Scams Schemes Scumbags: A Light-Hearted Look At Con Artists Through The Ages

Would you buy a box that printed money, or accept an unseen acre of land because it was being given away? Would you turn down a quick buck for something just a smidge outside the law--or refuse that super-sized TV because it fell off the back of a truck? Since civilization first spilled a trickle of coins through man's fingers and placed a value on objects, rapacious rogues have been eager to pick a pocket through swindles, tricks and cons--and for every conman there's a sucker ready to buy into that 'sure thing'. $cam$ $cheme$ $cumbag$ dishes the dirt on some of the biggest fraudsters in history who offered a shortcut to riches. You'll meet the inventive Rhodocanakis who created his ancestors' past--and thereby, his own future. Profligate Madame Thérèse who made millions with only one brick. The Red Baron who took 14 years to prove he owned 17,000 square miles of Arizona and died a pauper. And Bernie Madoff who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. Avarice was at the beginning of their alphabet. You'll laugh at the suckers' mistakes--but are you about to be the next eager victim? For these stories we have dipped into the bubbling cauldron of histories of the great prevaricators, scam artists and grifters of the past and present.