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| The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man
Paperback
Edition: 1st Anchor Books
Author: David Maurer
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: 1999-07-20
ISBN-10: 0385495382
ISBN-13: 9780385495387
List Price: $12.95
Average Customer Rating:
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How to Cheat at Everything: A Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of Cheating, Scams, and Hustles
ISBN-10: 1560259736
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ISBN-13: 9781581602692
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ISBN-10: 159691453X
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Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds.
ISBN-10: 0968713300
ISBN-13: 9780968713303
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
"To study the lingo of the con is inevitably to study the con itself," writes Luc Sante in his foreword to this classic work of urban anthropology, originally published in 1940. "A term such as cackle-bladder or shut-out cannot be properly described without giving a full account of its use, and such an account cannot be illustrated by stick figures." Thus The Big Con is filled with richly detailed anecdotes populated by characters with names like Devil's Island Eddie, the Honey Grove Kid, the Hashhouse Kid, and Limehouse Chappie ("distinguished British con man working both sides of the Atlantic and the steamship lines between, all with equal ease"). David Maurer spent years talking to con men about their profession, learning about each and every step of the three big cons (the wire, the rag, and the payoff). From putting the mark up to putting in the fix, Maurer guides readers through the fleecing--pretty soon you'll be forgetting the book's scientific value and reading for sheer entertainment. (A cackle-bladder, by the way, is a fake murder used to scare the victim off after his money's been taken. As for the shut-out, well, that you'll have to learn on your own.) --Ron Hogan
A great book on the original con games and their players
| Customer Rating: | This is a great look at the cons and the con games they ran. He spent years in the 1920's and 30's gaining the confidence and interviewing these rogues.
Written by Professor David Maurer (a professor of linguistics at the University of Louisville from 1937-1972) "The Big Con" was his magnum opus which served as the source of that great Oscar-winning con movie "The Sting".
The language is wonderful and informative, the basis for much of today's crime and con lingo. This book is a great read.
Professor Maurer also wrote "Kentucky Moonshine", "Whiz Mob" (pickpockets), and "Language of the Underworld", all based on his extensive interviews with such real-life personages as the Sanctimonious Kid, Ocean-Liner Al, and Limehouse Chappie. He was also an extensive contributor, co-author or consultant on many definitive books on gambling by Scarne.
I highly recommend all of his books. They give a wonderful portrait of the world of the big (and little) con in the 1920's thru 40's.
A footnote:
At the age of 75, after a horrible auto accident (he came over the top of a hill in his own lane when an idiot passing illegally hit him head-on) that left him terribly disabled and in uncontrolled pain, unable to work, David Maurer took his own life. A sad ending for a great writer.
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Interesting...
| Customer Rating: | | Interesting overall, especially if you're curious about that lifestyle. Towards the end got a little redundant. Steve Urbauer |
A Fascinating Romp
| Customer Rating: | | For anyone who watched "The Sting" or BBC's "Hustle" and found themselves fascinated, this is absolutely the book for you. Maurer's "The Big Con" is at once a history and an apt analysis of con artists and their trade, but is never dry or boring. It is clear from the work that Maurer spent a great deal of time with his subjects and the work is not lacking for detail. However, more fascinating even than Maurer's explanations and elucidations of the various elements of the con artist's trade are his examinations of their psyches - not dashing, devil-may-care rogues, Maurer shows his subjects to be flesh-and-blood individuals with their own virtues and vices, personal triumphs and personal demons. The book also includes a glossary of slang which is very interesting as well. If you ever watched "The Sting" and wondered "Is this for real?" or are just a fan of a good old-fashioned yarn, "The Big Con" is a worthy buy. Enjoy. |
Interesting, but terribly out-dated
| Customer Rating: | | With original publication in 1940, this book brings to life only the "basics" of the con, important to know, yet, in this modern era of so many new embellishments, woefully inadequate.More specifically: the "legalization" of all sorts of con games is becoming a threat to every business person and consumer. This trend is totally missed.A much better book for the hi-tech era is Les Henderson's, Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, Scams, Frauds. It is a virtual encyclopedia of the Modern Con. |
A reader
| Customer Rating: | | "The Big Con" is an excellent read from several perspectives. It is extremely well written. The pages fly by, which is saying something considering that it is non-fiction. As a 40's period piece, it is a must read for any fan of the crime/detective genre. Lastly, for anyone interested in the "confidence game" or related artforms, it is an esstential primer that considers the con at its most developed level. If the text has any weakness, it is that it leaves one with a craving for more details on the "short con." This may be forgiven because the point of the book is to examine the "big con," but as the author often notes, the masters of the big con nearly always get their start with the short con. |
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