. From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Game asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.