The Con Men : : Hustling in New York City / / Trevor Milton, Terry Williams.

This vivid account of hustling in New York City explores the sociological reasons why con artists play their game and the psychological tricks they use to win it. Terry Williams and Trevor B. Milton, two prominent sociologists and ethnographers, spent years with New York con artists to uncover their...

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Bibliographic Details
Superior document:Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2014-2015
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Place / Publishing House:New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2015]
©2015
Year of Publication:2015
Language:English
Series:Public Criminology
Online Access:
Physical Description:1 online resource (288 p.)
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Description
Other title:Frontmatter --
Contents --
Acknowledgments --
Introduction --
One. Alibi: Portrait of a Con Man --
Two. City Cons and Hustles --
Three. The Con Crew --
Four. The Con Game as Street Theater --
Five. Petty Street Hustles --
Six. Canal Street as Venus Flytrap --
Seven. The Numbers Game --
Eight. New York Tenant Hustles --
Nine. A Drug Hustle: The Crack Game --
Ten. NYPD and the Finest Cons --
Eleven. Wall Street Cons --
Epilogue --
Notes --
Glossary --
Bibliography --
Index
Summary:This vivid account of hustling in New York City explores the sociological reasons why con artists play their game and the psychological tricks they use to win it. Terry Williams and Trevor B. Milton, two prominent sociologists and ethnographers, spent years with New York con artists to uncover their secrets. The result is an unprecedented view into how con games operate, whether in back alleys and side streets or in police precincts and Wall Street boiler rooms. Whether it's selling bootleg goods, playing the numbers, squatting rent-free, scamming tourists with bogus stories, selling knockoffs on Canal Street, or crafting Ponzi schemes, con artists use verbal persuasion, physical misdirection, and sheer charm to convince others to do what they want. Williams and Milton examine this act of performance art and find meaning in its methods to exact bounty from unsuspecting tourists and ordinary New Yorkers alike. Through their sophisticated exploration of the personal experiences and influences that create a successful hustler, they build a portrait of unusual emotional and psychological depth. Their work also offers a new take on structure and opportunity, showing how the city's unique urban and social architecture lends itself to the perfect con.
Format:Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
ISBN:9780231540490
9783110665864
9783110638721
DOI:10.7312/will17082
Access:restricted access
Hierarchical level:Monograph
Statement of Responsibility: Trevor Milton, Terry Williams.