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Duped!: True Stories of the World's Best Swindlers
As long as there have been people willing to believe the unbelievable, people have been duped. In the best storytelling tradition, readers can follow the tales of: • How the Nazis planned to destroy the British economy during World War II by flooding the world with millions of fake British banknotes • How an infamous radio broadcast had American citizens convinced that Martians were invading the country • How one of the 20th century’s most elaborate scams—conducting tours to the lost Tasaday tribe in the Philippines—fooled the world’s media and top scientists for nearly a decade. The author’s fascination with the boldness and inventiveness of the swindlers, as well as their motives, makes for a compelling read. The stories instill a sense of disbelief, amusement and even grudging admiration for these ingenious scam artists who often (but not always) meet a bad end. Accompanied by graphic-style artwork, each tale offers a great escape for readers drawn to true stories presented in a lively fashion.
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
5 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Andreas Schroeder
30 books5 followersAs the “resident Scam-meister” on the popular CBC Radio show Basic Black, Andreas Schroeder spent twelve years reporting on ingenious frauds, swindles, and hoaxes that have been committed around the world. Though the radio show ended in 2002, Andreas’s fascination with the subject continued, culminating in the publication of Scams! (2004), stories of some of history’s greatest tricksters.
Aside from having had one of the world’s all-time greatest job titles, Andreas has been an avid reader all his life and a writer for most of it. Born to a German-speaking Mennonite family who emigrated from Poland to Canada in 1951 (when he was five), he lived for 10 years on a farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, where he avoided farm chores whenever possible in order to spend his time reading. As a boy he wrote poetry and short stories in both German and English. A move to Vancouver when he was 15 introduced him to his own brand of paradise: libraries (free books!), bookstores on every corner, and a burgeoning population of fellow writers. He has never looked back.
Andreas and his wife, Sharon, lived for many years on a mountaintop in Mission City, near the B.C.–Washington State border, in a round four-story tower they built themselves. Today they live by the ocean on the Sunshine Coast with their daughter, Vanessa. Another daughter, Sabrina, travels the world as a composer. True to the West Coast ethos, Andreas enjoys motorcycling, paragliding, and skiing—when he’s not reading or writing, which he is most of the time.
Andreas Schroeder has published more than 20 books. Scams!, part of Annick Press’s True Stories from the Edge series, is his first book for young adults. Thieves! (2005) features ten enduring stories about the cunning plans and daring capers of thieving criminals.
Aside from having had one of the world’s all-time greatest job titles, Andreas has been an avid reader all his life and a writer for most of it. Born to a German-speaking Mennonite family who emigrated from Poland to Canada in 1951 (when he was five), he lived for 10 years on a farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, where he avoided farm chores whenever possible in order to spend his time reading. As a boy he wrote poetry and short stories in both German and English. A move to Vancouver when he was 15 introduced him to his own brand of paradise: libraries (free books!), bookstores on every corner, and a burgeoning population of fellow writers. He has never looked back.
Andreas and his wife, Sharon, lived for many years on a mountaintop in Mission City, near the B.C.–Washington State border, in a round four-story tower they built themselves. Today they live by the ocean on the Sunshine Coast with their daughter, Vanessa. Another daughter, Sabrina, travels the world as a composer. True to the West Coast ethos, Andreas enjoys motorcycling, paragliding, and skiing—when he’s not reading or writing, which he is most of the time.
Andreas Schroeder has published more than 20 books. Scams!, part of Annick Press’s True Stories from the Edge series, is his first book for young adults. Thieves! (2005) features ten enduring stories about the cunning plans and daring capers of thieving criminals.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 12, 2013
I think this would be a great read for young adults--it's vividly written, well-sourced, and combines well-known stories (Orson Welles's Martian hoax of 1938) with obscure ones (Operation Bernhard).
Did you know that the Nazis counterfeited British money in an attempt to destabilize the currency? It might have won them the war if they'd started earlier and produced more fake bills. The counterfeits they made were so good that the British left them in circulation after the war rather than try to find them--a first in the history of counterfeiting.
My favorite story was that of Thérèse Humbert, whom the French called "La Grande Thérèse."
Let's say you live in France in the 1880s.
You're 25, unattractive, lisping, pushy, broke, and you come from a poor family.
Do you resign yourself to life as a spinster?
Oh mais non!
You engineer a spectacular fraud, spin it out for 15 years, marry into a well-connected family, borrow all kinds of cash, buy yourself lots of jewels and three yachts, and start a salon.
You buy works of art by El Greco and Toulouse-Lautrec. You give (borrowed) money to charity. The president of France comes to your house for dinner.
