The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation
by Dean Jobb
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2015
352 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
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.
"Starred Review. 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
"A highly readable, entertaining story offering a solid education for anyone lacking scruples and wanting to make money. Surely Bernie Madoff studied Koretz's methods. " - Kirkus
"A captivating tale of high-flying financial chicanery in 1920s Chicago. Dean Jobb tells the story of Leo Koretz, a legendary con artist of Madoffian audacity, with terrific energy and narrative brio. A thoroughly enjoyable read." - Gary Krist, New York Times bestselling author of City of Scoundrels
"This highly readable account of a major swindle in the Roaring Twenties in Chicago will convince any sensible reader that when it comes to investing in crackpot schemes, nobody ever learns anything by experience." - Michael Korda, author of Charmed Lives
"Empire of Deception is a sure thing - a book guaranteed to entertain and make you rich (in knowledge, that is). Dean Jobb has found a fascinating yet little-known jazz-age tale and told it with style and smarts. Get in on the action." - Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Get Capone
"Begin with a Bernie Madoff, wolf-in-sheep's-clothing con man, pursued by a power-hungry prig of a public prosecutor; add the great hog-trough feeding frenzy of 1920s Chicago; stir with great writing and enterprising research; and there you have it: A wonderfully entertaining read!" - Michael Lesy, author of Wisconsin Death Trip and Murder City
This information about Empire of Deception was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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 been hailed as "one of the country's best crime writers," with a "keen sense of storytelling," and his six previous books have garnered such praise as "investigative journalism as it should be," "enthrallingly written," and "the best book on the subject we may ever see." Jobb 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. At King's College, his expertise is in investigative reporting, media law, and the history of journalism--all of which make him the ideal writer for his latest book, Empire of Deception, which tells the incredible true story of master swindler Leo Koretz, who dazzled the elite of 1920s Chicago and then ran away with their fortunes. Visit him at www.deanjobb.com.
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