<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A reader
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Textbook for the Mission Impossible TV Show
Review: Interesting study of con games, starting from early (and primitive) set-ups around the turn of the century (1900 that is) to more elaborate operations later. Focus on the lingo of con games, but with many entertaining examples and anecdotes. Particularly interesting are the idiotic repeat victims who, after being conned again and again, keep coming back for more. Lest you think that the book is of historic interest only, many of the (small-scale) cons described therein are still be practiced today. My local Chicago neighborhood newspaper carries periodic reports of victims of the "pigeon drop" con.
Rating:
Summary: Textbook for the Mission Impossible TV Show
Review: Producer and Director Bruce Geller stated that this book was the textbook he used for creating his 1960's television show Mission: Impossible.
Rating:
Summary: They Deserved One Another
Review: The only thing more astounding than the degree of thought, care, judgment and energy these con men dedicated to their dishonest trade is the fall-on-the-floor-laughing GULLIBILITY of some of the victims (marks) they ripped off. Given the plain old greed that propelled most of the victims into the traps they pretty much set for themselves, they absolutely deserved to be skinned as thoroughly as they were. The stories in this book are eminently enjoyable, and they really make you wonder what sort of big con games are flourishing across the USA even as we speak.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool, but Dated and Repetitive
Review: This classic 1940 study of confidence men and their methods sounds pretty cool--and is in a retro-sheik way--but objectively is rather dated and repetitive. While it is strong on the lingo of the time, with its 26 page glossary, it is much less effective in bringing any of the con men in its pages to life. Instead, in illuminating the workings of the main big con gambits, the reader is given a sense of the general traits of con men. Typical of Mauer's writing style is to make the general comment that most con men can't hold onto the cast sums they earn, and then proceed to name all these ones who had. That, and the repetition of certain points and material over and over throughout various chapters is rather annoying. That said, the actual detailing of the big cons is really interesting, especially if you're into authors like Jim Thomson (The Getaway, A Swell-Looking Babe), David Mamet, and Elmore Leonard. It should be mentioned that Maurer is a bit of an apologist for his subjects.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but terribly out-dated
Review: 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.
<< 1 >>
| 