You are a jumped-up, poorly educated ex-servant girl, but nobody minds because you are lively and funny, and you never pretend to be from a higher class.
When things start to go wrong, you set a fire, destroy evidence, and flee the country . . . and most people admire you so much that they think you shouldn't be prosecuted. Vive la Thérèse!
Did you know that the Nazis counterfeited British money in an attempt to destabilize the currency? It might have won them the war if they'd started earlier and produced more fake bills. The counterfeits they made were so good that the British left them in circulation after the war rather than try to find them--a first in the history of counterfeiting.
My favorite story was that of Thérèse Humbert, whom the French called "La Grande Thérèse."
Let's say you live in France in the 1880s.
You're 25, unattractive, lisping, pushy, broke, and you come from a poor family.
Do you resign yourself to life as a spinster?
Oh mais non!
You engineer a spectacular fraud, spin it out for 15 years, marry into a well-connected family, borrow all kinds of cash, buy yourself lots of jewels and three yachts, and start a salon.
You buy works of art by El Greco and Toulouse-Lautrec. You give (borrowed) money to charity. The president of France comes to your house for dinner.
You are a jumped-up, poorly educated ex-servant girl, but nobody minds because you are lively and funny, and you never pretend to be from a higher class.
When things start to go wrong, you set a fire, destroy evidence, and flee the country . . . and most people admire you so much that they think you shouldn't be prosecuted. Vive la Thérèse!
May 31, 2012
I bumped this to the top of my reading pile as soon as I saw it, knowing it was a great candidate for book blurbs as I promoted the Summer Reading Program in 2012.
And, yeah, it's pretty darn stellar.
It's a small, softcover book, and it looks like a comic book. There are portions in each chapter where you need to read a page or two in comic form to understand the plot. But most of it is in traditional print.
Schroeder goes through a bunch of major con jobs, laying out the facts in an engaging narrative. We learn about a fake ancient tribe, fake inventions, fake new works by Shakespeare, and on and on.
Totally fun, the only thing I'd add is some color inside the book. :)
Now, can someone PLEASE write a book like this about D. B. Cooper?
And, yeah, it's pretty darn stellar.
It's a small, softcover book, and it looks like a comic book. There are portions in each chapter where you need to read a page or two in comic form to understand the plot. But most of it is in traditional print.
Schroeder goes through a bunch of major con jobs, laying out the facts in an engaging narrative. We learn about a fake ancient tribe, fake inventions, fake new works by Shakespeare, and on and on.
Totally fun, the only thing I'd add is some color inside the book. :)
Now, can someone PLEASE write a book like this about D. B. Cooper?
September 30, 2021
"Greed drives many scams. But so do need and desperation."
This was a fun and entertaining true crime book that centers around eight outrageous scams. The cases are mostly from early 19th century to the 1970s. I am not familiar at all with all the cases here, so it was really interesting to learn something new.
Two scams that stood out for me were the Tasaday Tribe Hoax who once dwelled on the Mindanao Island in Philippines. Operation Bernhard was another interesting one! I have no idea about this piece of WWII history!
I liked the comic style illustrations and the extra information in the sidebars which was really fun to read!
This was a fun and entertaining true crime book that centers around eight outrageous scams. The cases are mostly from early 19th century to the 1970s. I am not familiar at all with all the cases here, so it was really interesting to learn something new.
Two scams that stood out for me were the Tasaday Tribe Hoax who once dwelled on the Mindanao Island in Philippines. Operation Bernhard was another interesting one! I have no idea about this piece of WWII history!
I liked the comic style illustrations and the extra information in the sidebars which was really fun to read!
January 31, 2013
I really liked the idea of the book.my favourite dupe was the lady in France who said she got a will for 1,000,000 but it was a lot less money
July 2, 2020
My son and I read these stories of trickery and crime together. Highly interesting!
August 12, 2022
I was cruising through the True Crime section at one of the branches of my library, as one does. When this title caught my eye, along with the fun artwork on the cover. I was really excited to read it because, with a quick look at the table of contents, I actually heard of a lot of these "cons".
This book kind of hit the middle of the road for me.
On the one hand, I did learn some really great historic fun facts that I never knew. I loved that this was actually geared for younger readers. And, the little comics and pop-ups throughout the chapter were a lot of fun. In fact, they kept the book from getting completely dry.
However, on the other hand, it was a little dry. While this is a short book, and I figured it would a quick read, it really wasn't. Maybe it was my expectations of the book. I figured this would be a fun re-telling of these stories. Maybe a bit like Drunk History. It was not. Instead, it was something I might read in middle school history.
