The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man

By David W. Maurer

Book Overview

The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called "a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain." "Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat," wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con , one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were "taken off" - i.e. cheated--of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo ( the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send ) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting .

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385495382
• ISBN13: 9780385495387
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Must Have

This is a must have if you watch crime shows or just like to read sociology studies. It's really great, and even though the names are dated and cons have changed over time due to advances in technology, these big cons are still in use and it's important to know about them.

A great book on the original con games and their players

This is a great look at the cons and the con games they ran. He spent years in the 1920's and 30's gaining the confidence and interviewing these rogues. Written by Professor David Maurer (a professor of linguistics at the University of Louisville from 1937-1972) "The Big Con" was his magnum opus which served as the source of that great Oscar-winning con movie "The Sting". The language is wonderful and informative, the basis for much of today's crime and con lingo. This book is a great read. Professor Maurer also wrote "Kentucky Moonshine", "Whiz Mob" (pickpockets), and "Language of the Underworld", all based on his extensive interviews with such real-life personages as the Sanctimonious Kid, Ocean-Liner Al, and Limehouse Chappie. He was also an extensive contributor, co-author or consultant on many definitive books on gambling by Scarne. I highly recommend all of his books. They give a wonderful portrait of the world of the big (and little) con in the 1920's thru 40's. A footnote: At the age of 75, after a horrible auto accident (he came over the top of a hill in his own lane when an idiot passing illegally hit him head-on) that left him terribly disabled and in uncontrolled pain, unable to work, David Maurer took his own life. A sad ending for a great writer.

A reader

"The Big Con" is an excellent read from several perspectives. It is extremely well written. The pages fly by, which is saying something considering that it is non-fiction. As a 40's period piece, it is a must read for any fan of the crime/detective genre. Lastly, for anyone interested in the "confidence game" or related artforms, it is an esstential primer that considers the con at its most developed level. If the text has any weakness, it is that it leaves one with a craving for more details on the "short con." This may be forgiven because the point of the book is to examine the "big con," but as the author often notes, the masters of the big con nearly always get their start with the short con.

They Deserved One Another

The only thing more astounding than the degree of thought, care, judgment and energy these con men dedicated to their dishonest trade is the fall-on-the-floor-laughing GULLIBILITY of some of the victims (marks) they ripped off. Given the plain old greed that propelled most of the victims into the traps they pretty much set for themselves, they absolutely deserved to be skinned as thoroughly as they were. The stories in this book are eminently enjoyable, and they really make you wonder what sort of big con games are flourishing across the USA even as we speak.

"The Sting" was one of the stories taken from this book.

I have been looking for this book for about forty years. I read it originally in the 1950's. When the movie "The Sting" came out I said "that's a dead steal from 'The Big Con'". It was a great read then and I'm looking forward to re-reading it.