A Century of Swindles

The Con Mans Formula: Hope + Fear = Desperation From the Gilded Age, through WWII, America was rife with neer-do-wells with their never-ending search for the next Big Score. Between 1850, and 1950 lawlessness melded with ingenuity, fueled by optimism and ruthlessness: America was dangerous, and buzzing, and where opportunity came to take flight. At anyones expense. The gall and gumption of these hustles strain credulity. Fake diamond fields? War with Canada? Sir Francis Drakes unclaimed fortune? All was fair in the quest for something-for-nothing. The scammers in this volume range from Soapy Smith, the King of the Frontier Con Men, to the eponymous Ponzi; from the undeniably unscrupulous, to the ill and ill-advised. Fans of clever schemes and schadenfreude alike will be entertained by these tales of the rise and fall of some of Americas greatest hucksters.