The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
From the New York Timesbestselling author of Mastermind, a compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again
Read more
While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book.
From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Gameasks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.
Liked The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You Shares nonfiction, psychology, science -
The Tell: The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths about Who We Are Shares nonfiction, psychology, science -
Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual Shares nonfiction, business, self-help -
Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome Shares nonfiction, psychology, science
“People who read The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time tend to reach for these next.”
“If you want more of the same (psychology about religion), start with these.”
“If it was the science that hooked you, try one of these.”
“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”
-
The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man
-
The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime
-
The CBS Murders
-
A Disposition to Be Rich: How a Small-Town Pastor's Son Ruined an American President, Brought on a Wall Street Crash, and Made Himself the Best-Hated Man in the United States