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The Confidence Game
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time | Maria Konnikova
"Its a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime. Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you cant get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. [An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artistsand the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmenthe Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongsare 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 Game asks 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. From the Hardcover edition.
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review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

What a completely fascinating book! Konnikova looks at con artists, exploring their psychology and what about our own psychology that makes us susceptible to cons. Especially the fact that we each think we are uniquely resistant to being conned! @britt_brooke I think you‘d enjoy this—there‘s a chapter at the end on how this applies to cults.

squirrelbrain Sounds fascinating - stacked! 4y
Megabooks Stacked! Just put it on hold at the library. 👍🏻 (edited) 4y
britt_brooke Thank you for tagging me! Sounds like a good one. #stacked 4y
GingerAntics This sounds so good. 4y
44 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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ashlinisme
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I've been listening to this book for six weeks, SIX WEEKS, and I can not get through it. Is it the author's voice or is it the writing style? It's the same story over and over again; it's not a scientific study of what makes us believe the con as promised. I think I'm abandoning this one. :/

4 likes1 stack add
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JoeFontenot
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"here's the thing about cons: the best of them are never discovered. We don't ever realize we've fallen; we simply write our loss off as a matter of bad luck."

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Britafish
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Pickpick

A must for anyone who loves a good pop psychology book mixed with good stories. In the end Konnikova makes the case that con artists are successful because we want so badly to believe in them. Also a great reminder of how us humans are suckers for a great story.

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catatonic1242
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Mehso-so

It could have benefitted from more stories of real cons (the enjoyable parts) and less summarizing the research of others (the boring bits).