Download or read book Grifters Frauds and Crooks written by Richard Estep and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2023-06-20 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Power, Money, Sex: The Corrupt Trifecta! This captivating book uncovers the insidious web of deceit that infiltrates every facet of our nation's past and present. Immerse yourself in the stories of 50 of the most audacious frauds, cons, and lies! Discover the dark underbelly of American history as you delve into the gripping pages of Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks: True Stories of American Corruption. From the heights of Wall Street to the heart of Main Street, from the hallowed halls of the Capitol to the battlefields of the military, and from the glitz and glamour of entertainment to the sanctity of science, no realm is immune to the clutches of corruption. Through meticulous research, this riveting account exposes both notorious figures and obscure swindles, including … Bernie Madoff's infamous Ponzi schemes Big Pharma scandals the Black Sox the dark secrets of the Catholic Church Operation ABSCAM the seedy underworld of the Mafia Harvey Weinstein Corruption in the White House the Enron deceit the shocking depths of NYPD corruption Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker the Lehman Brothers collapse the Watergate break-in and cover-up the Clinton/Lewinsky affair J. Edgar Hoover’s abuse of power the Sackler family’s opioid empire and many other dishonest and duplicitous people and organizations!! With more than 120 photos and graphics, Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. In the pursuit of money, influence, and fame, the line between right and wrong sometimes becomes blurred, leaving a trail of shattered trust and broken dreams. Take an illuminating journey into the cons, scams, and shady deals that have shaped our nation.
Download or read book Family Friends and Neighbors written by Richard Estep and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2024-01-02 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delve into the chillingly true world of murder and deceit. Explore the twisted paths of those driven by dark motives of control, money, social status, and revenge, and the unsuspecting victims who placed their trust in them. Discover the dark secrets that lurk behind closed doors in Family, Friends and Neighbors: Stories of Murder and Betrayal. You will be left questioning just how well you truly know those around you in this gripping true-crime collection. Dive into infamous cases such as Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, the Menendez Brothers, and Lizzie Borden, and also examine lesser-known crimes that will send shivers down your spine. You'll investigate thirty-four shocking tales of mind-boggling acts of violence, such as … The captivating downfall of prestigious attorney and community figure Alex Murdaugh, whose addiction spiraled into a web of deceit, fraud, and murder. The heartbreaking story of Michael and Robert Bever, brothers driven to commit unspeakable acts due to a lifetime of torment inflicted by their own parents. The macabre case of Heather Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, who were entangled in a web of greed and trust funds leading to a gruesome discovery inside a suitcase. The shocking crimes committed by Lyle and Erik Menendez, whose privileged lives culminated in the massacre of their own parents, forever shocking the nation. The accused Victorian-era serial poisoner, Mary Ann Cotton, and the mysterious deaths of her husbands and children. The troubled Florida teen Tyler Hadley and his wild house party that went on while his parents' bodies bled in the master bedroom. The bank vice-president-turned-embezzler Steven Sueppel, whose mounting debts compelled him to commit a desperate act of murder. And dozens of other intimate murders and webs of deceit! Murders committed to escape a marriage, or out of dire desperation, or from an insane separation from reality, these and other less comprehensible motivations fill the pages of Family, Friends and Neighbors. It’s an unflinching look into humanity’s dark side! Read the stories, investigate the facts, and meet the vicious killers who murder the people who should have been nearest and dearest to them.
Download or read book Killer Moms written by Amanda R. Woomer and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2024-10-01 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A murder at the hands of a mother is a heartbreaking deviation and a crime against nature! How can a mother commit such an appalling crime? How can she end the lives of the innocents she so recently bore and nurtured? A mother is supposed to be loving, protective, caring, and kind. She’s supposed to nurture and guide her children from infancy into childhood and adolescence. The very thought of murdering a child—much less their own child—is not only bizarre but perhaps the most disturbing thought a parent could have! Exploring the ultimate betrayal of a mother’s duty, Killer Moms: True Stories recounts 31 harrowing tales of motherhood gone wrong, including … Rachel David, who believed she was married to God Andrea Yates, who systemically executed each of her five children by drowning them Magda Goebbels, one of the most powerful women in Nazi Germany, the propaganda minister’s wife and a Hitler favorite The ambiguous Casey Anthony case, whose acquittal shocked the public Melissa Drexler, aka “The Prom Mom,” who hid her pregnancy from everyone Rosemary West, one of England’s most notorious serial killers Lindsey Nicole Blansett, whose solution to ensuring her children wouldn’t suffer in the future was to make sure they did not have a future Nannie Doss, the “Giggling Granny,” who managed to murder four generations of her family in a killing spree that lasted 30 years Angela Camacho, who helped her husband murder her three young children because he believed they were possessed by witches. An unflinching look into humanity’s dark side, Killer Moms is an unnerving read that delves into the twisted paths, the chilling motives, and the devastating consequences of maternal malice!
