Showing titles in Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions

From Benjamin Franklin's newspaper hoax that faked the death of his rival to Abbie Hoffman's attempt to levitate the Pentagon - pranksters, hoaxers, and con artists have caused confusion, disorder, and laughter in Western society for centuries. Profiling the most notorious mischief-makers from the 1600s to the present day, Pranksters explores how "pranks" are part of a long tradition of speaking truth to power and social critique.

People go missing every day. According to newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, this figure could be as high as 8 million people every single year. While some people are quickly found or return home of their own accord, others simply vanish into the night. Families are left wondering where their loved ones have gone while the police desperately try to put together any clues they come across. While a good number of people make it home safe and sound, others are never seen again.

Get inside and conquer the world of cons. The world can be a deceptive place. There are individuals out there who will do anything to gain something regardless of who they hurt or who they have to deceive. Unfortunately, this practice is only becoming more of the norm.

Elisa had made a habit of calling her parents every day and the 29th and 30th were no exception. That was also the day she moved in and was quickly drummed out by the other tenants because she made them "uncomfortable". Her eviction from the shared room to her own private room must have been difficult for a young woman already full of insecurities, neuroses, and esteem issues. January 31, 2013, Elisa Lam's parents, for the first time on Elisa' "West Coast Tour", didn't receive a call from her daughter.

Mikhail Popkov may be the most prolific serial killers in world history. He led a double-life as a family man with a wife and a young daughter. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Popkov was able to take advantage of the lack of police authority to get away with his most barbaric fantasies.

Just like the majority of California girls, Lana Clarkson wanted to become famous. She had that superstar look and when her family moved to Los Angeles, Lana did her best to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry. She had no idea that an accidental encounter with a world famous producer and mad musical genius Phil Spector would be fatal and end her hopes and dreams of international fame.

To many, the name Carl Switzer doesn't ring a bell; the name Alfalfa, however, does. As Alfalfa, the freckle-faced kid with an unmanageable cowlick, Switzer won movie fame in the Our Gang comedies of the early 1930s. Carl Switzer played the iconic character from 1935-1940, and his popularity surpassed many of the other characters. At the time, no one could've foreseen the tragic circumstances that lead to the end of Switzer's life within 20 years of him leaving the show.

The story of Tara Calico is one of confusion, uncertainty, and sadness. The events of her disappearance are one of the least understood of any crime over the past 50 years. A single Polaroid showing what is widely believed to be Tara ultimately gives her disappearance its most notable name: The Polaroid Mystery.

"Being in the same room with him and looking at him, I realized that one day I would be in the same position as he, facing death. Before it happens I mean to do the things I want to do. I will not end up saying I wish I had." When Sal Mineo said those words about his dying father, nobody could have predicted that just four short years later, he would himself be facing death.

In this audiobook, we hope to examine the sheer range of cases which have enthralled the interested, and distressed those involved for many years. Some of these cases became national stories while others remain private tragedies. In the cases of missing persons, trying to find an explanation is almost as difficult as trying to find the person themselves. So join us on this journey and discover just how morbidly fascinating and compelling the cases of the missing can become.

Dominque Dunne appeared in several films and television series from 1979 to 1982, but was best known for portraying the oldest daughter in the 1982 horror film Poltergeist. She seemed destined for stardom until tragedy struck on October 30, 1982. Dominique was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in the driveway of her West Hollywood home and went into a coma. She never regained consciousness and died five days later. This is her story.

This book details the 20 top conspiracy theories. The book describes the history, the beliefs surrounding the theories, and the reasons for the conspiracy theories. You will learn that some people believe that the government is releasing toxic chemicals into the air and the water. There are also numerous theories about the government and their knowledge of aliens and UFOs.

The tragic story of Natalee Holloway still remains a mystery to this day. The events prior to her disappearance are centered on unreliable witnesses, investigators not following proper procedures, and friends who had left her alone with local patrons. To say that a school trip is never supposed to turn out this way is a monumental understatement.

This is the true story a woman swindled out of a fortune by her famous ex-Confederate-general husband, Philip Dale Roddey. You will find this story nowhere else in material about Roddey but it was splashed across the nation in newspapers in 1874 and followed closely by the New York Times.

'You said I was the perfect boyfriend. If you can prove you really love me, perhaps I can be that way again.' This is the chilling true story of a woman trapped in a devastating relationship as she tries to prove her love – over and over again. Within days of spending their first evening...

London 1901. The city is in the grip of "monkey man mania". Intrepid explorer Drake Patterson has caused a media storm following his astonishing discovery of a frozen ancient man in the remote Himalayan Mountains. This primal man has been triumphantly transported back to England as proof of the missing link in evolutionary theory. The upcoming auction of the specimen causes a stir amongst academics and the board of the British Museum.

On a bitterly cold afternoon in December 1986, a Michigan State trooper found the frozen body of Jerry Tobias in the bed of his pickup truck. The 31-year-old oil field worker and small-time drug dealer was clad only in jeans, a checkered shirt, and cowboy boots. Inside the cab of the truck was a fresh package of expensive steaks from a local butcher shop, the first lead in a case that would be quickly lost in a thicket of bungled forensics, shady prosecution, and a psychopathic star witness out for revenge.

A rash of burglaries in the small town of Lark Point, California has a domino effect on a group of local residents; eight lives bound together by honor, betrayal and love. Tangled like Music rushes through the small town like a whirlwind and creates changes that none could have anticipated. Love, mystery, deception, murder, and relationships intertwine to tell the story of redemption and the unraveling of life's tangles. It's a recipe for a song.

After her mother's untimely death, Clara Schwartz became distant, withdrawn. Her father, a renowned DNA researcher, lived in a farmhouse outside Leesburg, Virginia, where in December 2001 he was fatally stabbed by what seemed to be a ninja-style sword. Police arrested Kyle Hulbert, a troubled teen - and aspiring vampire. Kyle was Clara's friend, one of a circle obsessed with role-playing games.

This audiobook explains the scientific tools and techniques that revealed the century's biggest food fraud scams. It looks in detail at the biggest scams in recent times; drawing on the lead author's extensive experience at the forefront of the fight against these fraudsters, it goes on to explore the arms race between scientists and adulterers as better techniques for detection spur more creative and sophisticated means of adulteration.