A Century of Swindles

Download A Century of Swindles PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1493053698
Total Pages : 259 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (93 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Century of Swindles by : Railey Jane Savage

Download or read book A Century of Swindles written by Railey Jane Savage and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-09-01 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Gilded Age through WWII, America was rife with ne’er-do-wells on a never-ending search for the next big score. Between 1850 and 1950 lawlessness melded with ingenuity, fueled by optimism and ruthlessness: America was dangerous, buzzing, and where opportunity came to take flight. The perfect conditions for swindlers. The gall and gumption of their hustles strain credulity. Fake diamond fields? War with Canada? Sir Francis Drake’s unclaimed fortune? Apparently, all was fair in the quest for something-for-nothing. The scammers in this volume range from the undeniably unscrupulous, to the ill and ill-advised. Fans of clever schemes and schadenfreude alike will be entertained by these tales of the rise and fall of some of America’s greatest swindlers.

The Book of Swindles

Download The Book of Swindles PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780231178631
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (786 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Book of Swindles by : Yingyu Zhang

Download or read book The Book of Swindles written by Yingyu Zhang and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Swindles, a seventeenth-century story collection, offers a panoramic guide to the art of deception. Ostensibly a manual for self-protection, it presents a tableau of criminal ingenuity in late Ming China. Each story comes with commentary by the author, who expounds a moral lesson while also speaking as a connoisseur of the swindle.

Swindled

Download Swindled PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691214085
Total Pages : 488 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Swindled by : Bee Wilson

Download or read book Swindled written by Bee Wilson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bad food has a history. Swindled tells it. Through a fascinating mixture of cultural and scientific history, food politics, and culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many ways swindlers have cheapened, falsified, and even poisoned our food throughout history. In the hands of people and corporations who have prized profits above the health of consumers, food and drink have been tampered with in often horrifying ways--padded, diluted, contaminated, substituted, mislabeled, misnamed, or otherwise faked. Swindled gives a panoramic view of this history, from the leaded wine of the ancient Romans to today's food frauds--such as fake organics and the scandal of Chinese babies being fed bogus milk powder. Wilson pays special attention to nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and England and their roles in developing both industrial-scale food adulteration and the scientific ability to combat it. As Swindled reveals, modern science has both helped and hindered food fraudsters--increasing the sophistication of scams but also the means to detect them. The big breakthrough came in Victorian England when a scientist first put food under the microscope and found that much of what was sold as "genuine coffee" was anything but--and that you couldn't buy pure mustard in all of London. Arguing that industrialization, laissez-faire politics, and globalization have all hurt the quality of food, but also that food swindlers have always been helped by consumer ignorance, Swindled ultimately calls for both governments and individuals to be more vigilant. In fact, Wilson suggests, one of our best protections is simply to reeducate ourselves about the joys of food and cooking.

Fraud

Download Fraud PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691183074
Total Pages : 494 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fraud by : Edward J. Balleisen

Download or read book Fraud written by Edward J. Balleisen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-12-18 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history of fraud in America, from the early nineteenth century to the subprime mortgage crisis In America, fraud has always been a key feature of business, and the national worship of entrepreneurial freedom complicates the task of distinguishing salesmanship from deceit. In this sweeping narrative, Edward Balleisen traces the history of fraud in America—and the evolving efforts to combat it—from the age of P. T. Barnum through the eras of Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff. This unprecedented account describes the slow, piecemeal construction of modern institutions to protect consumers and investors—from the Gilded Age through the New Deal and the Great Society. It concludes with the more recent era of deregulation, which has brought with it a spate of costly frauds, including corporate accounting scandals and the mortgage-marketing debacle. By tracing how Americans have struggled to foster a vibrant economy without encouraging a corrosive level of cheating, Fraud reminds us that American capitalism rests on an uneasy foundation of social trust.

Swindlers All, a Brief History of Government Business Frauds from Alexander Hamilton to AIG

Download Swindlers All, a Brief History of Government Business Frauds from Alexander Hamilton to AIG PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1527533654
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (275 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Swindlers All, a Brief History of Government Business Frauds from Alexander Hamilton to AIG by : Michael Powelson

Download or read book Swindlers All, a Brief History of Government Business Frauds from Alexander Hamilton to AIG written by Michael Powelson and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-04-24 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the Great Recession of 2007-2008, millions of hardworking Americans lost their jobs and their homes, their retirements, and their income. However, the corporations that caused the Great Recession lost nothing and were, in fact, given trillions of dollars by the government in an unprecedented financial bailout. While over 16 trillion dollars went missing, not a single Wall Street executive was punished or even charged with a crime. This book chronicles some of the government and business frauds carried out throughout US history. These swindles were carried out by such “Founders” as Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Corruption was also at the core of the Andrew Jackson administration and played a key role in perpetrating the Panic of 1837, and government and business fraud was rampant in the construction of both the transcontinental railroad and the Panama Canal. Court rulings granting corporations the status of “legal personage” were part of a broader scam that extended greater constitutional and legal protections to corporations while denying Blacks and workers their own constitutional and legal rights. Government and business frauds of the 1920s played a prominent role in spawning the Great Depression of 1929, while funding and provisioning the US military has always been inundated with a wide variety of scams. In the early 1990s, government and business scams resulted in the collapse of the savings and loan industry, while the frauds of the early 21st century resulted in the Great Recession of 2007-2008. Today, all of the factors are in place to lead to yet another depression/recession which will be followed inevitably by a massive government bailout of banks and corporations.

