Everyone loves a heel, especially one to whom nothing was sacred and who charmed his or her way into the hearts, minds, and wallets of bumpkins and belles alike. This collection offers twenty-four tales of petty bandits, sleazy bunko artists, and conniving conmen and –women who traveled West to seek their fortunes by preying on the men and women who went before them to settle and explore. These stories of who they were, what they did, and why they are remembered for their deeds include ample and engaging historic illustrations of the shady characters at work and at play.

Each volume in this series features fifteen to twenty short biographies of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary if misunderstood thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes from the history of a given city, state, or region of the U.S. The villainous, the misguided, and the misunderstood all get their due in these entertaining yet informing books. Ohio has more than its fair share of stories of women who chose arsenic as the way to eliminate "problems" from their lives, along with corrupt politicians, thieves, unscrupulous gamblers, and other con artists. Read about Dr. John Cook Bennett, who made a fortunate off his belief that diplomas were better bought than earned; Olympic gold medalist James Snook, whose sordid affair took a deadly turn; and Nancy Farrar, whose culpability for one man's murder was as unclear as her mental status.

Men flooded to the Montana frontier for gold, furs, rich land, and jobs. Women followed, but their options were more limited. Here are stories of women who made a desperate choice, turning the law of supply and demand to their advantage. Many eked out a meager but independent existence; grit and business acumen brought remarkable wealth and influence—even respectability—to a few. From Alzada to Yaak, these enterprising women shaped Montana communities, in some cases helping to fund social programs and public education.

A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read for March 2024 * A Bustle Best New Book of Spring 2024 Peabody and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jane Marie expands on her popular podcast The Dream to expose the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class. We’ve all heard of Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and LuLaRoe, but few know the nefarious way they and countless other multilevel marketing (MLM) companies prey on desperate Americans struggling to make ends meet. When factories close, stalwart industries shutter, and blue-collar opportunities evaporate, MLMs are there, ready to pounce on the crumbling American Dream. MLMs thrive in rural areas and on military bases, targeting women with promises of being their own boss and millions of dollars in easy income—even at the risk of their entire life savings. But the vast majority—99.7%—of those who join an MLM make no money or lose money, and wind up stuck with inventory they can’t sell to recoup their losses. Featuring in-depth reporting and intimate research, Selling the Dream reveals how these companies—often owned by political and corporate elites, such as the Devos and the Van Andels families—have made a windfall in profit off of the desperation of the American working class.

This lively and entertaining book tells the stories of con artists, gamblers, swindlers, and other nefarious characters who stampeded west in the quest to make money off the men and women who stampeded west in search of land and gold.