After one chapter I found myself done with the book for the day. While I learned something new and kind of cool. I felt like I'd just spent the last hour being talked out.
So I was a bit disappointed in this one. I'm glad I snagged it from the library because it has one of those titles and covers I would have snapped right up at the bookstore.
Yeah, didn't hate it, but it was just okay.
This book kind of hit the middle of the road for me.
On the one hand, I did learn some really great historic fun facts that I never knew. I loved that this was actually geared for younger readers. And, the little comics and pop-ups throughout the chapter were a lot of fun. In fact, they kept the book from getting completely dry.
However, on the other hand, it was a little dry. While this is a short book, and I figured it would a quick read, it really wasn't. Maybe it was my expectations of the book. I figured this would be a fun re-telling of these stories. Maybe a bit like Drunk History. It was not. Instead, it was something I might read in middle school history.
After one chapter I found myself done with the book for the day. While I learned something new and kind of cool. I felt like I'd just spent the last hour being talked out.
So I was a bit disappointed in this one. I'm glad I snagged it from the library because it has one of those titles and covers I would have snapped right up at the bookstore.
Yeah, didn't hate it, but it was just okay.
July 6, 2012
Something that I htink about this book is that I thougt that the book was good because this book called DUPED is about how people in the 18th century used scams.These people used scams becuse when they trun broke in money they used scams to get their money.When you use scams all your doing is stealing other people's money.For an example this man named William was writing peoms.He aws so good that the top three poetery writers of London came to William's house to meet him in person.But then William's dad did not like what he was doing.So William did not really care what his fother had to say.Then William left his dad's house and went to do scams for more money for hiself.
Another example would be that this guy owned a circus.He had a elephent named Jombo.Jombo was making that guy a lot of money.But when Jombo had died by geting hit by a train in New York the cirus owner was not making that muth money anymore.So since the circus owner stoped geting money he did scams to get the money that he lost.
PS.The guy that started all of this scams got coaugt scaming.So no in London I think they baned scaming.
Another example would be that this guy owned a circus.He had a elephent named Jombo.Jombo was making that guy a lot of money.But when Jombo had died by geting hit by a train in New York the cirus owner was not making that muth money anymore.So since the circus owner stoped geting money he did scams to get the money that he lost.
PS.The guy that started all of this scams got coaugt scaming.So no in London I think they baned scaming.
August 5, 2012
I found this one an unexpectedly enthralling and quick read. I hadn't actually planned to read it, but flipping through one of the story's caught my eye and I thought I'd check out the introduction. However, the introduction leads quickly into the six stories which are then irresitably easy to read and filled with suspense over how the swindler got caught and their punishment. Each scenario is divided into even briefer chapters which also keeps things moving. I was a bit disappointed that there was only one female swindler but I supose in a world where men have traditionally done most of the doing that I should probably be happy with one. I liked the graphic novel-like interjections- they helped keep things light and fun and moving along quickly. However, I would have liked some actual photographs/primary sources where possible too in order to compare the photos to the comics and would have given it 4 stars had it included this extra information.
July 16, 2014
Tash took it from my stack and ran off into the night. But what a fun premise. I hope we both like it.
***
Once I got it back from her it was a quick read. We did both like it. A fun range of hoaxes, some deliberate frauds, some money-making schemes, some clever, some desperate. Should have broad appeal to lots of kids. My personal favorite was the to-me unknown saga of the Nazi counterfeiting scheme which turned into another Schindler's List. Well, that and the clever French woman who managed to work around an entrenched class system.
I will note, however, that the art doesn't work very well with the text. Despite the graphic-novel look, there doesn't seem to be a script behind the illustrations, so they interrupt the text in weird ways and don't flow very well.
Library copy
***
Once I got it back from her it was a quick read. We did both like it. A fun range of hoaxes, some deliberate frauds, some money-making schemes, some clever, some desperate. Should have broad appeal to lots of kids. My personal favorite was the to-me unknown saga of the Nazi counterfeiting scheme which turned into another Schindler's List. Well, that and the clever French woman who managed to work around an entrenched class system.
I will note, however, that the art doesn't work very well with the text. Despite the graphic-novel look, there doesn't seem to be a script behind the illustrations, so they interrupt the text in weird ways and don't flow very well.
Library copy
November 29, 2012
Why this is great nonfiction:
1. The book is broken in to different swindles. Each one took me less than ten minutes to read. This would be a great book to break into different shorter readings for class instruction.
2. The topic. Tricks and swindles. My eighth graders would have LOVED this topic.
3. Illustrations. It's a great way to sell a book to unfans of reading. The illustrations give great context to the story and the comic panels help enhance what is being told in the text.
