Books

Item Description

These books prove that sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.  If you like to know what makes people tick from geniuses to conmen, then this is the package for you.

Included are:

• The Ten Greatest Conmen, True Stories of the World's Most Outrageous Scams by Roger Cook and Tim Tate - From the very first recorded con—the Elizabethan-era "Spanish Prisoner Scam"—to today’s hi-tech online swindles, grifters have become ever-more inventive in their scope, scale, and ambition. This enthralling collection surveys the men who invented the most extraordinary scams of all time. Their stories are remarkable, including the tale of Gregor McGregor, the man who invented a fictional South American country, raised international loans on its behalf, and sold much of its nonexistent land to would-be settlers in the 1820s. Also included are the tale of Victor Lustig who impersonated a French government official and sold the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal; and Frank Abagnale Jr., the real-life Catch Me If You Can conman who successfully impersonated a pilot, a teacher, a lawyer, and a pediatrician while swindling $5 million across 26 countries. This insightful guide unveils how these professional swindlers fooled countless individuals into handing over their cash, and reveals the techniques developed by the police to bring them to justice.
• A Strange Wilderness, The Lives of the Great Mathematicians by Amir D. Aczel - From the internationally bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem comes a landmark publication on the eccentric lives of the foremost mathematicians in history.  From Archimedes' eureka moment to Alexander Grothendieck's seclusion in the Pyrenees, bestselling author Amir Aczel selects the most compelling stories in the history of mathematics, creating a colorful narrative that explores the quirky personalities behind some of the most groundbreaking, enduring theorems.  This is not your dry “college textbook” account of mathematical history; it bristles with tales of duels, battlefield heroism, flamboyant arrogance, pranks, secret societies, imprisonment, feuds, theft, and some very costly errors of judgment. (Clearly, genius doesn't guarantee street smarts.) Ultimately, readers will come away entertained, and with a newfound appreciation of the tenacity, complexity, eccentricity, and brilliance of the mathematical genius.
• Darwin by Paul Johnson - Acclaimed historian and biographer Paul Johnson turns his keen eye on Charles Darwin, the towering figure whose work continues to spur scientific debate.  With his publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin forever changed our concept of the world. While Johnson praises Darwin’s extraordinary skills as a natural scientist and his monumental achievements, he does not sidestep Darwin’s tragic failures as an anthropologist. Johnson argues that by applying his theory of natural selection to humans, Darwin provided a platform for the burgeoning eugenics movement. Lay readers and academics alike will enjoy this concise and unflinching exploration of Charles Darwin, a genius whose discoveries—even the flawed ones—add significant dimension to our understanding of his mind, the era in which he lived, and his everlasting impact on our world.
• Here Comes Trouble by Michael Moore - Smashing the autobiographical mold, Moore presents twenty-four far-ranging, irreverent, and stranger-than-fiction vignettes from his own early life. One moment he's an eleven-year-old boy lost in the U.S. Senate and found by Bobby Kennedy; and in the next, he's inside the Bitburg cemetery with a dazed and confused Ronald Reagan. Fast-forwarding to 2003, he stuns the world from the Oscar stage by uttering the words "We live in fictitious times . . . with a fictitious president" in place of the usual "I'd like to thank the Academy." And none of that even comes close to the night the friendly priest at the seminary decides to show him how to perform his own exorcism.  Capturing the zeitgeist of the past fifty years, yet deeply personal and unflinchingly honest, Here Comes Trouble takes readers on an unforgettable, take-no-prisoners ride through the life and times of Michael Moore. Alternately funny, eye-opening, and moving, it's the book he has been writing-and living-his entire life.
  
  

Item Special Note

The winning bidder is responsible for all shipping costs. This item is available for pick up or delivery in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.