You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
You will eventually be duped and or scammed. Read this so that hopefully, this happens less.
I’ve never been the victim of con, but I have conned myself. After reading this book, I know why I kept trying to “make it” in a band despite clear signs to the contrary. It’s the same reason you stay in that relationship. The reason your friend who always seemed so smart and reasonable keeps sinking money into her MLM. It’s called cognitive dissonance + the psychology of sunk costs.
Konnikova explains the psychological phenomena behind the bad choices people make as she breaks down the elements of the con, while telling the stories of cons. I enjoyed the book. I'm also the person who takes notes while watching Leverage and White Collar.
I often got lost in the listing of names, cons, and researchers. (Which is actually a con technique, overwhelming the mark). I wish the editor had suggested giving full names more often instead of pronouns, and more reminders about the people she was referencing. I couldn't keep track.
Big picture wise, I would have liked more zoom out, more reasons WHY we, as a culture, are set up for cons. Not to bring the neoliberal capitalist industry complex into this review, just when we were having a perfectly lovely morning, but our American culture sells us the con of upward mobility every day. No wonder we invented Amway.
I also wish the author had speculated more on how con artists are born. Both the psychology of the con artist and the knowhow. It’s not as if con artists get their degrees from con school, unless you count the Wharton School of Business—hahahahahaha.
But really, how is it con artists know how to find marks, set the bait, tell the tale… etc.? And what’s the deal with Nigeria? Why is it the OG country of cons? Last week I received my first AI-generated letter from a Nigerian who had clearly plugged my academic bio into a program. He just wanted a conversation, y'all. About my McSweeney's piece, "Murder Mystery or Career in Academia?" Aw.
If you're interested in the cons the way I am, you'll enjoy the book. But you have my permission to skim towards the end.
Here's yet another book where I blame the editors. Konnikova had the idea, did the research and can tell a story. For the book to gel she needed an outside eye to let her know where first-time readers would bog down.
Konnikova explains the psychological phenomena behind the bad choices people make as she breaks down the elements of the con, while telling the stories of cons. I enjoyed the book. I'm also the person who takes notes while watching Leverage and White Collar.
I often got lost in the listing of names, cons, and researchers. (Which is actually a con technique, overwhelming the mark). I wish the editor had suggested giving full names more often instead of pronouns, and more reminders about the people she was referencing. I couldn't keep track.
Big picture wise, I would have liked more zoom out, more reasons WHY we, as a culture, are set up for cons. Not to bring the neoliberal capitalist industry complex into this review, just when we were having a perfectly lovely morning, but our American culture sells us the con of upward mobility every day. No wonder we invented Amway.
I also wish the author had speculated more on how con artists are born. Both the psychology of the con artist and the knowhow. It’s not as if con artists get their degrees from con school, unless you count the Wharton School of Business—hahahahahaha.
But really, how is it con artists know how to find marks, set the bait, tell the tale… etc.? And what’s the deal with Nigeria? Why is it the OG country of cons? Last week I received my first AI-generated letter from a Nigerian who had clearly plugged my academic bio into a program. He just wanted a conversation, y'all. About my McSweeney's piece, "Murder Mystery or Career in Academia?" Aw.
If you're interested in the cons the way I am, you'll enjoy the book. But you have my permission to skim towards the end.
Here's yet another book where I blame the editors. Konnikova had the idea, did the research and can tell a story. For the book to gel she needed an outside eye to let her know where first-time readers would bog down.
The book contains interesting stories but strangely enough Maria Konnikova used the same con techniques mentioned in her book.
Con uses stories instead of facts because we believe stories easier than facts - No scientific evidence is provided in the book but we're made to believe this is true.
Finally, the book is organized in such a bizarre way that it's very confusing to follow it. Characters appear for a moment than the author changed the topic completely then after some time they come back but at that point I almost forgot about them ( There are many con artists mentioned in the book but it was extremely hard to follow the whole story). Also there are a some sections that repeat exact same text but with different words. I'm not sure what was the editor of this book thinking? Maybe they were conned to believed that this book doesn't need any editing?
