Re: RARA-AVIS: Non-US Writers

Mark Sullivan (ANONYMEINC@webtv.net)
Tue, 28 Jul 1998 00:44:03 -0400 (EDT) Mamet is clearly a fan of cons, also. Besides House of Games, which
James Rogers mentions, there is his newish Spanish Prisoner. It starts
off slow, but once Steve Martin enters things pick up, a definite must
for con game fans, fun to watch it unfold even if you do catch on early,
as you might if you are familiar with various con games. Speaking of
which, there is a good non-fiction book on con games called The Big Con
(1940, but reprinted several times) by sociologist David W. Maurer. It
can be a bit dry, but it contains fascinating information.

As far as Chinaman's Chance, which I recommended, it is layered like an
onion--just as you think you've caught on, it turns out that what you
have figured out is just a small part of a bigger plot. All of the
books featuring Wu and Durant are good. And Thomas has written a few
other books based on cons, All the Fools in Town Are On Our Side, comes
to mind, but I'll have to look at my books to come up with more.

Mark

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