The Book of Charlatans

Download The Book of Charlatans PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 1479897639
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (798 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Book of Charlatans by : Jamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Jawbarī

Download or read book The Book of Charlatans written by Jamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Jawbarī and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncovering the professional secrets of con artists and swindlers in the medieval Middle East The Book of Charlatans is a comprehensive guide to trickery and scams as practiced in the thirteenth century in the cities of the Middle East, especially in Syria and Egypt. The author, al-Jawbarī, was well versed in the practices he describes and may well have been a reformed charlatan himself. Divided into thirty chapters, his book reveals the secrets of everyone from “Those Who Claim to be Prophets” to “Those Who Claim to Have Leprosy” and “Those Who Dye Horses.” The material is informed in part by the author’s own experience with alchemy, astrology, and geomancy, and in part by his extensive research. The work is unique in its systematic, detailed, and inclusive approach to a subject that is by nature arcane and that has relevance not only for social history but also for the history of science. Covering everything from invisible writing to doctoring gemstones and quack medicine, The Book of Charlatans opens a fascinating window into a subculture of beggars’ guilds and professional con artists in the medieval Arab world. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

The Mark Inside

Download The Mark Inside PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307473597
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Mark Inside by : Amy Reading

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.

The Big Con

Download The Big Con PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (16 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Big Con by : Nate Hendley

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.

Conning Harvard

Download Conning Harvard PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 0762787430
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (627 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Conning Harvard by : Julie Zauzmer

Download or read book Conning Harvard written by Julie Zauzmer and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013-09-03 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inside story of the serial scammer who forged his way into the nation's most prestigious university.

The Great Oklahoma Swindle

Download The Great Oklahoma Swindle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 149623040X
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Great Oklahoma Swindle by : Russell Cobb

Download or read book The Great Oklahoma Swindle written by Russell Cobb and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2022-03 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Russell Cobb’s The Great Oklahoma Swindle is a rousing and incisive examination of the regional culture and history of “Flyover Country” that demystifies the political conditions of the American Heartland.

Empire of Deception

Download Empire of Deception PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Algonquin Books
ISBN 13 : 1616204966
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (162 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Empire of Deception by : Dean Jobb

Download or read book Empire of Deception written by Dean Jobb and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A rollicking tale that is one part The Sting, one part The Great Gatsby, and one part The Devil in the White City.” —Karen Abbott, author of Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy In a time of unregulated madness, nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. It was the perfect place for a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz to entice hundreds of people to invest as much as $30 million--upwards of $400 million today--in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. It was an ingenious deceit, one that out-Ponzied Charles Ponzi himself. In this rip-roaring tale of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man on the town and then on the lam, Empire of Deception proves that the American dream of easy wealth is truly a timeless commodity. “Captivating . . . Dean Jobb tells the story of Leo Koretz, a legendary con artist of Madoffian audacity, with terrific energy and narrative brio.” —Gary Krist, author of Empire of Sin “A brilliantly researched tale of greed, ambition, and our desperate need to believe in magic, it’s history that captures America as it really was--and always will be. A great read.” —Douglas Perry, author of Eliot Ness “Reads like a Gatsby-Ponzi mashup . . . Kudos to Jobb for unearthing this overlooked story and bringing to life a charming, witty, naughty, iconic American crook.” —Neal Thompson, author of A Curious Man “The granddaddy of all con men, Leo Koretz gives Jobb the opportunity to exhibit his impressive research and storytelling skills . . . A highly readable, entertaining story.” —Kirkus Reviews

Ponzi's Scheme

Download Ponzi's Scheme PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0812968360
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (129 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ponzi's Scheme by : Mitchell Zuckoff

Download or read book Ponzi's Scheme written by Mitchell Zuckoff and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2006-01-10 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was raking in more than $2 million a week at his office in downtown Boston. Then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post. A classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing story of the magnetic scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history.

