The Reading Table
Books, films, games & tools
A curated shelf of the finest writing, watching, playing, and protecting around the world of cons and scams. Every title is available on Amazon.
Editor's Picks
Start here. The three we'd hand you off the porch.
The Confidence Game
Maria Konnikova
Why we fall for it — every time. A definitive study of the con artist's mind.
View on Amazon →Editor's Pick
The Big Con
David W. Maurer
The classic 1940 field study of American grifters — inspired The Sting.
View on Amazon →Editor's Pick
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Robert B. Cialdini, PhD
The six levers every con artist — and marketer — pulls to make you say yes.
View on Amazon →The Great Frauds
Modern history's biggest confidence tricks — told in full.
Bad Blood
John Carreyrou
Secrets and lies inside Theranos, the Silicon Valley fraud of the century.
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The Wizard of Lies
Diana B. Henriques
Bernie Madoff and the death of trust — the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
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Billion Dollar Whale
Tom Wright & Bradley Hope
How Jho Low stole a fortune and fooled Hollywood, Wall Street, and the world.
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Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe
The Sackler dynasty and the marketing scheme that fueled the opioid crisis.
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Catch Me If You Can
Frank W. Abagnale
The true story of a teenage impostor who cashed millions in bad checks.
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The Art of the Steal
John Perkins
The bestselling Economic Hit Man author on power, money, and modern grift.
View on Amazon →The Digital Age
Hackers, social engineers, and the cybercrime economy.
Ghost in the Wires
Kevin Mitnick
Adventures of the world's most wanted social engineer.
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The Art of Deception
Kevin Mitnick
Controlling the human element of security — the playbook for social engineering.
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The Cuckoo's Egg
Cliff Stoll
A first-person hunt for a hacker through the early internet.
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Spam Nation
Brian Krebs
Inside the global cybercrime economy — from the reporter who broke it.
View on Amazon →The Psychology
Why smart people say yes — the mental levers behind every con.
Watch It Unfold
Documentaries and films that bring real grifts to the screen.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
Documentary
The rise and fall of Theranos — a portrait of charm, secrecy, and the fraud that fooled Silicon Valley.
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The Tinder Swindler
Documentary
A modern romance scam played out across continents, told by the women who lived it.
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Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Documentary
The festival that promised paradise and delivered a parking lot — a masterclass in hype over substance.
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Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.
Documentary
A celebrity restaurateur, a mysterious partner, and a con that spanned continents and belief systems.
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McMillions
Documentary
How a single ex-cop rigged the McDonald's Monopoly game for a decade — and almost got away with it.
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The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman
Documentary
A British conman manipulates families for decades, proving charm can be a weapon.
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The Sting
Film
The classic 1973 caper that turned the wire con into cinema legend — with a perfect ragtime score.
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Catch Me If You Can
Film
The true story of Frank Abagnale, who posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer before his eighteenth birthday.
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The Wolf of Wall Street
Film
Jordan Belfort's boiler-room empire — excess, persuasion, and the crash that followed.
View on Amazon →Play the Grift
Bluffing, deduction, and social games that reward a sharp eye.
Coup
Bluffing Card Game
Lie, bribe, and bluff your way to power in a quick card game about hidden influence.
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The Resistance
Social Deduction Game
A hidden-role game of spies and resistance fighters where trust is the only currency.
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The Resistance: Avalon
Social Deduction Game
Arthurian knights and hidden traitors — a tighter, more dramatic version of The Resistance.
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Ultimate Werewolf
Party Game
Villagers hunt hidden werewolves in the classic social-deduction game of deception and mob justice.
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Sheriff of Nottingham
Bluffing Board Game
Smuggle goods past the sheriff — or collect bribes as the sheriff yourself. A game of negotiation and lies.
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Codenames
Word Party Game
Give one-word clues to find your agents before the other team does — without leading them to the assassin.
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Secret Hitler
Social Deduction Game
Liberals and fascists clash in 1930s Germany — but nobody knows who is who.
View on Amazon →Lock the Door
Practical tools to make yourself a harder target.
1Password
Password Manager
One strong vault for every password, code, and secret — so phishing can't catch you reusing the same key.
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NordVPN
VPN
Encrypt your connection on public Wi-Fi and keep snoops out of your traffic.
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Malwarebytes
Anti-Malware
A second opinion for your devices — useful when a sketchy link gets past your guard.
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Aura Identity & Fraud Protection
Identity Protection
All-in-one identity theft, credit, and device protection for the whole family.
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Identity Guard
Identity Monitoring
Dark-web monitoring and credit alerts to catch identity theft early.
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ExpressVPN
VPN
Fast, easy privacy protection for phones, laptops, and streaming devices.
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LastPass
Password Manager
Generate and store strong passwords so you never have to remember them — or repeat them.
View on Amazon →Coffee on the Porch
The perfect roast while you listen to the next tale.
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