Read what people think about The Mark Inside by Amy Reading, and write your own review.
The Mark Inside A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con
by Amy Reading
Hardcover: Mar 2012,
304 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2013,
304 pages.
Rated of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio) Corruption
I know we have a lot of curruption today, but I was surprised to read how much corruption that was in the early years of the establishment of the United States. The writer did a good job telling the story, but my take is whether it wouldn't have been better to read Norfleet's book as he actually experienced it rather than read a second-hand story.
Rated of 5
by Nancy O. (Hobe Sound, FL) a timely read
Amy Reading's account of con victim J. Frank Norfleet would make a good movie. Everything's there -- the big con, the quest for revenge, and the moments of payback. It's an interesting story, one that captured my attention throughout the book, although I have to say that it gets a bit bogged down in detail when she moves away from Norfleet and his long quest to see justice done. (And I had no idea Daytona Beach used to have cliffs!) One of the best things about the narrative was her attention to Norfleet's own version of events, as she discovers that in putting together the account of his search for the men that fleeced him, he may have been just as much of a con artist in his own right.
With people still reeling from events like the Bernie Madoff fraud case, and opening their emails daily to a number of potential con scams, the book is a timely read. It is a bit more detail oriented with a lot of historical interest; it's not really a book club kind of read or something that might attract the attention of the casual nonfiction reader. I liked it, and would say that if anyone is at all interested in the history of fraud and con artistry in the US, Reading's book offers its readers an interesting perspective on the topic.
Rated of 5
by Bea C. (Liberty Lake, WA) TMI - Too Much Information
This book tells you everything you wanted to know, a lots you didn't, about the "big con". This could have been a real interesting book. It is a non-fiction story about a rancher in 1919 who got swindled in a "big con" (think THE STING), then spent years tracking down the swindlers. We were sidelined with just TOO MUCH INFORMATION and details about every person in the sting and all the details about other cons they had pulled. The book plodded along and became so tedious to read that I skimmed the last half of the book just to find out whatever happened. I was struck by how crooked everyone seemed to be, from the victims, the swindlers to the police departments. If you had faith in your fellow man before you read this, you won't after. I think this would make a good movie and would be interesting to real history nuts who like to delve into subjects completely.
Rated of 5
by Cheryl W. (Crosby, MN) The Mark Inside
The book was very hard to read. If the "con" would of been the story that might of been interesting but many distracting other stories within the story. Too much unnecessary information. I thought it was going to be a "Sting" type book but it was not.
Rated of 5
by Jeffrey L. (Washington, DC) The Inside Mark Amy Reading
The subtitle says it all; A Perfect Swindle, A Cunning Revenge and a Small History of the Big Con. The book intermingles education and drama against a suspenseful and emotional, period backdrop. Imagine an historically accurate, "The Sting" complete with real life descriptions of all the major players and how they interacted with each other and their marks. Throw in where they came from and how they wound up, including the mark’s revenge and you end up with a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Rated of 5
by Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ) Don't get conned
This story of one big con and the resulting revenge, leads to some history of cons in general. While some of the information was interesting, it did not read anything like a novel, as promised in some of the blurbs on the back. I thought it was often bogged down in unnecessary detail and was very hard to follow and confusing at times. I would have happy with a long magazine article instead of an entire book.
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of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio) 
of 5
by Nancy O. (Hobe Sound, FL) 
of 5
by Cheryl W. (Crosby, MN) 
of 5
by Jeffrey L. (Washington, DC) 
