{"product_id":"the-big-con-the-story-of-the-confidence-man-paperback","title":"The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDavid Maurer\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eLuc Sante\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,\" wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in \u003ci\u003eThe Big Con\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Big Con\u003c\/i\u003e is a treasure trove of American lingo (\u003ci\u003ethe write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send\u003c\/i\u003e) 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Sting\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid W. Maurer was a professor of Linguistics at the University of Louisville until his death in 1981. His other books include \u003ci\u003eWhiz Mob\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKentucky Moonshine\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Luc Sante is the author of \u003ci\u003eLow Life\u003c\/i\u003e, an acclaimed account of New York's underworld.; the memoir \u003ci\u003eFactory of Facts\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eEvidence\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.72 x 7.98 x 5.28 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 20, 1999\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51755688395040,"sku":"9780385495387","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/cb520937cd9cefe914a7e94e1a5069a2.webp?v=1780065941","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-big-con-the-story-of-the-confidence-man-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}