My Adventures with Your Money

Download My Adventures with Your Money PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1466886978
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis My Adventures with Your Money by : T. D. Thornton

Download or read book My Adventures with Your Money written by T. D. Thornton and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, we talk about Bernard Madoff, but in the early 20th century, they talked about George Graham Rice. Born Jacob Simon Herzig in 1870, he later changed his name - just as he would frequently change his swindles to make himself into one of the most colorfully successful villains in American history. T.D. Thornton now tells the story of Rice's life as it unfolded against the dark rise of American greed in the early 20th century. In the early 1900s, Rice made market-manipulation killings valued at billions in today's dollars by inventing fictitious boom towns in Death Valley and flagrantly exaggerating worthless mining claims throughout the West. As a shameless racetrack tipster, Rice cultivated a national following of 100,000 daily subscribers who paid for the privilege of being tipped to bet on hopeless nags. Vilified by securities regulators as the "Jackal of Wall Street," Rice sparked riots in Manhattan's financial district by perfecting the art of "bucket shop" trading with the sole purpose of bilking the public blind. He was capable of pulling off everything from street corner rip-offs for pocket change to elaborately scripted gambling hoaxes, all while being vilified by old-guard profiteers like J.P. Morgan and befriended by gangsters like Arnold Rothstein. In My Adventures With Your Money, T.D. Thornton has given us a real-life version of The Sting with one of America's most colorful con men at it's center.

Pity the Billionaire

Download Pity the Billionaire PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1250020352
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Pity the Billionaire by : Thomas Frank

Download or read book Pity the Billionaire written by Thomas Frank and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2012-09-18 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at why the worst economy since the 1930s has brought about the revival of conservatism.

Scams Schemes Scumbags

Download Scams Schemes Scumbags PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN 13 : 9781478282037
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (82 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Scams Schemes Scumbags by : Pat Silver-Lasky

Download or read book Scams Schemes Scumbags written by Pat Silver-Lasky and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-09-02 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Would you buy a box that printed money,or accept an unseen acre of land because it was being given away? Would you turn down a quick buck for something just a smidge outside the law––or refuse that super-sized TV because it fell off the back of a truck? Since civilization first spilleda trickle of coins through man"s fingers and placed a value on objects, rapacious rogues have been eager to pick a pocket through swindles, tricks and cons - and for every conman there's a sucker ready to buy into that 'sure thing'. $cam$ $cheme$ $cumbag$ dishes thedirt on some of the biggest fraudsters in history who offered a shortcut to riches. You'll meet the inventive Rhodocanakis who created his ancestors past - and thereby, his own future. Profligate Madame Therese who made millions with only one brick. The Red Baron who took 14 years to prove he owned 17,000 square miles of Arizona and died a pauper. And Bernie Madoff who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. Avarice was at the beginning of their alphabet. You'll laugh at the suckers' mistakes - but are you about to be the next eager victim?

The Art of the Con

Download The Art of the Con PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1466879114
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Art of the Con by : Anthony M. Amore

Download or read book The Art of the Con written by Anthony M. Amore and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Art scams are today so numerous that the specter of a lawsuit arising from a mistaken attribution has scared a number of experts away from the business of authentication and forgery, and with good reason. Art scams are increasingly convincing and involve incredible sums of money. The cons perpetrated by unscrupulous art dealers and their accomplices are proportionately elaborate. Anthony M. Amore's The Art of the Con tells the stories of some of history's most notorious yet untold cons. They involve stolen art hidden for decades; elaborate ruses that involve the Nazis and allegedly plundered art; the theft of a conceptual prototype from a well-known artist by his assistant to be used later to create copies; the use of online and television auction sites to scam buyers out of millions; and other confidence scams incredible not only for their boldness but more so because they actually worked. Using interviews and newly released court documents, The Art of the Con will also take the reader into the investigations that led to the capture of the con men, who oftentimes return back to the world of crime. For some, it's an irresistible urge because their innocent dupes all share something in common: they want to believe.

Street of Eternal Happiness

Download Street of Eternal Happiness PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0553418092
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (534 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Street of Eternal Happiness by : Rob Schmitz

Download or read book Street of Eternal Happiness written by Rob Schmitz and published by Crown. This book was released on 2016-05-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unforgettable portrait of individuals who hope, struggle, and grow along a single street cutting through the heart of Shanghai, from one of the most acclaimed broadcast journalists reporting on China. Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas, and opportunity. Marketplace’s Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighborhood, forging deep relationships with ordinary people who see in the city’s sleek skyline a brighter future, and a chance to rewrite their destinies. There’s Zhao, whose path from factory floor to shopkeeper is sidetracked by her desperate measures to ensure a better future for her sons. Down the street lives Auntie Fu, a fervent capitalist forever trying to improve herself with religion and get-rich-quick schemes while keeping her skeptical husband at bay. Up a flight of stairs, musician and café owner CK sets up shop to attract young dreamers like himself, but learns he’s searching for something more. As Schmitz becomes more involved in their lives, he makes surprising discoveries which untangle the complexities of modern China: A mysterious box of letters that serve as a portal to a family’s—and country’s—dark past, and an abandoned neighborhood where fates have been violently altered by unchecked power and greed. A tale of 21st-century China, Street of Eternal Happiness profiles China’s distinct generations through multifaceted characters who illuminate an enlightening, humorous, and at times heartrending journey along the winding road to the Chinese Dream. Each story adds another layer of humanity and texture to modern China, a tapestry also woven with Schmitz’s insight as a foreign correspondent. The result is an intimate and surprising portrait that dispenses with the tired stereotypes of a country we think we know, immersing us instead in the vivid stories of the people who make up one of the world’s most captivating cities.