Download or read book The Handy World War II Answer Book written by Richard Estep and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2024-08-27 with total page 663 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biggest and deadliest war. Over 50 countries involved. More than 100 million people mobilized. A death toll between 50 to 85 million—half of which were innocent civilians. Six bloody years. Countless atrocities and savageries. If you’re interested in the story and legacy of World War II, then this history book is for you! From the Pearl Harbor attack and the D-Day invasion to the Holocaust and the Manhattan Project, World War II has had a lasting impact on the world. Larger-than-life heroes and villains were minted: Hitler, MacArthur, Stalin, and Churchill, to name a few. The ballistic missile, atomic bomb, radar, and other inventions were developed that came to define modern life. The impact of World War II cannot be underestimated. The Handy World War II Answer Book looks at the Blitzkrieg, Hiroshima, concentration camps, and the rest of the war’s history. It answers 550 of the most intriguing questions about the war, including … Why did Italy and Germany become allies? What was special about the Commando Fighting Knife? What were the secrets of Station X? Who were the Desert Rats? Did the Allies know that the Holocaust was happening? When was the first Enigma machine captured — and by whom? What led to the Battle of Midway? How was the fate of Stalingrad decided? Who were the Flying Tigers? Did Hitler really sleep through the D-Day invasion? What was the biggest naval battle of World War II? Why was Iwo Jima so difficult for the Americans to capture? How did two of the Nuremberg prisoners evade justice? What happened to Emperor Hirohito? Fought all over the world, there were battles and operations, warships and warplanes, guns and bombs, attacks and sieges, soldiers and leaders. There was despair and victory, triumph and tragedy, struggle and sacrifice. Learn all about the conflict in The Handy World War II Answer Book! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this fascinating tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.
Download or read book Lucifer Syndrome Why Malignant Narcissists Are Evil written by Jack Henson and published by Magus Books. This book was released on with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some people are predators. They have been predators all their lives. But when you encounter these people, they will not present themselves as predators. The absolute reverse is the case. They will depict themselves as victims and prey, heroically fighting back against the predators. They will style themselves as martyrs, fixers, healers, gurus, ascended masters, saviors, messiahs. There is no lie they are not prepared to tell. The bigger the lie, the better the lie, as far as they are concerned. Who are these people? They are the people with Lucifer Syndrome. But the world has a different name for them. It calls them malignant narcissists. However, their prototype is Lucifer, who believed himself the brightest and most perfect of all Creation. Lucifer hated and envied God and could not accept God's superiority and brighter light. It drove him mad. It drove him to war. It drove him to his destruction, his immortal mortification in hell. Evil is real, and there is real evil in our midst. Luciferians are walking amongst us, always lying to us, always trying to do us harm. Like Lucifer himself, they adore themselves and think they are God. They want everyone else to kneel to them and worship them, and they are prepared to say and do anything and trample over any and all bodies to get there. M. Scott Peck called them the "People of the Lie", and that's absolutely right. These people are incapable of being truthful. Humanity can now give a name to the worst and most dangerous people on earth – a menace to all decent, moral, ethical people. They are malignant narcissists and they are pure evil. They have no redeeming qualities. None. The human race must learn to identify them and take decisive action against them, to cut out this cancer of evil. The Antichrist does not present himself as a monster. He presents himself as Christ. Never forget that. There are those on YouTube and social media literally preaching that Lucifer is Jesus. Watch out for them. The snake from Eden has come forth again, and its hiss and lies are louder than ever. If we cut off the head of the snake, we can return to Eden. Isn't it time we faced down evil? Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It has always been thus. Adam and Eve were deceived by the shining lies of the first malignant narcissist – Lucifer. We must not be. Like the cherubim with their fiery swords, we must drive out the snakes amongst us, the Luciferian predators, the evil narcissists. It's God's work.
