Download or read book Fraudsters and Charlatans written by Linda Stratmann and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1817 a young woman of exotic appearance was found wandering near Bristol. She spoke in a language that no one could understand except, seemingly, a Portuguese sailor. He claimed that she was a Sumatran princess from the island of Javasu. Princess Caraboo, as she was known, became a national celebrity and lived in a grand style, entertaining many distinguished visitors. A few weeks later, however, she was exposed as Mary Baker, the daughter of a cobbler from Devonshire. Mary's deception is one of several intriguing stories of nineteenth-century fraudsters brought to light in Linda Stratmann's entertaining look at some of history's greatest rogues. From bankers who forged share certificates, ruining hundreds of small investors, to 'Louis de Rougemont' whose tales of high adventure branded him The Greatest Liar on Earth', these riveting tales of true crime expose the seedy side of life in which corruption, avarice and scandal hold sway.

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.

Download or read book Don t Fall For It written by Ben Carlson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn financial and business lessons from some of the biggest frauds in history Why does financial fraud persist? History is full of sensational financial frauds and scams. Enron was forced to declare bankruptcy after allegations of massive accounting fraud, wiping out $78 billion in stock market value. Bernie Madoff, the largest individual fraudster in history, built a $65 billion Ponzi scheme that ultimately resulted in his being sentenced to 150 years in prison. People from all walks of life have been scammed out of their money: French and British nobility looking to get rich quickly, farmers looking for a miracle cure for their health ailments, several professional athletes, and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. No one is immune from getting deceived when money is involved. Don’t Fall For It is a fascinating look into some of the biggest financial frauds and scams ever. This compelling book explores specific instances of financial fraud as well as some of the most successful charlatans and hucksters of all-time. Sharing lessons that apply to business, money management, and investing, author Ben Carlson answers questions such as: Why do even the most intelligent among us get taken advantage of in financial scams? What make fraudsters successful? Why is it often harder to stay rich than to get rich? Each chapter in examines different frauds, perpetrators, or victims of scams. These real-life stories include anecdotes about how these frauds were carried out and discussions of what can be learned from these events. This engaging book: Explores the business and financial lessons drawn from some of history’s biggest frauds Describes the conditions under which fraud tends to work best Explains how people can avoid being scammed out of their money Suggests practical steps to reduce financial fraud in the future Don’t Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams is filled with engrossing real-life stories and valuable insights, written for finance professionals, investors, and general interest readers alike.

Download or read book Cheats Charlatans and Chicanery written by Andreas Schroeder and published by M&S. This book was released on 1997 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1988, Andreas Schroeder has been a regular contributor to CBC-Radio's "Basic Black," entertaining listeners with outrageous - and always very funny - tales of daring scams and rip-offs. In "Scams, Scandals, and Skulduggery (1996), he collected seventeen of the stories that received the greatest listener response. Now, in "Cheats, Charlatans, and Chicanery, he has done it again, collecting another seventeen of his best tales of knavish frauds and thefts, carried out by ingenious - and often lovable - rogues. Stories Include: "Getting Naked for Big Bucks: How a bevy of disgruntled writers got together to pen a steamy bestseller called "Naked Came the Stranger. "The Man Who Bought Portugal: How Alves Reis planned to take over the Bank of Portugal - with its own money. "Stuff and Nonsense at the Ends of the Earth: How explorers Peary, Cook, and Byrd bluffed their way into the history books. "Impersonating Roger: How butcher's son Arthur Orton became an unlikely celebrity in Victorian England as "The Tichborne Claimant." Once again, Andreas Schroeder tells his wonderfully wicked tales with the sly and deadpan humour that his many fans will recognize - and that new readers are sure to enjoy.

Download or read book Charlatan written by Pope Brock and published by Crown. This book was released on 2008-02-05 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiration for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival documentary, NUTS!. “An extraordinary saga of the most dangerous quack of all time...entrancing” –USA Today In 1917, John R. Brinkley–America’s most brazen con man–introduced an outlandish surgical method for restoring fading male virility. It was all nonsense, but thousands of eager customers quickly made “Dr.” Brinkley one of America’s richest men–and a national celebrity. The great quack buster Morris Fishbein vowed to put the country’ s “most daring and dangerous” charlatan out of business, yet each effort seemed only to spur Brinkley to new heights of ingenuity, and the worlds of advertising, broadcasting, and politics soon proved to be equally fertile grounds for his potent brand of flimflam. Culminating in a decisive courtroom confrontation, Charlatan is a marvelous portrait of a boundlessly audacious rogue on the loose in an America ripe for the bamboozling.

