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Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation Audiobook
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A rollicking story of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man who kept a Ponzi scheme alive perhaps for longer than anyone else in history.
It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Speakeasies thrived, gang war shootings announced Al Capone's rise to underworld domination, Chicago's corrupt political leaders fraternized with gangsters, and the frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of people (who should have known better) to invest as much as $30 million—upwards of $400 million today—in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. When Leo's scheme finally collapsed in 1923, he vanished, and the Chicago state's attorney, a man whose lust for power equaled Leo's own lust for money, began an international manhunt that lasted almost a year. When finally apprehended, Leo was living a life of luxury in Nova Scotia under the assumed identity of a book dealer and literary critic. His mysterious death in a Chicago prison topped anything in his almost-too-bizarre-to-believe life.
Empire of Deception is not only an incredibly rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it's a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity.
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“Narrator Peter Berkrot adopts a tone reminiscent of of Mickey Spillane in delivering this examination of a master swindler from Chicago in the early 1920s. The narration, combined with the author’s somewhat breezy style, makes for an enjoyable account of a con game so brazen that it wouldn’t be matched until Bernie Madoff’s scheme came along…Berkrot adopts a conversational style and eschews theatrics in his narration, preferring to let the story itself capture the listener. But he does add a tone of incredulity as details of the case emerge. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“Jobb tells the story of Leo Koretz…with terrific energy and narrative brio. A thoroughly enjoyable read.”
— Gary Krist, New York Times bestselling author -
“Intoxicating and impressively researched.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Comprehensively researched and enthralling…High-stakes hijinks give the story a rollicking feel, but Jobb manages great poignancy, too.”
— Washington Post -
“What makes this book so interesting is the excellent pacing and fine detail laced throughout, the joy of reading about a man who could have taught Bernie Madoff a thing or two, and the sheer chutzpah (and, yes, skill) of Leo Koretz, who for a time lived like Gatsby and who managed to separate millions of dollars from people who probably should have known better.”
— Amazon.com -
“A masterpiece of narrative set-up and vivid language.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“This lively, entertaining, and depressingly relevant history of a man and his con reads like a novel and will be enjoyed by fans of popular history as well as true crime.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
Awards
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A Amazon Best Book of the Month for May 2015
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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a 2015 Amazon Best Books of the Year Selection for Business & Investing
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A 2015 Library Journal Best Audiobook
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About Dean Jobb
Dean Jobb is an award-winning writer and journalist and an associate professor of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has written for major American and Canadian newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, American Journalism Review, the Globe and Mail, and National Post. His work as an investigative reporter has made him a three-time winner of Atlantic Canada’s top journalism award. A frequent contributor to Canada’s History magazine, he also writes a newspaper column on politics and current affairs.
About Peter Berkrot
Peter Berkrot, winner of Audie and Earphones Awards for narration, is a stage, screen, and television actor and acting coach. He has narrated over 450 works that span a range of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, thriller, and children’s titles. His audiobook credits include works of Alan Glynn, Eric Van Lustbader, Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz. In film and television, he appeared in Caddyshack, America’s Most Wanted, and Unsolved Mysteries. He performs in regional and New York theaters and directs the New Voices acting school.