The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called "a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain."
"Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat," wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on...

Whiz Mob is David W. Maurer's classic study of the world of pickpockets. Similar to his best-known work, The Big Con, in Whiz Mob Maurer explains the colorful expressions and vivid words used by pickpockets and uses them to provide a window into the life and experiences of the professional criminal. Although he is quick to point out that he never had any actual experience on the racket, Maurer spent many years interviewing pickpockets and learning about their way of life. The result is a fascinating look at the work, lives, morals, and dangers of this element of the criminal subculture. Whiz...

'Of all the gifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat, ' wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitively proved in The Big Con.