Download or read book Merchant Princes and Charlatans or Makers of Money written by Henry Sless and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a critical analysis of visual images of British and international finance during the nineteenth century. Its focus is on the financiers themselves, contrasting the depiction of the respectable Merchant Princes with the less than perfect charlatans (white-collar criminals) who defrauded investors of millions. The breakdown of trust between financiers and investors that evolved during this period is represented visually in depictions of the emotional response of investors to the uncertain financial climate. Throughout the book a PEARL methodology has been used to critique the images reflecting the impact of any Publisher’s political bias, the Editorial and Artistic techniques used to convey the messages in the images, and the Legal context (especially a concern in countries such as France and Germany where censorship was strict). The book concludes that white-collar criminals were invariably secretly admired in Britain, and rarely severely satirised. Similarly, Merchant Princes were depicted favourably in Britain as members of the ruling elite during the latter half of the century. This is contrasted with the more extreme anti-monopolistic images in the US and the extreme anti-Semitic treatment of Jewish financiers in France and Germany.

Download or read book Charlatans written by Robin Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The explosive new thriller from New York Times-bestselling author and master of the medical thriller Robin Cook. Newly minted chief resident at Boston Memorial Hospital Noah Rothauser is swamped in his new position, from managing the surgical schedules to dealing with the fallouts from patient deaths. Known for its medical advances, the famed teaching hospital has fitted several ORs as “hybrid operating rooms of the future”—an improvement that seems positive until an anesthesia error during a routine procedure results in the death of an otherwise healthy man. Noah suspects Dr. William Mason, an egotistical, world-class surgeon, of an error during the operation and of tampering with the patient’s record afterward. But Mason is quick to blame anesthesiologist, Dr. Ava London. When more anesthesia-related deaths start to occur, Noah is forced to question all of the residents on his staff, including Ava, and he quickly realizes there’s more to her than what he sees. A social-media junkie, Ava has created multiple alternate personas for herself on the Internet. With his own job and credibility now in jeopardy, Noah must decide which doctor is at fault and who he can believe—before any more lives are lost.

Download or read book The Formosa Fraud written by Graham Earnshaw and published by Earnshaw Books Limited. This book was released on 2022-02-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 300 years ago, the island of Taiwan was a topic of hot controversy in London, thanks to a stupendous fraud perpetrated by a Frenchman claiming to have been born on the island. He made highly controversial claims about the life and the history of Taiwan, then called Formosa, and his book on the subject was a publishing sensation in London in 1704. His name, George Psalmanazar, was fake, and he never told anyone what his real name was or where he came from. But his Formosan stories of mass killings of young boys, of people living underground, of elephants and camels and gold mines was for a time widely accepted, including even by the Bishop of London who invited Psalmanazar to teach his (fake) Formosan language at Oxford University. This is the story of one of the great frauds in literary history.

Download or read book The Power of the Charlatan written by Grete de Francesco and published by . This book was released on 1939 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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.

Download or read book Degrees of Deception written by Kevin W. Connell and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-03-11 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Degrees of Deception explains the development and widespread abuses of the for-profit higher education sector in America. To illustrate the scope and degree of wrongdoing in for­profit higher education, readers are exposed to the industry in the same sequential order that students experience it in reality. A few examples include predatory recruitment, targeting military service members, questionable quality of programs, predatory lending, high withdrawal and default rates, manipulation of job placement data, and strategic lobbying efforts to block comprehensive reform. Following this analysis, Degrees of Deception offers bold and unprecedented solutions to tackle the crisis in a way that protects millions of student victims and taxpayers indefinitely.

Download or read book On Charlatans written by Chris Bowen and published by Hachette Australia. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we continue to vote for politicians who say 'I don't hold a hose, mate' or who advocate that we drink bleach to fight COVID-19? Chris Bowen, who was set to be Treasurer had Labor won the 2019 federal election, has had plenty of time to think about what went wrong and about why charlatans are winning in the game of politics. For charlatans, the road to political success is paved with dishonesty, disunity, fake news and empty promises. Selling themselves as a new and different alternative to traditional politicians, charlatans have decimated centre-left political parties around the world but offer no solutions to the concerns of the ordinary people who they dupe into voting for them. Between Trump's disastrous final weeks in the White House, the United Kingdom's total COVID-19 meltdown under Boris and the three-word slogans driving Scotty from Marketing's policies, Chris Bowen's dissection of the politics of charlatanism and his stirring call to defeat it has never been more urgent.

