Book Description
Gambling is more popular than ever, with multi-million dollar poker tournaments on television, gambling themed movies like Rounders gaining in popularity, and casinos opening in just about every state of the U.S.
How to Cheat at Everything is a roller-coaster ride through bar bets, street hustles, carnivals, Internet fraud, big and small cons, card and dice games and more. You’ll even find the exact frauds that the NYPD regard as the most common and dangerous today, and learn top tips on how to avoid each one. This inside information comes from Lovell's lifetime of experience in the field, along with additional information from both sides of the law.
Not just a “here’s how the con works” book; this guides you through the set up, the talk, the sell, everything about the con, and how you can be suckered into one. If you think that you can’t be conned; then you are already halfway to being so! There is no preaching here, just a fun ripping ride through a world so few know about. You’ll meet wild, eccentric and larcenous characters and you’ll learn how they work their money-making deeds, all without having to risk a penny of your own money.
Customer Reviews:
Overrated and Boring .......2007-07-17
Not only is Lovell's book twice as long as it should have been, but over 90% of the material covered is so dumb and artless it would only rip off a stoned retard. Remember Lloyd and Harry in 'Dumb and Dumber' scamming that crippled blind kid with a headless dead parakeet? You'll get the picture straight away. In fact, about a third of the book is on clumsy and oafish playing card frauds that wouldn't fool your own mother.
Slogging.......2007-06-27
Would be interesting if it were half as long. The cons were the most interesting; the endless variations on how to cheat at cards and dice and silly bar bets were tiring.
Quite interesting.......2007-05-31
I've made it about 70% through, and I'm very pleased. It's a broader study than The Big Con, and doesn't go into as much depth, but it hits the kind of thing the average person is more likely to see. One thing lacking is the pictures on such things as the false shuffles. I suppose you'd truly need high-speed video to really see what's happening, but more than one picture per shuffle would be a good start.
TAKES A BIT OF COURAGE TO TRY THESE THINGS........2007-05-13
If you are seeking a way to con your neighbor, you can find it here. Also possible to realize a few broken bones in this day and age. Suggest using caution when pulling some of the tricks in this book.
In society today, it may be best to be in great physical condition before you pull some of these stunts.
Most are just fun things to do and would certainly produce some good laughs.
Worthwhile reading, if for nothing more than learning what to be on the lookout for in life. A character that has the nerve to pull these stunts, would be a very interesting person to meet.
Fun informative read.......2007-05-09
Covers a HUGE array of cons/cheats...from bar bets that are a sure thing (for you) to cheating at cards to criminal scams going on today. Detailed descriptions with occasional illustrations to help you understand. I'm giving it 5 stars because I loved it, and to help balance the one-star review from the guy below who didn't even read the book.
Book Description
"How to Burn Down the House" is first insider's guide to restaurant and barroom con games. It contains humorous step by step descriptions of every scam in the business with detailed instructions on how to pull them off undetected.
Two Bourbon Street veterans usher the reader into the hilarious world of America's most overworked and under-appreciated criminal. Take an enlightening tour through the enterprising mind of the "Pump Handle", the enigmatic anti-hero of the service industry. For the first time his ingenious bag of tricks is revealed and examined in detail. After reading the Scam Bible you will never look at your waiter or bartender quite the same way again.
Customer Reviews:
Just for restaurant employees.......2007-01-09
I had been led to believe that this book also included comments about what happens when customers complain about their food. However, it was all about the little scams the wait staff pull to make extra money, usually at the expense of the restaurant. Not having worked in a restaurant, I didn't understand a lot of the scams.
Great Book!!!.......2006-11-14
This book is revolutionary. Eye opening insight to the world of restaurants and the staff that "run" them. It truly is one of the best books that I have ever read, and hysterical. If you have ever worked in the industry, it is a MUST READ!!!
Shocking but very revealing.......2006-11-10
A must read for every restaurant manager/owner and even for restaurant customers. After reading the various ways that servers can line their pockets above and beyond tips, it makes you a much more aware and less likey to get taken. The lengths they would go to pull a scam and their outright audacity were almost amusing, as long as you're not the one getting ripped off.
FANTASTIC.......2006-07-20
This book provided the information I needed to run an efficient food establishment. It also gave me the secrets on what to look out for in the latest restaurant and bar scams. Great authors. A must read.
Short book could have been shorter.......2006-07-13
It seems that the editor wanted to have as many pages in this booklet, so he could call it a book, that he could muster. Large type, small pages, and liberal use of white space still couldn't get it even to 100 pages. The editor even started counting at the title page, so by the time you get to chapter 1, you're already on page 21. I guess the editor took some of the lessons from the authors, about how to rip-off the customers, to heart. I don't read very fast, and spent less than two hours to completely study this novelette.
