SKU: 76293720149

The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man

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Description

The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence ManThe 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

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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 07/20/1999
ISBN: 9780385495387
Pages: 336
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.98h x 5.28w x 0.72d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 07/19/1999 pg. 176
New York Times 08/01/1999 pg. 20
Ingram Advance 08/01/1999 pg. 84
New York Times Book Review 09/30/2007 pg. 26
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SKU: 76293720149

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Bluestemgirl
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 5
Nice looking book
Format: Paperback
Seller shipped fast. Book is in good condition As it was described.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024
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DB Dehnel
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 5
ws merwin's collected poems
Format: Hardcover
it's a hardback and it's in great condition. apparently it's a library book that has been in more than one sale, at one point someone had put a price of fifty cents on it. it's sad that arguably one of the better modern writers did not find a permanent home but that meant a great deal for me. also, i hope the reason the book started its journey wasn't because the library folded but that might explain why the book left the shelves to begin with.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
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Antoinette Constable
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Better than Expected
Format: Paperback
Though the title impied there were new poems in this volume, I found some of my favorites, but didn't notice any new ones. Never mind, they are wonderful, and I liked this book so much, I purchased a copy for a friend and published poet, who's poet in the schools, Grace Grafton, who is familiar with Merwin's writing. That made both of us happy. On a practical level, it is easier to schlep a single volume with you than three of four,when what you want is 'La crême de la crême.' Makes a welcome addition to any collection, a great gift to introduce Merwin, and a pleasure to read the smooth, ariculate poetry that is food for the soul. Antoinette Constable
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Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2010
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Lenny DellaRocca
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Looks great.
Format: Paperback
Reading.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023
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Salahuddin Hourani
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
very good quality
Format: Paperback
very good quality
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Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023

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