Get Rich Quick
A Legendary Swindle, a Crooked Age and the Art of the Confidence Game
Will be published approx. on 5. January 2027
Book
Hardback
304 pages
979-8-217-12026-0 (ISBN)
Description
From the award-winning creators of The Mona Lisa Vanishes comes a fast-paced and fascinating illustrated nonfiction narrative about a con man who took in a trusting populace and pulled off the greatest get-rich-quick scheme of all time.
This is not a story about money, not really. It’s a story about confidence.
In the summer of 1920, thousands of people crowded the narrow streets of Boston, desperate to hand their money to the financial genius of the age. Charles Ponzi was charming and dapper, the hero of the common people, the enemy of the elite, the only man you could trust.
But who was he, really? A wizard—a man who could make your cash multiply almost overnight? Or the perfect mirror for an America determined to believe its own get-rich-quick dreams—a land of fake gold and phony schemes?
Welcome to the confidence game, a game only one person can win.
In this riveting, edge-of-your-seat illustrated narrative, the Sibert Medal–winning creators of The Mona Lisa Vanishes tell the true story of the spectacular rise and fall of a world-famous con artist—and show us the world that he made: a world of golden promises, in which a lie repeated long enough has a halo of truth.
This is not a story about money, not really. It’s a story about confidence.
In the summer of 1920, thousands of people crowded the narrow streets of Boston, desperate to hand their money to the financial genius of the age. Charles Ponzi was charming and dapper, the hero of the common people, the enemy of the elite, the only man you could trust.
But who was he, really? A wizard—a man who could make your cash multiply almost overnight? Or the perfect mirror for an America determined to believe its own get-rich-quick dreams—a land of fake gold and phony schemes?
Welcome to the confidence game, a game only one person can win.
In this riveting, edge-of-your-seat illustrated narrative, the Sibert Medal–winning creators of The Mona Lisa Vanishes tell the true story of the spectacular rise and fall of a world-famous con artist—and show us the world that he made: a world of golden promises, in which a lie repeated long enough has a halo of truth.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Fifth Grade to Ninth Grade, Interest Age: From 10 to 14 years
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
BLACK-AND-WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-217-12026-0 (9798217120260)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
NICHOLAS DAY is the author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction, and A World Without Summer, which received four starred reviews and was called “sharp and vivid” by the New York Times. He is also the author of the picture books Nothing illustrated by Chris Rashka and How to Have a Thought illustrated by Hadley Hooper. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his family.
BRETT HELQUIST is the illustrator of classics such as A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The House of Bunnicula by James Howe, and books by Blue Balliet, including the New York Times bestselling Chasing Vermeer. He is also the illustrator of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction.
BRETT HELQUIST is the illustrator of classics such as A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The House of Bunnicula by James Howe, and books by Blue Balliet, including the New York Times bestselling Chasing Vermeer. He is also the illustrator of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction.