America's Most Notorious Con Artists: The History and Schemes of Successful Cons in the United States

The art of the confidence trick is a controversial craft that is as old as time itself. In the early years of civilization, unscrupulous folks bottled and peddled assortments of fake cures and potions. Snake oil salesmen aside, charlatans posed as mystical beings with supernatural powers, promising to end droughts and other misfortunes of the gullible with what were in reality parlor tricks and illusions.

Indeed, throughout history, unabashedly brazen characters managed to make careers ou...