Download or read book Louisiana s Rogue Sheriffs written by Tom Aswell and published by Claitor's Pub Division. This book was released on 2019-06-24 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Serial Killers written by Richard Estep and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2021-04-01 with total page 828 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pain, torment, and torture. Cruelty, brutality, and violence. The twisted psyches, murder. and yes, even the ability to charm people. Take a deep dive into the terrifyingly real serial murderers, spree killers, and true faces of evil! They prey on the innocent with a malicious desire to inflict damage and harm. They hunt and stalk misfortunate victims in the dark, in broad daylight, in quiet neighborhoods, and in the local woods. Their bloodthirst isn't satisfied after their first kill. Or their second. Or third. Serial Killers: The Minds, Methods, and Mayhem of History's Most Notorious Murderers delves into the global phenomenon of serial and spree murderers. This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of forty malevolent killers and hundreds of innocent victims, including such notorious homicidal maniacs as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Jeffery Dahmer, but it also looks at lesser-known and overlooked murderers like Herbert Baumeister, America’s I-70 Strangler; Japan’s “Anime Killer,” Tsutomu Miyazaki; Russia’s “Rostov Ripper,” Andrei Chikatilo; the “Giggling Granny,” Nannie Doss; and many more. It journeys to 16th-century Scotland to meet a clan of cannibals whose existence is still debated by historians today, and to the fog-shrouded alleys of Whitechapel, London, where Jack the Ripper earned his grisly namesake. Along the way, we’ll meet the Dating Game Killer, the Milwaukee Cannibal, the Acid Bath Murderer, and other monsters. Serial Killers also asks the questions ... What makes a seemingly ordinary person stalk, torture, and murder their fellow human beings? Are serial killers born or made? What is the difference between a serial killer and a spree killer? What were the identities of Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer? Was Albert DeSalvo really the Boston Strangler? Is it possible that you could know a serial killer? Caution is advised before entering the alarming world of twisted psychos and sociopaths! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this fright-filled tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.
Download or read book The Longest Con written by Joe Conason and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2024-07-09 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sardonic chronicle of how conservatism turned into a racketeering enterprise – and why Donald Trump became the living emblem of the American right’s moral decay. The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump’s path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him. From the “professional anti-communists” (whose tactics even J. Edgar Hoover despised) to the “populist” grifters of the Tea Party movement and the religious charlatans of the “prosperity gospel” (who provided a pious front for Trump), the right-wing ripoff has remained remarkably consistent, even as personalities change and new technologies emerge: Stir up anger and resentment, demonize political opponents, promise vengeance, and collect donations from the gullible. It’s a highly lucrative game that any unscrupulous charlatan can play, as many have – and they are named in these pages. In an unsparing and often comic narrative, Joe Conason explores the right’s long, steep descent into a movement whose principal aim is not to protect freedom or defend the Constitution, but merely to line the pockets of pretenders and blowhards whose malevolent tactics now endanger the nation.
Download or read book The Big Con written by David Maurer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2010-10-27 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Art of Deception written by Kevin D. Mitnick and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-08-04 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's most infamous hacker offers an insider's view of the low-tech threats to high-tech security Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitive form one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts in history and have spawned dozens of articles, books, films, and documentaries. Since his release from federal prison, in 1998, Mitnick has turned his life around and established himself as one of the most sought-after computer security experts worldwide. Now, in The Art of Deception, the world's most notorious hacker gives new meaning to the old adage, "It takes a thief to catch a thief." Focusing on the human factors involved with information security, Mitnick explains why all the firewalls and encryption protocols in the world will never be enough to stop a savvy grifter intent on rifling a corporate database or an irate employee determined to crash a system. With the help of many fascinating true stories of successful attacks on business and government, he illustrates just how susceptible even the most locked-down information systems are to a slick con artist impersonating an IRS agent. Narrating from the points of view of both the attacker and the victims, he explains why each attack was so successful and how it could have been prevented in an engaging and highly readable style reminiscent of a true-crime novel. And, perhaps most importantly, Mitnick offers advice for preventing these types of social engineering hacks through security protocols, training programs, and manuals that address the human element of security.
Download or read book Bullshit Jobs written by David Graeber and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From David Graeber, the bestselling author of The Dawn of Everything and Debt—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).
Download or read book The Chickenshit Club written by Jesse Eisinger and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2018 Excellence in Financial Journalism Award From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jesse Eisinger, “a fast moving, fly-on-the-wall, disheartening look at the deterioration of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission…It is a book of superheroes” (San Francisco Review of Books). Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed “Too Big to Fail” to almost every large corporation in America—to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Club—an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs—explains why in “an absorbing financial history, a monumental work of journalism…a first-rate study of the federal bureaucracy” (Bloomberg Businessweek). Jesse Eisinger begins the story in the 1970s, when the government pioneered the notion that top corporate executives, not just seedy crooks, could commit heinous crimes and go to prison. He brings us to trading desks on Wall Street, to corporate boardrooms and the offices of prosecutors and FBI agents. These revealing looks provide context for the evolution of the Justice Department’s approach to pursuing corporate criminals through the early 2000s and into the Justice Department of today, including the prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives. “Brave and elegant…a fearless reporter…Eisinger’s important and profound book takes no prisoners” (The Washington Post). Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, The Chickenshit Club provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice. “This book is a wakeup call…a chilling read, and a needed one” (NPR.org).
