"Yellow Kid" Weil: The Autobiography of America's Master Swindler, as told to W. T. Brannon (HC, 1948, $17, which is less than 1/3 the internet price.)
The Yellow Kid is the best known American con man. He was supposed to have made over 8 million dollars. He started at age 17 as a bag man for loan sharks. He then branched into protection rackets, but the good times only really got started when he was taken under the wing of the times's best con men. He sold rainwater as a powerful elixir. He fixed horse races. He sold real estate he didn't own, and stock in companies that didn't exist. He especially liked swindling bankers. He denied ever robbing an honest man, or a poor one. The only times he lost money were when he tried to run an honest business.
He was jailed 41 times, but the longest time was only for 2 years. He ended up with little to show for all his wealth except for some fine clothes he had bought along the way. He retired from swindling when his face became too famous. He would die in 1976 at the age of 100. The movie "The Sting" starring Paul Newman was released in 1973. It won 7 Oscars, and was based on one of Weil's capers. Well, ain't that a wonderful 97th birthday present!
Look for this book on the new non-fiction table. (L-bio)
