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.
