Telfer has included both historical and contemporary women in her book, and all of them have had wild and crazy lives (and sometimes deaths). Cleverly alternating between touching and hilarious in her details, Telfer pulls no punches in describing what these women did, who they did it to, and when it’s known, why each did what they did.

Beginning with Jeanne De Saint-Remy, who went by the alias Comtesse de La Motte in the 1750’s when she scammed the French royal jewellers out of a necklace with over 600 diamonds in it, and concluding with Sante Kimes, who was sentenced to life plus 125 years in the early 2000’s, Confident Women is divided by types of crimes (or types of criminals). It can easily be picked up to read about one or two random cases or can be read cover to cover. The audible version is also fantastic, narrated by Jamie Lamchick who is perfect for these darkly humorous tales.

Telfer outlines an incredible history of scams and scammers, highlighting their charisma, creativity, and audacity. From a show dog thief, a fake doctor, a forger, and so much more, Confident Women examines how these outlandish women have continues to dupe their victims.

Confident Women is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Confident Women? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

A thoroughly entertaining and darkly humorous roundup of history’s notorious but often forgotten female con artists and their bold, outrageous scams—by the acclaimed author of Lady Killers.

From Elizabeth Holmes and Anna Delvey to Frank Abagnale and Charles Ponzi, audacious scams and charismatic scammers continue to intrigue us as a culture. As Tori Telfer reveals in Confident Women, the art of the con has a long and venerable tradition, and its female practitioners are some of the best—or worst.

In the 1700s in Paris, Jeanne de Saint-Rémy scammed the royal jewelers out of a necklace made from six hundred and forty-seven diamonds by pretending she was best friends with Queen Marie Antoinette.

In the mid-1800s, sisters Kate and Maggie Fox began pretending they could speak to spirits and accidentally started a religious movement that was soon crawling with female con artists. A gal calling herself Loreta Janeta Velasquez claimed to be a soldier and convinced people she worked for the Confederacy—or the Union, depending on who she was talking to. Meanwhile, Cassie Chadwick was forging paperwork and getting banks to loan her upwards of $40,000 by telling people she was Andrew Carnegie’s illegitimate daughter.

In the 1900s, a 40something woman named Margaret Lydia Burton embezzled money all over the country and stole upwards of forty prized show dogs, while a few decades later, a teenager named Roxie Ann Rice scammed the entire NFL. And since the death of the Romanovs, women claiming to be Anastasia have been selling their stories to magazines. What about today? Spoiler alert: these “artists” are still conning.

Confident Women asks the provocative question: Where does chutzpah intersect with a uniquely female pathology—and how were these notorious women able to so spectacularly dupe and swindle their victims?

The post Review: Confident Women by Tori Telfer appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Nowadays, people share their life stories mostly via social media, but every now and then you may still prefer to go to the bookstore and look for an inspiring biography. Today, we want to introduce you to some biographies and auto-biographies from which we think that they could be of interest to you!

Life’s That Way by Jim Beaver
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Beaver is best known as Bobby from Supernatural, but you not many know that he had a hard personal life to deal with. Not only did he have to worry about getting a new job, but also dealing with his sick wife, and later being a widowed parent and raising his daughter by himself. His daughter was also diagnosed with Autism, which later came out to be not true. Beaver lays open his heart in this book and it’s worth reading because it shows you the power of love.

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
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The woman behind the famous shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, and Scandal opens up about her struggle between work and family, and a life that often requires to say no to certain things. The word ‘no’ is also a safe way for the introvert person that Rhimes is, but after her sister states that she never says ‘yes’ to anything she took it as an opportunity to start an experiment. In Year of Yes, Rhimes writes about how she changed her life while using the word ‘yes; for a whole year. No matter what, she said ‘yes’ to everything she was asked and that way new experiences have been open for her. An incredibly inspiring book that make you want to say ‘yes’ yourself. Who knows where it will lead you to?

You’re Never Weird On The Internet by Felicia Day
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A nerd that made a career for herself! Day describes her life as an online gamer and how she used the internet to start her career. As a talented teenager, she could have pursued anything but she chose to follow her passion. Day also shows her fragile side haunted by anxiety and depression. However, mostly it shows you the power of the internet and that you can do a living out of your passion. Because you are never weird on the internet.

Coal and Diamonds: A Memoir by Beth Ditto
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The former lead singer from the band Gossip wrote down her story of a sad abusive childhood. She grew up with her six siblings in a poor household from which she moved out of at the age of 13 to live with her aunt. She also mentions how she was threatened by people because she is, in her own words “a fat feminist lesbian”, along with her discussing her ADHD and how she started her career as a singer.

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg
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One of the biggest nerds of our time who lives and breath nerdism is Simon Pegg. Pegg tells his story how he grew up and how he fell in love with everything that falls under the word “nerd” and how he embraced it and in the end built his career on it. In fact, he tells the story how he should never be famous in the first place because he is weird. But that is exactly the point as he ended up playing roles and writing screenplays for the fantasy world he once admired as a kid. A book that will lift you up whenever you feel not accepted.

The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs
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The man who gave us the world of Narnia! This is a biography every grown-up child has to read as it shows you the man behind creating Aslan. Lewis was a complex person who lived in Oxford and liked to talk about Philosophy and Religion, which in the end influenced him writing this beloved story. Did you know, that JRR Tolkien was important for the process as well? You’ll soon find out.a

Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible by Stan Lee
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The Legend, The Myth, The Marvel Man himself. Lee’s biography goes above and beyond every other’s as he publishes it as a comic. A lovely beautifully illustrated book that takes you into the ups and downs of the famous comic creator’s life. From living in poverty in Manhattan, to his military time, to then working for and leading one of the biggest comic book houses of the world.

Taking The Lead by Derek Hough
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Hough is best known for being on Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer and dancing on the live show MOVE with his sister Julianne. His story speaks of being the only brother among sisters, having too much weight as a kid, and being bullied at school for taking dance classes. He moved to England to study at an international dance school and pursue his dream of being a professional dancer. The books goes back and forth between his past and where he is now, and you find some serious motivation how you could take the lead in your own life and find your happiness.

Unfiltered by Lily Collins
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For me, Collins biography is one that every teenage girl should read. Growing up as the daughter of Phil Collins, she had a loving childhood, but also felt the pressure of being that perfect girl. Collins is completely honest and writes about her bulimia, and how she grew up between England and America. She may be a public figure, but she still values the easy life in the English countryside the most.

There are for sure a lot of great biographies waiting in bookstores and we hope that our selection could introduce you to one or two that soon will be in your bookshelves as well, or possibly even open you up to exploring the genre more!

What other biographies would you recommend? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 9 Biographies You Should Pick Up appeared first on The Nerd Daily.