The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Sal Manna (Author)
Key Phrases: video village, ole horse thief, Kansas City, Milwaukee Jim, Big Bruce (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the early 1970s, Glazer, then a college freshman, was looking to score a little grass. Instead, he got ripped off, and to get revenge, he concocted an elaborate sting that would seem too movielike to be true if it hadn’t really happened. Posing as cops, he and a friend, the charismatic and gung-ho Don Woodbeck, set up a major buy and a fake arrest and then made off with the cash. So began their career as scam artists; eventually they became so successful (and profitable) that they were hired by the Kansas City attorney general’s office to go undercover and bring down some really bad dudes. This is a high-flying, adrenaline-filled story with the feel of the movie The Sting, although it should be noted that it doesn’t end quite so happily: Glazer and Woodbeck’s “one last con” backfired tragically. Fans of memoirs set in the world of cons and scams—the books of Frank W. Abagnale, for example—will completely enjoy this one. --David Pitt

Review

A great read. It's the life I would have lived if I didn't care about my reputation. -- Hearne Christopher, Columnist, Kansas City Star

The truth of this story is stunning. It reads like good fiction. Craig Glazer's life is insane, and this book proves it. -- Lewis Black, author of Nothing's Sacred

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602392498
• ISBN-13: 978-1602392496
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #211,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading this is better than going to a movie!, June 3, 2008

By	invisible lasso (New York City) - See all my reviews

From the first page Glazer sucks you into his real-life (crime) drama and you won't want to put the book down until the last word. He tells his story in a cinematic fashion so that you feel like you are right there with him, sweat dripping down your neck, as he takes down drug dealers, fools the FBI, impersonates the DEA and runs for his life over and over.

This book is truly amazing and I have been recommending it left and right. The idea that you can be whoever you want in this world is proven true by Glazer and luckily he lives to tell his incredible tale. The true feat is that with every high of a sting gone well, you can feel the ominous weight of what must be eventual consequences for this modern day cowboy. Read this and be captivated!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glazer's The Sting King!, October 15, 2008

By	Michael & Angela (Florida) - See all my reviews

Last week we were listening to Sirius satellite radio's talk show, Bubba the Love Sponge show, and they had a telephone interview from someone we never heard about - Craig Glazer, the king of sting.

Instantly, we were mesmorized by this man's deep voice and his awesome story of ripping off drug dealers from the 70's thru the 80's, and then even getting to become a special agent himself! C'mon, that truly is a Hollywood movie ready to be made.

But, alas, Hollywood again turns a blind eye to something that could be as solid a movie as other type of lengendary movies such as Goolfellas, Casino, Heat, etc...

What a shame. Hopefully, someone like HBO or Showtime will pick this up for a series, like Dexter or Trueblood type movie-like quality. Keep your fingers crossed.

After the interview on Bubba the Love Sponge's Sirius radio show, the book sales went through the roof. And for good reason! Glazer and Sal Manna did a superb job of transporting the reader back to the early 70's where a young Craig Glazer becomes a modern-day outlaw by ripping off drug dealers after having been ripped off himself in college.

What starts out as some small time robberies and cons, quickly becomes major operations from the midwest to the ast coast and all the way back to the west coast, taking drugs and money away from the bad guys. Glazer and his crazy old friend, Don Woodbeck are colorful and different characters, making the King of Sting a tour-de-force reading experince that never lets up, making the reader stay up til the wee hours of the night reading til the end.

C'mon Hollywood! Wake up! Make this a solid silver screen movie already!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great summer read!!, July 14, 2008

By	Lisa S (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

A friend told me about this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop! Read it in 2 days!! Definately a great summer read!! Highly recommended!