I'm writing this review with 3/10 chapters completed. I will try to read more but my attention to the book is already lost
Con uses stories instead of facts because we believe stories easier than facts - No scientific evidence is provided in the book but we're made to believe this is true.
Finally, the book is organized in such a bizarre way that it's very confusing to follow it. Characters appear for a moment than the author changed the topic completely then after some time they come back but at that point I almost forgot about them ( There are many con artists mentioned in the book but it was extremely hard to follow the whole story). Also there are a some sections that repeat exact same text but with different words. I'm not sure what was the editor of this book thinking? Maybe they were conned to believed that this book doesn't need any editing?
I'm writing this review with 3/10 chapters completed. I will try to read more but my attention to the book is already lost
A very interesting book to read especially with all that is going on in the world today.
This book was an excellent, enjoyable and insightful read. While discussing several famous con jobs in relatively recent history, author Maria Konnikova's real purpose is to step us through the human psychology that leads to us all being susceptible "marks" for the con artist. When I hear in the news about someone being taken for everything in the most apparently outlandish scheme, I now realize that the reporting and public humiliation is only the final stage of a game that began rather innocently, with an act that builds trustworthiness or plays on a common human emotion or trait that draws the mark in and begins a slowly played-out routine. The best cons are not one-off acts, but long, extended campaigns that end only with the destruction of the mark and the escape of the con (or, with the con over-reaching and getting caught). Konnikova explains the importance of setting limits and always making sure you have a way of getting out of a situation. Because we cannot function in society if we are totally defensive and paranoid, being trusting of others is an important trait - one that con artists are only too ready to exploit. Knowing that any of us can be susceptible to falling for a con is the first step toward avoiding being taken.
As a writer, I try to read books that will help me delve into the human brain to try and understand behavior. With this knowledge, I hope to write more believable characters. The Confidence Game was written by an author who truly understands story. Konnikova laid out her book into somewhat of a page-turner itself. Learning the stages of the con made me feel prepared to withstand the threat should it rear its ugly head. Though reading how many people from all walks of life, from the poor to the elite, fall for the con, I'm less sure than ever that I'd manage to resist.
The part that helped me the most was learning that the con is all about the story. Putting the mark into the middle of the story lowers their defenses. We all want to be part of a good story, it makes us feel special. In reading this book, it was so clear that human nature works with the con to make it all the more successful. No one wants to be embarrassed when a nice-looking guy claiming to be one of your former coworkers from 20 years ago re-enters your life. That momentary need to feel liked and included keeps you from double checking if that person checks out. We literally can't help it, we're wired to trust.
When writing characters, the more I understand about human nature, and more specifically how it can work against us in certain situations, the more my characters can come to life on the page. As a human, I am hopeful that my skepticism due to reading this book doesn't prohibit me from making real connections with actual former colleagues. But in the meantime, I'll be mining this book for all the gems it has in it to make me a better writer.
The part that helped me the most was learning that the con is all about the story. Putting the mark into the middle of the story lowers their defenses. We all want to be part of a good story, it makes us feel special. In reading this book, it was so clear that human nature works with the con to make it all the more successful. No one wants to be embarrassed when a nice-looking guy claiming to be one of your former coworkers from 20 years ago re-enters your life. That momentary need to feel liked and included keeps you from double checking if that person checks out. We literally can't help it, we're wired to trust.
When writing characters, the more I understand about human nature, and more specifically how it can work against us in certain situations, the more my characters can come to life on the page. As a human, I am hopeful that my skepticism due to reading this book doesn't prohibit me from making real connections with actual former colleagues. But in the meantime, I'll be mining this book for all the gems it has in it to make me a better writer.
Overall enjoyable but some of her point contradict each other. Slow to start but much better once she gets into the flow
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Medical content
This was rather a dry read. It was interesting but it took a while to plough through. Its quite insightful and contains plenty of case histories and it made me think but it wasn't particularly engrossing, put it that way.