The authors try and convey a image of rampant rip-offs by a single waiter being possible, but I just don't believe that the scale of their implications are possible. There are a few good scams that may be possible, such as recycling customer checks, but any decent restaurateur has these beat with a good point of sale system, and security cameras.
The references to how bartenders rip-off the customers and store were extremely weak, and probably thrown into the book"let" in order to claim that area is covered. I seriously doubt that the authors ever worked behind the bar, or even interviewed any bartenders before writing this book. For example, they say the bartender should short pour to rip-off his customers. What good is that going to do the bartender? They don't pay for the liquor, the owner does. If anything, over pour so you get larger tips. Duh! Remember, the owner is paying for it, and a customer appreciates and rewards a bartender pouring heavy.
At $12.95 the book is overpriced. It would be appropriately priced around $3.95, provided you always received free shipping. So, for the Amazon rating, if you took $12.95 and divided it by 5 stars, each star is worth $2.59. ($3.95 value / $12.95 cost) * 5 stars) = 1.53 Amazon stars, and we round up to 2 (plus I'm feeling pretty generous right now).
On the positive side, I like the concept of the book, and would like to read one that is more detailed, accurate, and covers more real life situations.
Book Description
Working as a correspondent for
20/20 and
Good Morning America, John Stossel confronted dozens of scam artists: from hacks who worked out of their basements to some of America's most powerful executives and leading politicians. His efforts shut down countless crooks -- both famous and obscure. Then he realized what the real problem was.
In Give Me a Break, Stossel takes on the regulators, lawyers, and politicians who thrive on our hysteria about risk and deceive the public in the name of safety. Drawing on his vast professional experience (as well as some personal ones), Stossel presents an engaging, witty, and thought-provoking argument about the beneficial powers of the free market and free speech.
Download Description
"
Ballooning government?
Millionaire welfare queens?
Tort lawyers run amok?
A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars?
John Stossel says, ""Give me a break.""
When he hit the airwaves thirty years ago, Stossel helped create a whole new category of news, dedicated to protecting and informing consumers. As a crusading reporter, he chased snake-oil peddlers, rip-off artists, and corporate thieves, winning the applause of his peers.
But along the way, he noticed that there was something far more troublesome going on: While the networks screamed about the dangers of exploding BIC lighters and coffeepots, worse risks were ignored. And while reporters were teaming up with lawyers and legislators to stick it to big business, they seldom reported the ways the free market made life better.
In Give Me a Break, Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scaremongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market.
He traces his journey from cub reporter to 20/20 co-anchor, revealing his battles to get his ideas to the public, his struggle to overcome stuttering, and his eventual realization that, for years, much of his reporting missed the point.
Stossel concludes the book with a provocative blueprint for change: a simple plan in the spirit of the Founding Fathers to ensure that America remains a place ""where free minds -- and free markets -- make good things happen.""
"
Customer Reviews:
Great book - really makes you think.......2007-09-11
This is a great book. In his wonderful style, Stossel subjects commonly-held assumptions, common scams, scares, and media lies, the government, and a lot of other stuff to whithering skepticism. Discover why everything you know (or, at least, a lot of it) is wrong.
It's funny how people are willing to be very skeptical of businesses but aren't willing to turn that same skepticism on the government. Stossel manages to do that and argues that the expansion of the government hurts consumers much more than it helps them. A lot of people have this idea of a benevolent government saving us from big, bad industry, but this isn't true at all, as Stossel quiet ably shows.
I'd recommend ignoring the one-star reviews of this book. Stossel answers most of their "objections" in the book, and one of the reasons he wrote this book was to refute a lot of those types of claims.
This book is a must-read for those who are concerned about the expansion of the state. Then again, if you're not concerned, you should definitely read this book, because this book shows that you should be. This book shows how government regulation hurts consumers by raising prices, stifling innovation, and much more. Gives plenty of examples of government stupidity. This book is great reading and provides an excellent introduction to many of the key ideas of the libertarian philosophy of government. This book is very well written and highly entertaining; there's not a dull moment to be found. Highly recommended.
Worthwhile Read.......2007-09-07
As someone who has been in the media for more than 20 years, and has developed a niche in debunking the horribly inaccurate, irresponsible and downright sloppy use of statistics in the media and beyond, this book was a refreshing piece of common-sense journalism. I highly recommend it especially to anyone considering a career, or already embarked on a career, in journalism or any communications endeavor.
Quick and Easy Read, But Arguments are Weak.......2007-03-30
When I first began reading this book, I thought I might enjoy it. After all, John Stossel is (or was) a leading consumer reporter with some excellent credentials to his name. However, by the end of the first third of the book I was already lowering the number of stars I planned to give it.
The first problem I encountered was writing that was simplistic. For someone who is a journalist and who graduated from Princeton, I expected the writing to be more professional. I can't tell whether he "dumbed" the book down or if this is the way he usually writes. Either way, it is a simplistic (and very quick) read.
