The Art of Cheating: A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers and Their Hapless Victims

by Jessica Dorfman Jones

Book Overview

Cheat?

ME?

Never

Well, except that one time...

Who says you should always tell the truth? With this handy informational guidebook you can con your way through life -- from finessing your resume, to lying about your age, to getting a date. Whether you've decided to cheat out of sheer desperation or the need to get ahead, The Art of Cheating provides essential tips and guidelines for how to be the ultimate swindler, and how to spot the con artists among us. You'll learn what it takes to be a great cheater, and the pros and cons to every swindle. As a newly minted master of deception, you'll be able to cheat:

On a diet

On your spouse or significant other (or both )

On your taxes

On standardized tests

Death

And more With clever illustrations and humorous deadpan delivery, The Art ofCheating will have you sleeping your way to the top, faking an illness, and forging someone else's handwriting -- without batting an eye.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416549137
• ISBN13: 9781416549130
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.9" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Lesson

Gives you a good heads up on how to spot a fake or criminal. Useful for apartment managers or small business owners! Helpful book.

Funny -- and Factual

Forget all that stuff you've heard about the "new Bonnie and Clyde." Those two are idiots anyway, especially if they didn't realize that this book was written to provide laughs, not to serve as an "Anarchist's Cookbook" for wannabe grifters. Author Jones has an arch, witty style that's lots of fun to read, but she's full of facts, too. The "Would I Lie" sections that end each chapter are well worth the price of admission on their own. These brief run-downs of real-life examples of a given "cheat" from recent and past history are a hoot -- and they show that a lot of research went into this little volume. After a perusal of the whole thing, well, let's just say the record shows that your chances of getting away with evildoing are pretty slim. Oh, and one more thing: I love the elegant design of "The Art of Cheating," complete with ultra-clever cartoons by a New Yorker contributor.

Very funny book!

I am surprised that so many people are taking this book so seriously. It's a very funny, wry look at the little ways in which the average joe can cheat. Hardly a how-to guide regarding identity theft! An easy, enjoyable, minorly wicked read!

An education on the human condition

I think EVERY buisness person or employer should read this. Not particularly for what you may be able to glean from others, but,more importantly, to gain a tangible understanding of how a person might cheat,lie, or swindle YOU. It's a pretty sad fact that there will be people that buy this book to attempt to somehow enrich their lives by stealing from honest people. These people WILL get caught eventually and when they do, justice will down on them like a jackhammer. This book will certainly raise the awareness of an honest person therefore possibly saving someone a terrible ordeal.

Very Funny, Dangerously Useful

Very funny and all too accurate. It may be a parody of how-tos, but this is definitely a book you could imagine finding yourself consulting in a pinch. Or maybe that's just me, although my favorite part of each cheat is really the downside. Beneath the pleasantly amoral tone, there's the underlying message: doing the wrong thing is generally its own punishment. Illustration and design are really sweet. Altogether, kind of a "Dangerous Book" for grownups. A great gift book--my list definitely has a few people on it who deserve and/or need this book. And it beats a lump of coal.