Re: Johnny Hughes romanticises liars, cheats and scum, why ???
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I am kind of tooling around with the start of a new novel that will deal with con men in 1913, 1945, and nowadays. I have ordered several books and am just starting. Some of the great posts on this thread about cons, their criminal victims, violence, and the differences in morals have enlightened me.
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Can I commend to you the following:
- The Big Con -- David Maurer (an academic study, The Sting was loosely based on this book.)
- Confessions of a Sword Swallower -- Dan Mannix (because many cons happen at the Carnival and the two subcultures overlap greatly)
- You Can't Win -- Jack Black -- this book is a tale of hoboes, hopheads, theives and rod-riding yeggs. Set in the depression, although not strictly about con artists, it's the best insight into the subculture of pre-WW2 criminals that I've read to date.
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