The second, and by far larger problem, is the argument he puts forth in the book. He claims to be a "free market" advocate, yet throughout the book he stumbles on his own argument. His argument is that in a free market, industry will always do things for the best, since it is in their best interest to increase profits.
Because of that argument, he strikes out against government intervention. One example he gives is OSHA. While OSHA is not a well loved agency, the reason for their existence is exactly to opposite of what Stossel claims. Worker's compensation laws were passed in the early part of the 20th century to get business to stop injuring workers. Industry, however, continued to allow unsafe work conditions and worker injury rates continued to climb. OSHA was the result of the inaction of industry. They didn't do what was right...they did what was cheap.
In another example, he rants about mandatory airbags in cars. He is against the notion of paying for them when you don't want one, and claims that over a roughly 10 year time frame air bags have killed over 200 people. He leaves out how many (thousands?) were saved that would have died had air bags not been present in the vehicles. A short while later, he stumbles on his own argument again when he discusses vaccine manufacturers. He claims that they are going out of business because of lawsuits brought due to injury to children from the vaccines. He then makes the point that, because a few children got sick the number of manufacturers is falling, which jeopardizes the many. The question becomes, which is it? Do you want to save the many at the sacrifice of the few or vice versa?
I could go on for pages, but that isn't really the point to a review.
There are places in the book where I agree with his arguments and they make sense. There are government agencies that are redundant and ineffective.
Overall, I don't think the book is worth the purchase price. I would recommend getting it from the library or a yard sale if you are inclined to read it.
The bravest journalist in the mainstream today.......2007-03-29
You may recall I mentioned that John Stossel addressed our NH Liberty Forum in February (2007) as the banquet keynote speaker. I lamented then that I had not been properly appreciative of the courageous work of this noble contrarian knight of the mainstream media (M2).
He is after all an explicit libertarian (possibly even a Randian). In Give Me a Break, Stossel writes that his liberal peers and audience regard him as "that [damnable] conservative on ABC." To which he counters:
"I'm hardly what I would call a conservative. I happen to think consenting adults should be able to do just about anything they want. I think prostitution should be permitted. I believe homosexuality is perfectly natural, that the drug war should be ended, that flag burning and foul language should be tolerated, and most abortion should be legal."
He continues, asserting that M2 is tilted so far to the left, they still call him a conservative:
"Libertarian is a better term for my beliefs. But the term [is misinterpreted.] Maybe 'classical liberal' is a better term for what I am. Liberals were originally the ones who advocated freedom and tolerance. Not lately."
He also opposes pseudo-conservativism, skillfully dissecting our current Republican/Neocon brand of crony capitalism and its imperial-fascist excesses with his intellectual scalpel.
Stossel is the real deal, a popular media personality-the weekly viewership of 20/20 is somewhere around 20 million-who lays it on the line for rational liberty. And he gets his facts straight. He has to because when he doesn't all the poseurs he has pissed off form a lynch mob calling for his head.
Some of the sacred cows he slays:
. Business regulation by government-e.g. OSHA, the
FDA, the FTC, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
child labor laws, and so on, all radically harmful.
. Scaring ourselves with false threats-Brain cancer from
cellphones, exploding Bic pens, toxic waste cause minimal
damage compared to smoking, obesity, and poverty.
. Expensive government bureaucracies-e.g. the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that wastes
billions. TSA stands for "thousands standing around."
. The organic food hoax-Food from regular farms treated
with artificial pesticides is generally as good or better for you
than 100% organic food.
. Welfare for the rich--Millionaire sports franchise owners
receive $700 million stadiums. Federal flood insurance bails
out rich people, including Stossel, who build on the ocean.
"Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law."-Oliver Goldsmith
...
For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]
Brian Wright
Copyright 2007
Very enjoyable.......2007-02-27
If you like John Stossel's journalism, you'll like this book. If you don't like his journalism, then you won't like this book. The same goes for his other book. I too am glad that Stossel narrated the audiobook himself.
I have been very disappointed with the subtitle of the book, which calls him "the Scourge of the Liberal Media", because it implies that Stossel is conservative, which he is not. It also implies that he is not liberal, which he is... in the original sense of the word (i.e. one who believes in liberty).
Customer Reviews:
Review of "Scam-Proof Your life.......2007-09-11
I found the book Scam-Proof Your Life to be very thorough in covering all catagories noted in the Table of Contents.I especially liked the "go-to" sources for filing complaints. I found, however, that the inserted information in each catagory interrupted the flow of the commentary and disturbed my "train of thought". Overall, there is a wealth of useful information in this book.
An Informative Book... Leand to Protect Yourself Against Scams.......2007-05-28
Scam-Proof Your Life is a really good book with lots of information that will teach you ways to protect yourself against the scams and frauds we face everyday. It seems like we are constantly faced with people trying to cheat us out of our money. This book is both fun to read, and very informative, and will make you aware of some of the scams used by these criminals to steal your money!
