Book Review: The con men: Hustling in New York City

• Date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016816684535
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Author: Kim Moeller
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews
107
Williams, T., & Milton, T. B. (2015). The con men: Hustling in New York City. New York, NY: Columbia University
Press. 276 pp. $27.95, ISBN 978-0-231-17082-6.
Reviewed by: Kim Moeller, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
DOI: 10.1177/0734016816684535
This book examines the ‘‘rampant street entrepreneurialism’’ of New York’s informal and illegal
economy. The common thread is the con artist, the ‘‘confidence man’’ that relies on skills of
ingratiation to persuade victims to engage in a scheme that will make him or her money. The
‘‘hook’’ is the victim’s ‘‘larceny,’’ thinking that he or she will steal from the con artist. This urge
ensnares the victim makes the con work and enables the con artist to continue working without
remorse because he or she is only doing ‘‘what the mark would do to me’’ (p. 8). This book should be
distributed to visitors entering the city. I know it would have saved this reviewer the embarrassment
of losing US$20 to a ball under the cup game as a wide-eyed 12-year-old tourist. I observed the game
for a while and convinced myself I had figured it out enough to bet. To my disbelief, the ball was
suddenly not under the expected cup. It turns out that con men work in crews with designated roles
and rehearsed lines that enact an intricately planned sidewalk theater.
The authors are Terry Williams, who has published several books on crack and poverty in urban
America over the past 30 years, and Trevor Milton, who has also previously published on crime-
engaged youth and street life. In this book, they describe the cons and the con artists of New York
over time, from the infamously high crime rates of the 1980s to the world renowned safe city and the
Wall Street scandals from the ‘‘overabundance of derivatives’’ (p. 221) in 2008. Several specific
cons are explained in step-by-step manner. Some are so wild that they seem implausible to both the
writers and the reader. Perhaps the most extreme example is the case of ‘‘Lorena,’’ the landlord’s
worst...