{"product_id":"victor-lustig-the-man-who-conned-the-world-hardcover","title":"Victor Lustig: The Man Who Conned the World - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eChristopher Sandford\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Fascinating' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An incredible story' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe period after the First World War was a golden age for the confidence man. 'A new kind of entrepreneur is stirring amongst us, ' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e wrote in 1919. 'He is prone to the most detestable tactics, and is a stranger to charity and public spirit. One may nonetheless note his acuity in separating others from their money.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnter Victor Lustig (not his real name). An Austro-Hungarian with a dark streak, by the age of sixteen he had learned how to hustle at billiards and lay odds at the local racecourse. By nineteen he had acquired a livid facial scar in an altercation with a jealous husband. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat blemish aside, he was a man of athletic good looks, with a taste for larceny and foreign intrigue. He spoke six languages and went under nearly as many aliases in the course of a continent-hopping life that also saw him act as a double (or possibly triple) agent. Along the way, he found time to dupe an impressive variety of banks and hotels on both sides of the Atlantic; to escape from no fewer than three supposedly impregnable prisons; and to swindle Al Capone out of thousands of dollars, while living to tell the tale. Undoubtedly the greatest of his hoaxes was the sale, to a wealthy but gullible Parisian scrap-metal dealer, of the Eiffel Tower in 1925.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a narrative that thrills like a crime caper, best-selling biographer Christopher Sandford draws on newly released documents to tell the whole story of the greatest conman of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristopher Sandford is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. He has written numerous biographies of music, film and sports stars, as well as \u003ci\u003eUnion Jack\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ea bestselling book on John F. Kennedy's special relationship with Great Britain described by the \u003ci\u003eNational Review\u003c\/i\u003e as 'political history of a high order - the Kennedy book to beat'. Born and raised in England, Christopher currently lives in Seattle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 9.3 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51766473326880,"sku":"9780750993678","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/baec2ea1bad05f6fe1a4f20ad81126c8.webp?v=1780293307","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/victor-lustig-the-man-who-conned-the-world-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}