Buy This Book.......2007-05-23
What a find -- everyone needs this book! It's filled with pages and pages of great information that can save you money and aggravation. Many thanks to this author.
Scam Proof.......2007-05-20
So informative. I was unaware of all the ways I could be scamed. I hightly recommend this book, very educational for young and old.
Nervously peeping out my window!.......2007-04-25
This book should be required reading for the entire country. A crisp and invigorating read, 'Scam Proof,' is packed with information on topics ranging from Telephone Service (Chap #4) to Identity Theft (Chap #10); chapters 3,7, and 8 are especially informative. The length to which the credit card companies (Chap #3) will go to fleece us out of our money is mind blowing; furthermore, the similiarities that exist between the unfair but legal practices of some of America's most powerful institutions and the ambitious professional conman out to take you is unsettling. Get ready to feel paranoid, because this book is an eye opener.
Average customer rating:
- Informative, and Fun to Read
- Better Safe Than Sorry!
- Poor language makes this book uninteresting to read
- Very informative book
- Crimes of Persuasion A Must Read
|
Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds.
Les Henderson
Manufacturer: Coyote Ridge Publishing
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ASIN: 0968713300
Release Date: 2003-05-13 |
Book Description
In-depth fraud coverage of computer crimes such as pyramid schemes make this crime library of internet crimes the cyber crime location for the schemes and scams that con artists perpetrate.
White collar crimes such as prime bank fraud, pyramid scams, internet fraud, phone scams, chain letters, modeling agency and Nigerian scams, computer fraud as well as telemarketing fraud are fully explained.
This crime report on organized crime topics include credit card fraud, check kiting, tax fraud, money laundering, mail fraud, counterfeit money orders, check fraud and other who's who true crimes of persuasion.
Customer Reviews:
Informative, and Fun to Read.......2006-06-11
A must-read. The author describes in details many different types of scams through which people get defrauded. The book is also fun to read because it shows how the scammers use people's psychological traits (like greed, insecurity, or even loneliness) to get them to part with their money. It's very interesting and you can actually see analogous strategies being played out in TV commercials or even in your daily interactions with people who try to get things from you. I feel much more prepared to deal with life after reading this.
Better Safe Than Sorry!.......2005-01-18
Reading Les Henderson's Crimes of Persuasion is much like observing a series of 40-foot long steel containers being dropped from a dockside ocean freighter onto a flat-bed truck. The impact, over and over again is huge, as the trailer bounces and flexes, as its tires resist the extra weight of each drop. With each page you keep saying to yourself, "That's how they do it!" "That's how they organize!" "That's the come-on!" "So, that's the hook!" We learn all about the players in the game too: the "Fronter," the "Qualifier," the"No-Saler," the "Takeover" Man. We learn all about the mechanics of the games themselves--"clean sheeting," "blind pools," much more. ##### Sometimes it takes simple minds to understand complicated situations. Thank goodness. Because con games are usually very complex--thoroughly thought out, prepared, and worked by brilliant people--we "Marks" (simpletons--the victims), in this case have a chance. ##### With the aid of this book you are prepared for just about anything the con man might throw at you. It's beautifuly Contents-ed and Indexed. Want to know about sweepstakes scams? Right there. Just look it up. How about telemarketing frauds, home equity, elder abuse, home repair, identity theft, internet shenanigans, etc. On and on. On and on. On and on. It's all right here. You only have to look it up. It's a great defensive tool for everyone, in this day and age of get-rich-quick, follow the bouncing ball, smoke and mirrors trickery. ##### What's the underlying premise of con games? Gain your confidence. Pure and simple. Here's just one example: You get a call from a smooth-talking stock "Expert," who is pitching you because he knows you are an investor. He tells you to watch ABC co. stock; it's going up. A week later, after the stock of ABC co. has gone up, as he said it would, he calls you back and confides that the stock of XYZ co. is going down; keep tabs. When the stock drops, exactly as he said it would, you now have a level of confidence in him when he calls the third time. Right? That's the point. You are now "set-up," vulnerable to whatever kind of investment he may now say is desirable. How did he do it? How did he know ABC was going up and XYZ was going down? Easy. He started out with a list of 200 names from the phone book. He was right on 100 of them. He then called that 100 and was right again on 50. You were in that list of 50. Presto! ##### In all, this book is about the most encylopedic tome for consumer protection I've seen, covering the whole gauntlet of cons, scams, and frauds like the proverbial "blanket." The next time you are in Ceasar's Palace, note the small warning sign by the door, "Gambling can be addictive; if you think you have a gambling problem, call the number below to contact Gamblers Anonymous." Similarly, if you think you might have a Susceptibility-to-Con-Games problem, ownership of this book, Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, Scams, Frauds is your "Gamblers Anonymous".
