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A review by bootman
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
5.0
Maria Konnikova is one of my favorite psychology writers. She has an incredible ability to blend psychology with her incredible storytelling skills. What's funny is that I actually started reading this book because I'm currently writing my next book, and I thought this was going to be about building confidence, but it's about why people get conned. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was the topic because it's actually something that will help me as I write my new non-fiction book.
This is a book that is extremely relevant. As I write this review, it's January 2021. It's months after Trump convinced millions of people that there was a fraudulent election despite no evidence, and just a few weeks ago on January 6th, people believed it so much that they stormed the capitol. I've always been fascinated with how people fall for conspiracies or get conned, and this book explains it all. Konnikova explains the various psychological traps we fall into that make it possible for us to get suckered out of time and money.
I think the most interesting part of this book is how Konnikova explains how we'll never even really know the true number of people who get conned. Our reputation is important to us, so who wants to press charges and admit they were suckered and made to look like a fool? Not only that, but the cognitive dissonance explains why people double- and triple-down even after it's become obvious that they're getting conned. I absolutely loved the stories and psychology from this book, and I really hope more people read it.
2nd read:
This was the first book I read from Maria Konnikova, and I wanted to read it again before she came on my podcast. I love all of her books, but this is my favorite by far. When I first started asking the question, “Why do people get conned?” this was one of the first books I read. Maria expertly breaks down the psychology of how people get scammed by con artists and explains how it can happen to the best of us. She discusses how con artists choose their victims and how they use psychology to manipulate people as well as why they get away with it so often. If you’re like me and watch documentaries about people getting conned or about cults, you’ll love this book. You’ll also love this book if you want to build your defenses to ensure you don’t get conned as well. This is one of the best books on the topic, and everyone should read it.
This is a book that is extremely relevant. As I write this review, it's January 2021. It's months after Trump convinced millions of people that there was a fraudulent election despite no evidence, and just a few weeks ago on January 6th, people believed it so much that they stormed the capitol. I've always been fascinated with how people fall for conspiracies or get conned, and this book explains it all. Konnikova explains the various psychological traps we fall into that make it possible for us to get suckered out of time and money.
I think the most interesting part of this book is how Konnikova explains how we'll never even really know the true number of people who get conned. Our reputation is important to us, so who wants to press charges and admit they were suckered and made to look like a fool? Not only that, but the cognitive dissonance explains why people double- and triple-down even after it's become obvious that they're getting conned. I absolutely loved the stories and psychology from this book, and I really hope more people read it.
2nd read:
This was the first book I read from Maria Konnikova, and I wanted to read it again before she came on my podcast. I love all of her books, but this is my favorite by far. When I first started asking the question, “Why do people get conned?” this was one of the first books I read. Maria expertly breaks down the psychology of how people get scammed by con artists and explains how it can happen to the best of us. She discusses how con artists choose their victims and how they use psychology to manipulate people as well as why they get away with it so often. If you’re like me and watch documentaries about people getting conned or about cults, you’ll love this book. You’ll also love this book if you want to build your defenses to ensure you don’t get conned as well. This is one of the best books on the topic, and everyone should read it.