Download or read book The Scientific Attitude written by Lee McIntyre and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An argument that what makes science distinctive is its emphasis on evidence and scientists' willingness to change theories on the basis of new evidence. Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn't settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians' rhetorical repertoire. Defenders of science often point to its discoveries (penicillin! relativity!) without explaining exactly why scientific claims are superior. In this book, Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls “the scientific attitude”—caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence. The history of science is littered with theories that were scientific but turned out to be wrong; the scientific attitude reveals why even a failed theory can help us to understand what is special about science. McIntyre offers examples that illustrate both scientific success (a reduction in childbed fever in the nineteenth century) and failure (the flawed “discovery” of cold fusion in the twentieth century). He describes the transformation of medicine from a practice based largely on hunches into a science based on evidence; considers scientific fraud; examines the positions of ideology-driven denialists, pseudoscientists, and “skeptics” who reject scientific findings; and argues that social science, no less than natural science, should embrace the scientific attitude. McIntyre argues that the scientific attitude—the grounding of science in evidence—offers a uniquely powerful tool in the defense of science.

Download or read book How to Be a Charlatan and Make Millions written by Jim Williams and published by New Generation Publishing. This book was released on 2008-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Any book that tells the reader how to kill other people without feeling bad about it is appalling and immoral. How wonderful!" Nick Webb, author of The Dictionary of Bullshit. The world is full of charlatans, imposing their phony theories and ineffective nostrums on the rest of us, and no one is immune to their charms. Unless, of course, we join their ranks. HOW TO BE A CHARLATAN explains the charlatan's world in ten easy lessons. It explores their psychology and that of their followers, the market for their product and the techniques of selling it, as well as providing practical guidance as to how you too may set about abusing the trust of other people for your own benefit. Each lesson comes with tables containing handy tips on matters such as how to stay ahead of the police and not get murdered, and the arguments are illustrated with examples from history's great charlatans. Indeed there are even footnotes referring to real books written by perfectly respectable authors. Dr. Williams has actually read some of them. "This is a book designed to appeal to your inner vain, greedy, lustful, vengeful megalomaniac. I wish I'd written it." Richard Hugo, author of The Hitler Diaries. Dr Williams is a lawyer, historian, linguist, sociologist and internationally recognised author. He is the founder of the Institute for Applied Charlatanry. He has no criminal convictions and is not currently wanted by the police.

Download or read book Scams written by Andreas Schroeder and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten true stories of some of the biggest scams in history -- both hilarious and bewildering.

Download or read book An Encyclopedia of Claims Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural written by James Randi and published by St Martins Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six hundred and sixty-six entries, along with hundreds of illustrations, on such topics as the Abominable Snowman, astrologer Jeane Dixon, and the monster of Loch Ness expose the cranks, charlatans, and myths of past and present.

Download or read book Telling Stories written by Tim Burgess and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telling Stories by Tim Burgess of The Charlatans is one of the decade's most revealing rock books 'Clear, honest. An unusually frank and well-written rock memoir' The Times The Charlatans. Madchester. Britpop. Taking on the world. Here are the highs, the lows, the joys, the agonies, and the stories of what it's like to be in a rock band, as told by front man and survivor, Tim Burgess. 'Like the best bits of every cautionary rock star tale . . . there is armed robbery and smuggling. There's serious fraud. There are near and actual death experiences, divorce, industrial cocaine consumption and magnificent cameos from Madonna, Alan McGee, Ronnie Wood, Joe Strummer, LA drug dealer Harry The Dog, and Joaquin Phoenix. A minor classic' Q For readers who enjoyed Life by Keith Richards and Bit of a Blur by Alex James, Telling Stories is one of the finest music books of recent times. It's a story of achievement and survival, from London to LA. 'A vivid read' Independent on Sunday 'The Charlatans' frontman recalls the heyday of Britpop and Madchester with endearing exuberance. He's unflinchingly honest about the bad times but also peppers his story with anecdotal nuggets about the pitfalls of rock 'n' roll excess' Metro 'Burgess keeps a level head, a sharp eye and a nice turn of phrase' Independent 'Written with the stylish flow of a novel - light and dark, hilarious and melancholic' Emma Forrest 'For a man whose behaviour borders on the suicidal, Timothy Burgess, the people's friend, is what you call a life enthusiast. He is also mad. It's a much-abused word, mad . . . but he really is proper coo-ee clouds pan-dimensional mad mad' Syliva Patteerson, Sky Tim Burgess was born in Salford but grew up in a village near Northwich, Cheshire. Leaving school at 16 to work at ICI, his real love was music and soon afterwards he was invited to join new band The Charlatans. For twelve years Burgess lived in Los Angeles but he has recently returned to the UK.