Poor language makes this book uninteresting to read.......2004-08-04
The author certainly knows a lot about the subject, however he fails to make the book readable. Run-away sentences filled with precise numbers, most probably taken out of the sky, results in totally unreadable text. The book reminded me of a really boring free newspaper, except the editor never learned to use a spell checker.
Apart from really poor language skills, some "facts" are really doubtful. For example, on page 9, Les Henderson writes that "... it is impossible to recover anything to compensate their victims because most of their money has gone to purchase recreational drugs...". I have hard time to believe that criminals smart enough to come up with a working fraud scheme cannot come up with a better use of the money then drugs. Then again, what do I know...
I also absolutely hated the way particular facts are mixed and equated with generalizations, such as the bulleted list on pages 33-34, which includes vitamins, promotional items and ... "small trinkets of minimal value compared to the payments made".
In any case, I would not recommend to buy this book unless you are studying this particular subject and have no other sources of information on it.
Very informative book.......2001-02-12
I have read Mr. Henderson's book and found it to be very informative. My elderly mother was scammed and I wish I had read the book prior to the event to help warn her of the signs that she could have been made aware of. This book would make a great gift to anyone who you would like to inform. I have done a lot of research on the "art of scamming" since this event has taken place, and this book is very good in explaining the different types of scams and how they work. I may add that I am one of those people who never dreamed that "this" could happen in my family......sad to say, it happens more than we even know.
Crimes of Persuasion A Must Read.......2001-01-13
I recently purchased a copy of "Crimes of Persusion" by Les Henderson. This book is an excellent, comprehensive collection of fraudulant schemes contrived by clever con artists. Having been conned myself by a now defunct housing corporation,General Development, this book had particular appeal. The short, easy to read sections with catchy titles highlight hundreds of scams. Whether it be pyramid schemes, poetry contests, cruiseline specials etc..., I think readers will be surprised at how many times they, themselves, have actually been deceived. I know I was. Also, I discovered a cruise line scam that a close friend of mine had just fallen victim to. The author's description of the actual scam was almost verbatim to the phone call she had received. To avoid becoming an innocent victim of some smooth-talking con artist, make "Crimes of Persusion" a must read for 2001.
Book Description
The civil rights establishment, contends Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, has made a career off the downturn of America's inner city, promising solutions but offering only a Band-Aid. Peterson's is a platform of empowerment, teaching individuals and families how to tap into the power within, rather than depending on handouts. Chronicling the failure of the welfare system, denouncing the notion of reparations, citing problems within black churches, and even condemning current black "leaders," Peterson argues that the crisis we face is spiritual, and no economic solution will suffice. He skillfully weaves the realms of politics, culture, psychology, and religion into this profound and relevant book.
Customer Reviews:
Powerful!!.......2007-08-15
This book will offend certain groups of people. However, it is very powerful and speaks the truth which the white majority are afraid to speak for themselves. Jesse Lee Peterson has lots of guts to stand up to being threatened & bullied by those who he opposes.
Great Info.......2007-07-26
Mr. Peterson is speaking about things that MANY blacks speak about. The name calling, why? I have NEVER seen him call someone a uncle tom. All the people in the review that name call, may fell insecure about the truth. If you don't like Rev Peterson, continue to hate white people and read Dr. Dyson's garbage. If you want to change your life, then take personal responsibility and raise your standards. Kill the anger, and you will move forward.
It is a great book from a good example of a person who stands up for what he believes in.
Courageous author............2007-01-27
.......Rev. Jesse must have a lot of courage. Just look at the kill-the-messenger posts in these reviews and the name-calling.
I love this man.
He's standing up for the people whilst other black "leaders" busy themselves helping the Democrats keep the people shackled up by welfare in "voter plantations" (aka ghettoes and inner cities).
What a waste of human capital. The REAL black power will happen when blacks realize that moving their votes to the Republican Party will doom the Democrats' welfare agenda for them, and earn them what is truly needed: vouchers for school choice. Real education would be the best "reparations."
A remarkable man with remarkable bravery carrying a remarkable message.
Jesse Lee Speaks Truth.......2007-01-10
At great personal risk, Rev. Peterson speaks out against the current Black leadership in America. His analyses of the problems in the Black community offers such common sense that it is difficult to understand how anyone could not see the truth of what he says. However, the Black leadership, along with the liberal White elites, have a vested interest in not solving these problems. As long as problems exist, these individuals and groups will continue to rake in millions of dollars in contributions, and they will wield power over the Black vote. When Black Americans start looking to themselves for the solution to problems of poverty, drug abuse, out of wedlock childbirth, and violence they will no longer give their power and their money to the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or Louis Farrakhan. When Black Americans take on the responsibility themselves to rebuild their communities through hard work and a return to Christian values, they will free themselves from the chains of hate, victim-hood, and anger that the Black leadership so adeptly instills.