Download or read book Crapitalism written by Jason Mattera and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling author and ambush journalist Jason Mattera sets his sights on his next big target: crony liberals, including Al Gore, Carlos Slim, Harry Reid, and Jay Z, whose riches come at taxpayer expense. From billionaire business tycoons like George Soros and Warren Buffett to movie industry moguls like Jeffrey Katzenberg and Stephen Spielberg, American liberals are using government breaks and shortcuts to pervert the free market. These “rich bastards” leverage crony connections to bag millions for phony “green companies” that go bust, vacuum public coffers to build glitzy stadiums, utilize little-known tax loopholes to loot $1.5 billion for Hollywood movies, and more. They use government to rig the game in their favor and leave taxpayers holding the bill. And when government gets in the business of picking winners and losers through bailouts and tax breaks, free market competition begins to atrophy. That’s what big government leftists—and corporate Republicans-in-name-only—want to happen. In this explosive, funny-as-hell investigative exposé, Mattera reveals the infuriating schemes that result when the filthy rich combine cronyism and capitalism. Crapitalism pulls back the curtain on a cast of cronyites who make millions taking advantage of taxpayers—and still brag about how they’re looking out for the little guy.
Download or read book Rogues written by Patrick Radden Keefe and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2022-06-28 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing—and one of the most decorated journalists of our time—twelve enthralling true stories of skulduggery and intrigue "An excellent collection of Keefe's detective work, and a fine introduction to his illuminating writing." —NPR “Fast-paced...Keefe is a virtuoso storyteller." —The Washington Post Patrick Radden Keefe has garnered prizes ranging from the National Magazine Award to the Orwell Prize to the National Book Critics Circle Award for his meticulously-reported, hypnotically-engaging work on the many ways people behave badly. Rogues brings together a dozen of his most celebrated articles from The New Yorker. As Keefe says in his preface “They reflect on some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.” Keefe brilliantly explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain, chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black market arms merchant, and profiles a passionate death penalty attorney who represents the “worst of the worst,” among other bravura works of literary journalism. The appearance of his byline in The New Yorker is always an event, and collected here for the first time readers can see his work forms an always enthralling but deeply human portrait of criminals and rascals, as well as those who stand up against them.
Download or read book Nightmare Alley written by William Lindsay Gresham and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2011-04-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon to be a major motion picture from Academy Award–winning director Guillermo del Toro and starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Toni Collette. Nightmare Alley begins with an extraordinary description of a carnival-show geek—alcoholic and abject and the object of the voyeuristic crowd’s gleeful disgust and derision—going about his work at a county fair. Young Stan Carlisle is working as a carny, and he wonders how a man could fall so low. There’s no way in hell, he vows, that anything like that will ever happen to him. And since Stan is clever and ambitious and not without a useful streak of ruthlessness, soon enough he’s going places. Onstage he plays the mentalist with a cute assistant (before long his harried wife), then he graduates to full-blown spiritualist, catering to the needs of the rich and gullible in their well-upholstered homes. It looks like the world is Stan’s for the taking. At least for now.
Download or read book The Confidence Game written by Maria Konnikova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It’s a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you can’t get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. “[An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe” –Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book. From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Game asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.
Download or read book The King of Confidence written by Miles Harvey and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2020-07-14 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "unputdownable" (Dave Eggers, National Book award finalist) story of the most infamous American con man you've never heard of: James Strang, self-proclaimed divine king of earth, heaven, and an island in Lake Michigan, "perfect for fans of The Devil in the White City" (Kirkus) A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Longlisted for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist for the Midland Authors Annual Literary Award A Michigan Notable Book A CrimeReads Best True Crime Book of the Year "A masterpiece." —Nathaniel Philbrick In the summer of 1843, James Strang, a charismatic young lawyer and avowed atheist, vanished from a rural town in New York. Months later he reappeared on the Midwestern frontier and converted to a burgeoning religious movement known as Mormonism. In the wake of the murder of the sect's leader, Joseph Smith, Strang unveiled a letter purportedly from the prophet naming him successor, and persuaded hundreds of fellow converts to follow him to an island in Lake Michigan, where he declared himself a divine king. From this stronghold he controlled a fourth of the state of Michigan, establishing a pirate colony where he practiced plural marriage and perpetrated thefts, corruption, and frauds of all kinds. Eventually, having run afoul of powerful enemies, including the American president, Strang was assassinated, an event that was frontpage news across the country. The King of Confidence tells this fascinating but largely forgotten story. Centering his narrative on this charlatan's turbulent twelve years in power, Miles Harvey gets to the root of a timeless American original: the Confidence Man. Full of adventure, bad behavior, and insight into a crucial period of antebellum history, The King of Confidence brings us a compulsively readable account of one of the country's boldest con men and the boisterous era that allowed him to thrive.
