Gr 6 Up-An interesting survey of confidence tricksters from Charles Panzi to Clifford Irving. Each chapter discusses the life and crimes of one famous swindler. Streissguth relates fascinating inside details of individual schemes, but unfortunately includes some questionable material. For example, the chapter on Jimmy and Tammy Faye Bakker and the PTL Show scandal refers to other televangelists against whom no legal allegations of fraud exist. The inclusion of Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds panic also seems somewhat out of place among this criminal gallery; the famous 1938 radio broadcast was not intended as a hoax and no illegal financial benefits were gained from it. While information on Welles and Bakker is readily available elsewhere, data on other con artists, such as Lord Gordon-Gordon and Oscar Hartzell, is not.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information.
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