I highly recommend that everyone concerned with helping the Black community and especially Blacks themselves, read this book. It will awaken everyone to how Black leaders promote racism while pretending to fight it. It describes in clear terms what happened that destroyed the family, and caused such chaos in the Black community. It offers the way back to stability, prosperity, strong families, and a healthy community.
It's about time........2006-08-02
I couldn't agree more with the book. It's about time we wake up and stop concerning ourselves with white people and build up our own communities. This book couldn't have been more clear. Although it's written with a Christian perspective, even non Christians can glean something from this book.
Book Description
This fully updated and expanded book is not about how the music business should work, but how it does work. Industry insider Moses Avalon tells it like it is - how producers dip into budgets, artists steal songs, lawyers write contracts in code - and shows you how to survive these and other career-stifling situations. Deconstructing actual major and indie-label record deals, this book dissects each party's involvement and offers perspective on their actual roles, how much they get paid, and what their agendas really are. Engineers, managers, producers, artists, labels and lawyers each take their turn in the hot seat. It also outlines realistic alternatives for newcomers, such as "baby" production deals and vanity labels. This third edition includes: an entire chapter comparing ASCAP and BMI - a publishing first * new insights for indie artists, including the lowdown on digital-distribution scams and independent AandR * information on new legislation and its impact on sampling and other legal matters * new music-industry "family trees" that reflect recent consolidation and reorganization * 80 pages of new material * and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Moses Avalon - Confessions of a Record Producer.......2007-03-11
I highly recommend this book, and I do not recommend many books. I first got the book from my library, and was so interested in it that I purchesed "Confessions". It tells the whole truth about how the music business works, without using legalize. Anyone that wants to make music their business needs to know how the business works. This is the book that will educate you on the full spectrum of the business.
Fake "record producer".......2007-02-24
I met Moses Avalon at a conference. He admits Moses Avalon is a fake name (supposedly his real name is Josh melville). When we talked he spent the conversation trying to get me to go to a seminar-a seminar designed for lawyers although Moses has no law background. rumor is that he was never a great producer and created the personna of moses avalon to make money by selling his book. Kind of a sinner turned saint to enlighten innocent artists. It's worked. He is without a doubt a great self-promoter. I've read the book and there is some good info but other books have the similar info (what they won't tell you about the music business is a great book).
However, I have a real problem with this man turning himself into a fictional character, misrepresenting himself all to make a buck. I asked him why he changed his name. His reply was that he couldn't legally use the wrong-doers exact names without getting himself sued. So I said why was it so important to name names. he said he thought it was important to make sure they were exposed. hmmmmm. so to damage the careers of a few people, he decided to discard his whole identity. That didn't set well at all with me.
Also I have a problem with his negative comments regarding CD Baby. I am not friends with Derek Sivers, but I've heard him speak and met him a few times. This guy works his butt off and has opened more doors for independent artists than anyone else in the music business.
I am not saying 'moses avalon' doesn't have any information to give because he has been around the business and is very smart. However I do doubt his credentials and wonder at the extremes of his behavior. But there are real producers who have written books/articles with actual credentials. I'd rather get their advice.
A little too dry for my taste.......2006-11-10
I`m not saying this is a bad book but it is a little on the dry side. The stories are supposedly fact but there seems too be a little too much of the same thing going on so the book could have been 1/2 the length.
Excellent Quality........2006-07-27
Very good book. Extremely pleased with the vast knowledge packed into it. Helpful tips and anectdotes throughout.
Confessions of a reviewer! Classic!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-07-03
I confess this is an excellent buy and will change your life forever. As soon as I bought the book I could not put it down I read it from top to bottom non-stop. This book is an easy read and very applicable. I highly recommend this book to gain greater insights in the Music business or any business. It was a great buy along with a couple of manuals I purchased from Musicbrains.net entitled the The Case of the M.P.
Book Description
Once I hear the clatter of chips I almost go into convulsions,” said Dostoyevsky, while Anatole France wrote, “The gambler is driven by the fascination of danger at the bottom of all great passions.” The characters the reader meets in Players—chess grand masters, poolroom hustlers, or street-hardened practitioners of the short con—are all alike propelled by the ecstasy of risk. “The stake is money,” France wrote, “in other words, immediate, infinite possibilities.” In fact, as the reader hooks up with David Mamet in the poker room and meets Damon Runyon’s Bookie Bob, Saul Bellow’s immortal Yellow Kid, and learns from Herbert Asbury about the antics of Izzy and Moe, and from David Maurer about the discreet charm of the confidence man, Walter Tevis on Fast Eddie Felson and Minnesota Fats on the seductions of nineteenth-century gambling dens, high lives and low will merge and the world of gambler and con-artist will blur. Selected writings by Jorge Luis Borges, Hunter S. Thompson, Nick Tosches, and many others are featured.
