EMPIRE OF DECEPTION: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF A MASTER SWINDLER WHO SEDUCED A CITY AND CAPTIVATED THE NATION
Book ID/图书代码： 00342514B76396
English Summary/英文概要： A rollicking story of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man who kept a Ponzi scheme alive perhaps for longer than anyone else in history.
It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Speakeasies thrived, gang war shootings announced Al Capone’s rise to underworld domination, Chicago’s corrupt political leaders fraternized with gangsters, and the frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of people (who should have known better) to invest as much as $30 million--upwards of $400 million today--in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. When Leo’s scheme finally collapsed in 1923, he vanished, and the Chicago state’s attorney, a man whose lust for power equaled Leo’s own lust for money, began an international manhunt that lasted almost a year. When finally apprehended, Leo was living a life of luxury in Nova Scotia under the assumed identity of a book dealer and literary critic. His mysterious death in a Chicago prison topped anything in his almost-too-bizarre-to-believe life.
Empire of Deception is not only an incredibly rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it’s a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 这是一个集合了贪婪、金融腐败、肮脏政治、不为人知的欺骗、不正当性行为等元素的精彩故事。故事中智慧、迷人的欺骗大师制造了史上持续时间最长的一场庞氏骗局。
这是一个无序而疯狂的时代。而芝加哥是咆哮的二十年代来临之际最疯狂的城市。地下酒吧的蓬勃发展和帮派间的枪战宣告着阿尔•卡彭开始崛起并统治地下世界，芝加哥腐败的政府首脑与帮派人士称兄道弟，人们疯狂地投入故事之中。而这时，出现了一位能言善辩、极富魅力的律师Leo Koretz，他引诱了数百人在并不存在的森林和巴拿马油井上投资了3千万美元（相当于现在的4亿美元）。1923年，他在骗局败露后消失了。芝加哥的检察官掀起了一场持续一年的全国搜捕行动，并最终抓到了Leo。那时，他正凭借书商和文学评论的假身份在新斯科舍享受奢华生活。而他在芝加哥监狱中神秘的死亡又使其传奇人生显得更加扑朔迷离。
本书不仅详细记录了一个人和一个时代，还梳理了历史上各种骗子的欺骗手。Leo Koretz是那个时代的伯纳德•麦道夫，而作者告诉我们，对轻松获得财富的追求是一个永恒的主题。（LYR）
Awards/获奖情况：“以披着羊皮的骗子被追名逐利的检察官追捕为开端；加入了上世纪20年代芝加哥的疯狂局势；伴有优美的文笔和大胆的调查——便有了这部有趣、优秀的作品！”——Michael Lesy，作家
“Begin with a Bernie Madoff, wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing con man, pursued by a power-hungry prig of a public prosecutor; add the great hog-trough feeding frenzy of 1920s Chicago; stir with great writing and enterprising research; and there you have it: A wonderfully entertaining read!” —Michael Lesy, author of Wisconsin Death Trip and Murder City
About the Author/作者介绍： Dean Jobb，获奖作家及记者，国王大学新闻系副教授，被誉为“全国最佳犯罪作家之一”，拥有“敏锐的视角”，之前的6部作品赢得了众多赞誉。他还为多份加拿大、美国报纸和杂志供稿。他在担任调查记者期间曾三次获得大西洋新闻奖。他在调查报道、媒体法律和新闻历史方面的专业知识帮助其完成了这部全新的作品。个人网站：www.deanjobb.com。
Dean Jobb is an award-winning writer and journalist and an associate professor of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has been hailed as “one of the country’s best crime writers,” with a “keen sense of storytelling,” and his six previous books have garnered such praise as “investigative journalism as it should be,” “enthrallingly written,” and “the best book on the subject we may ever see.” Jobb has written for major American and Canadian newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, American Journalism Review, the Globe and Mail, and National Post. His work as an investigative reporter has made him a three-time winner of Atlantic Canada’s top journalism award. A frequent contributor to Canada’s History magazine, he also writes a newspaper column on politics and current affairs. At King’s College, his expertise is in investigative reporting, media law, and the history of journalism--all of which make him the ideal writer for his latest book, Empire of Deception, which tells the incredible true story of master swindler Leo Koretz, who dazzled the elite of 1920s Chicago and then ran away with their fortunes. Visit him at www.deanjobb.com.
Format:GALLEY
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
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