by David Maurer
1940s study of con men and confidence games, during their waning years in America. The author clearly managed to talk candidly with a lot of the principals, and he recounts their society with gusto and sympathy. It’s focused on the big con (as opposed to the short con games that take place in a day), and if you’ve watched The Sting recently, you can see where that movie got most of its plot.
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