Open AccessBook Review: The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History
Author(s) -
Tracy Carr
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
reference and user services quarterly/reference and user services quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.443
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 2163-5242
pISSN - 1094-9054
DOI - 10.5860/rusq.57.3.6622
Subject(s) - miracle , hoax , face (sociological concept) , point (geometry) , history , psychology , internet privacy , law and economics , political science , law , sociology , computer science , medicine , social science , mathematics , alternative medicine , pathology , geometry
All cons require two participants: someone who lies and someone who believes. From the vantage point of someone not currently in the middle of being swindled, one can feel superior to the chumps who fall for obvious cons. But the human capacity to believe and trust is vast, and let’s face it: we all have fallen for something, whether it’s the belief in a miracle cream or much worse—like losing your savings in a Ponzi scheme.