Customer Reviews:
Lovers of all things shady and cool look no further!.......2003-01-19
There's a lot to love in this sumptous serving of conartistry and viliany. Lovers of "Gangs of New York" and "Catch Me if You Can" will find pieces by Herbert Asbury (author of Gangs) and Frank Abaganale (author of Catch me); lovers of 19th century lit will find the Russian and French masters; and lovers of the down and dirty will dig the pieces by David mamet, Nick Ppileggi. JOhn Ridley and Nick Tosches. Mr Geno Zanetti does it again!
SUPER COOL AND VERY, VERY ENTERTAINING.......2003-01-18
This baroque , shady and very entertaining book is an epic tour of the gilded and subterrean world of con men, hustlers and gamblers. What surprised me about this book is despite the narcissism and aggression of many of the characters portrayed here, they (and the book) have a artistic and poetic pedigree too. A lot of great writers are in this book --Borges, Baudelaire, Dostoevsky, Luc Sante, Runyon, Brecht, Saul Bellow, Nick Pilegg,i. Hunter Thompson, David Mamet, Nick Tosches and Martin Amis. BUt for my money, the gem or the jewel in the crown is John Molyneux's mini-memoir of gambling in London in the sixties, which, apparently, is a piece written especially for the book.
Amazon.com
Parnell Hall's Scam proves once and for all that murder can be funny--as well as mind-boggling. The charming hero of Hall's series of mysteries is Stanley Hastings, a nonviolent, slightly neurotic investigator who pays the rent by working for a New York negligence lawyer. When one of Stanley's clients claim he's being set up by one of the partners in an investment firm, the erstwhile PI doesn't take him seriously--until the bodies pile up and Stanley falls under suspicion of murder.
Hall performs miraculous feats in the course of this rollicking tale: he constructs a remarkably labyrinthine plot and manages to tie off all the loose ends while maintaining a madcap pace marked by hilarious crosstalk and knockabout interactions between Stanley and his cop foil that would do P. G. Wodehouse proud. For crime and comedy under one cover, Scam is a perfect choice.
Book Description
MysteryLarge Print EditionHall is a born yarn-spinner. Erle Stanley Gardner would be proud. And maybe just a tad envious. Los Angeles TimesA forever fresh series. New York TimesThe good news is Stanley Hastings has a real, paying client. The bad news is his client, Cranston Pritchert, cant seem to tell him anything more than that hes being set up. And after some initial sleuthing to try to unravel the alleged set-up, all the clues point toward Pritchert himself! Suddenly the players in the mystery are falling like dominoes and the police decide that Stanley Hastings is the one to blame. Hastings had better investigate as if his life depended on it . . .
Customer Reviews:
Underrated humorous mystery series.......2000-09-03
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but Stanley Hastings -- Parnell Hall's New York private investigator -- is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, if you know what I mean. But he is the funniest p.i. in mysteries today.
Don't misunderstand me. Hastings has enough brains to handle his job, which mostly involves recruiting accident victims for the attorney he works for. But when it comes to a real case, the reactions of the people who know him -- his boss, Richard Rosenberg, his short-suffering wife, Alice (who loves him, but doesn't take as a personal insult his lack of mental acuity) and his contact on the police force, Sgt. MacAuliff -- all respond in the same way: "Somebody hired you?"
In "Scam," Hall's 12th book, Hastings is hired by a man who chatted up a girl in a bar, and woke up hours later on the street. The man feels he is being set up, but he doesn't know by whom or why. Hastings finds the girl, but that is the last easy thing that happens, as New York's most hapless detective bumbles into a scheme involving a company's proxy fight and Hastings becomes suspect number one in three murders.
Hall's books are characterized by dialog-friendly writing and tight plotting, and the shaggy-dog feel of "Scam" is funny as it is clever. Stanley, too, can be a kick to watch working. While he's an easy target, he's also decent and honorable, worrying as much as Nintendo's moral effect on his son as the three murder charges have on him. Despite the humiliation and ribbing he receives, he presses onward, which makes him -- surprise, surprise! -- an admirable figure. While waiting for the refrigerator light to go on inside Hastings' head, Hall throws in enough plot twists and genial insults to keep the reader's attention until the inevitable and satisfying finish.
lighthearted,funny and entertaining.......1998-12-06
I have read all of Parnell Hall's Stanley Hastings mysteries. Scam lives up to his reputation as a funny, creative and inventive writer. The plot is so well-written that there are no loose ends at all-the entire Scam is like a sting operation. Ihope Mr. Hall's characters lives on and on
Another fascinating Stanley Hastings mystery drama.......1997-03-14
Cranston Pritchert hires New York private investigator Stanley Hastings to learn more about a woman he recently met in a singles bar, one who may be used to hurt him at his job at the Philip Greenberg Investment Company. Stanley thinks the story is full of holes, but Cranston is a paying customer and that is more important than indulging in one's pride of being used. Stanley accepts the case and starts to investigate who the woman is and why someone at Cranston's firm would want to set the man up to take a fall.