My favorite section was on the Nazi counterfeiting of British bills during WWII. It was fascinating.
This book is one upper elementary school and middle school teachers/librarians need to consider adding to their nonfiction collections.
1. The book is broken in to different swindles. Each one took me less than ten minutes to read. This would be a great book to break into different shorter readings for class instruction.
2. The topic. Tricks and swindles. My eighth graders would have LOVED this topic.
3. Illustrations. It's a great way to sell a book to unfans of reading. The illustrations give great context to the story and the comic panels help enhance what is being told in the text.
My favorite section was on the Nazi counterfeiting of British bills during WWII. It was fascinating.
This book is one upper elementary school and middle school teachers/librarians need to consider adding to their nonfiction collections.
February 11, 2013
For this book I liked most of the storys but some wernt that good. My favorite story was the one when they found the lost tribe in the jungle. It was my favorite because I thoght it was the most interesting. My least favorite one was the one were they found all the bank notes floting in the river because it was long and boring. I also liked the one were there were three guys on the radio reading a peice of wrighting from a play. The play was about aliens ataking the earth. I found it funny that in the one about Jumbo the elephant that to calm him down the gave him wiskey,but if they didnt have any the just gave him beer or wine. I gave it 3 stars insted of 4 or 2 because it was not that bad to be a 2,but it was not good enoght to be a 4.
May 26, 2016
This book covers eight stories of deception, from an alien invasion that set many parts of the U.S. into a panic to a man who first wrote and then pretended to discover two original works from Shakespeare, all in an attempt to impress his father.
Some of these stories were more interesting than others, and the book seemed to end a little abruptly, but overall, this is a good choice for reluctant readers. Its quick stories, along with comic-style illustrations, make it a fast and easy read, but it's also one that makes you feel a little smarter afterwards.
Some of these stories were more interesting than others, and the book seemed to end a little abruptly, but overall, this is a good choice for reluctant readers. Its quick stories, along with comic-style illustrations, make it a fast and easy read, but it's also one that makes you feel a little smarter afterwards.
December 4, 2013
My jaw kept dropping every other paragraph during the first two hoaxes featured in Duped. Even Schroeder's account of a hoax I was familiar with, Orson Welles's broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938, held surprises. (And then my roommate had me listen to Radiolab's story on War of the Worlds, which was interesting but kind of grim). Anyway, this was a fun and informative book. I know what I'll be talking about at every party I go to for the next six months.
February 4, 2013
This book was good. Some of the stories were a bit confusing. For example: The story called La Grande Therese Steps Out. My favourite Story was about people fighting over an elephant but the guy who owned the circus he was paying the newspaper to put out fake adds about the elephant so people would buy elephant souverniers so he could make a lot of money. I also like the comics. It was interesting to learn about the scams people pull for money.
November 13, 2011
This collection of stories of famous swindles and cons is an excellent book for the a vast swatch of the Junior/Intermediate population. Students will be saying, "Really?" "No way!" as they go through each event. It helps that is was written by Andreas Schroeder, who loves his material and, as a radio journalist, has an easy to read style.
Get this.
Get this.
January 19, 2012
This is an interesting collection of tales of people being duped. The stories are really quite fascinating. The people behind the scams are very intelligent and crafty. The book can be read as a whole or individual chapters chosen based on their subject matter. I think kids would get a kick out of the stories and the fact that they are true makes them even more fun to read.
March 7, 2012
Short, fun collection of famous swindles and scams throughout history, including the "War of the Worlds" radio play, the stone-age cave dwellers of the Philippines, P.T. Barnum's Jumbo the elephant, and "Operation Bernhard" during WWII. The book is fact-filled but very readable, full of entertaining sidebars and comic-book panels. There is also a useful bibliography.
February 21, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. My favourite story was about Mr.Keeley when he made a fake source of power that was really only pressurized air. I also enjoyed the comics added in throughout the stories. However I didn't enjoy the story about the Tasaday.
May 15, 2012
Funny and quirky short stories about some famous con jobs. Good nonfiction reading for middle schoolers.
May 24, 2012
Wow! The wild things that people, especially rich people, will believe!!
September 4, 2012
This is a fun colleciton of true stories about incredible cons, with great illustrations. I particularly enjoyed reading about the lost Tasaday tribe - a hoax that went on for years!
February 28, 2013
I like this book because there were alot of cool dupes like scams and thiefs. I would recommened this book for kids who like scams
April 22, 2013
Funny who you can trick in sutch a simple way.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews