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A review by apatrick
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
4.0
Accurately subtitled and well researched. Konnikova includes many stories of cons, using them to illustrate parts of the process of a long-con and explain why people continue to be swindled. This is not just a historical overview of the subject -- she conducted tons of interviews and cites related studies. I was impressed by the time that must have gone into creating this book.
As someone with an unfailing optimism about other people's intentions, this was particularly valuable for me to read. It's not really intended as a how-to guide for preventing yourself from being suckered, but it may help do that. As Konnikova demonstrates again and again, though, even when people are aware of the existences of the biases that enable susceptibility to scams, they still fall into the traps that are set for them.
As someone with an unfailing optimism about other people's intentions, this was particularly valuable for me to read. It's not really intended as a how-to guide for preventing yourself from being suckered, but it may help do that. As Konnikova demonstrates again and again, though, even when people are aware of the existences of the biases that enable susceptibility to scams, they still fall into the traps that are set for them.