Customer Reviews

The Master Con Man: The True Adventures of Slippery Syd Gottfried

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I know I know, anything a good con man says rings true. In this case, though, there's nothing for the con to gain from what he tells. He goes to jail a few times, so he doesn't present himself as infallible or demonically intelligent. He goes after greedy and corrupt people, but he also goes after honest folks, so he's not trying for a Robin Hood image. He even admits to corrupting his mother into petty larceny and other crimes. It's a rollicking good tale, better than The Grifters (and I loved The Grifters.) And his story, though I think it's true, follows an incredibly well-shaped arc. It reads like a great, awful, humorous, tragic novel, even though it really happened. I couldn't put it down.

Master Con Man is vanity publishing in its infancy. It isn't easy to gain a sense of what Gottfried really is up to -- but there is a certain sense that the story is missing something. First, the narrative is pretty compelling. Gottfried details some imaginative capers and certainly invites understanding of the workings of the scam. That said, the book is neither terribly well-written or well-edited. There's a spin on here, and it is designed to make a case for something (redemption? self-justification? pity?), but the reader can't be sure what. It's also not for the squeamish. A fair read, but not compelling literature.

Incredible, incredible but there the cons are supported by evidence, or at least some of them are. Really enjoyed this book and once I started reading I could not put it down. Brings out the crook in me as it makes me want to try some of the cons out, but I don't think I will!

May be a good read but a travisty of the truth.