..... Stanley eventually identifies Cranston's singles pick up, but also finds a corpse. Soon other people involved in the case are also murdered. Stanley is framed by a rogue cop and arrested as the evidence against him piles up. Out on bail, he knows he better uncover the identity of the real killer before he is legally fried or locked away for several lifetimes.
..... SCAM will remind the reader of the classic Newman-Redford film, THE STING. It is just as entertaining with several twists to the story line and great characters providing a feel for the City. Especially interesting is Stanley, who proved he could act when he had to pull off the big SCAM. Parnell Hall scores big time with this humorous tale just as he always does.
.....Harriet Klausner
Book Description
How to spot and avoid healthcare scams, medical frauds, and quackery, from the local physician to the major healthcare providers and drug manufacturers. A shocking and unnerving work, MediScams blows the whistle on healthcare professionals hawking scientifically proven treatments that turn out to be fradulent.
Customer Reviews:
Good intro for the unaware.......2002-06-17
Chuck Whitlock begins with a horrific tale about John Ronald "Butcher" Brown, whom he dubs "America's worst doctor." Dr. Brown comes to final light in 1998 after butchering an amputation job in a National City, California hotel room. The victim, 79-year-old Philip Bondy, was found dead with blood everywhere and his face "frozen in a twisted mask of pain." (p. 24) Turns out that Bondy was just a stand-in for his Jungian shrink, one Dr. Gregg Furth who first sought the operation for himself. It seems that both he and his patient suffered from "a fetish or paraphilia known as apotemnophilia." Whitlock explains: "The fetish is also referred to as a self-demand amputation, and involves primarily men who wish to have amputation of a lower extremity for psychological and sometimes sexual reasons. Dr. Furth stated he had been aware of wanting his own leg removed since his early childhood." (p. 29)
Whitlock, who has appeared on TV's Oprah, Regis and Kathie Lee, Hard Copy, Extra and Inside Edition, follows this with Chapter 2, "A Brief History of MediScams: From Snake Oil to Cancer Quackery." Then he returns to contemporary times and shares what he has found out about "Dangerous Doctors," managed care, nursing homes, "Dental MediScams," etc. He comes down heavily on incompetent and fake doctors and on the medical profession for not weeding them out. Seems that you have to be a combination of Dr. Dracula and the Son of Sam to get the profession to notice that you've gone astray. He also goes after bogus cures and questions the efficacy of some alternative medical approaches. There's a chapter on the placebo effect including some material about the so-called psychic healers of the Philippines. Chapter 12, which he subtitles, "Buying a Pig in a Poke" is on food supplements. Another chapter is on just how botched things can get in the world of plastic surgery. A chapter on nursing homes is alternately titled, "Warehouses for the Elderly?"
All in all this is a breezy read and a good, if a bit stringent, intro into the dangers that face the unaware in medical land. There is a "resources" appendix with websites and a Bibliography (no index).
Buy this for your medically innocent friends and relatives before they are initiated into the realities of medical science and pseudoscience the hard and expensive way.
Mediscams or medibiases?.......2001-11-19
Whitlock examines both "traditional" and "alternative" medical practices with results that are hit and miss. He 'hits' the HMO debacle right on the head, and his discussion of his mother's experience with and subsequent death due to HMO 'mangled care' will certainly hit a resonant chord with many. Unfortunately, his bias towards 'traditional' medicine and the medical establishment is obvious in his discussion of everything from chiropractic care to therapeutic touch. Chiropractors are little more than cheats and charletans, according to Whitlock and his proof that therapeutic touch is bogus? - a ninth grade science fair project. I doubt that had a science fair project had positive results, it would have been cited as proof that an alternative modality works. If you are looking for a balanced, unbiased assessment of both traditional and alternative medical practices, this isn't the book for you.
cool book.......2001-11-17
This book is an unusual combination of amazing stories and very, very practical advice. It is both entertaining while giving excellent warnings and tips on how to avoid being taken advantage of. Some of the information is both shocking and disturbing, but very sound advice. Anyone frustrated with their doctor or an HMO will find it especially enlightening. Some of the examples of quacks literally had me slack-jawed.
Books:
- In the Forests of the Night
- In the Presence of My Enemies
- Innocent Blood
- Killing Grounds (Kate Shugak Mysteries)
- Legacy of the Dead (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries)
- Manchild in the Promised Land
- Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables
- Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road
- Mom and Dad Are Palindromes
- Mourning Dove (Ella Clah)
Books Index
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