The King of Confidence
A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch
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The King of Confidence
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Narrated by:
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Rengin Altay
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Written by:
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Miles Harvey
About this listen
The "unputdownable" (Dave Eggers, National Book award finalist) story of the most infamous American con man you've never heard of: James Strang, self-proclaimed divine king of earth, heaven, and an island in Lake Michigan, "perfect for fans of The Devil in the White City" (Kirkus)
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
Longlisted for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
A CrimeReads Best True Crime Book of the Year
"A masterpiece." (Nathaniel Philbrick)
In the summer of 1843, James Strang, a charismatic young lawyer and avowed atheist, vanished from a rural town in New York. Months later, he reappeared on the Midwestern frontier and converted to a burgeoning religious movement known as Mormonism. In the wake of the murder of the sect's leader, Joseph Smith, Strang unveiled a letter purportedly from the prophet naming him successor, and persuaded hundreds of fellow converts to follow him to an island in Lake Michigan, where he declared himself a divine king.
From this stronghold, he controlled a fourth of the state of Michigan, establishing a pirate colony where he practiced plural marriage and perpetrated thefts, corruption, and frauds of all kinds. Eventually, having run afoul of powerful enemies, including the American president, Strang was assassinated, an event that was frontpage news across the country.
The King of Confidence tells this fascinating but largely forgotten story. Centering his narrative on this charlatan's turbulent 12 years in power, Miles Harvey gets to the root of a timeless American original: the Confidence Man. Full of adventure, bad behavior, and insight into a crucial period of antebellum history, The King of Confidence brings us a compulsively listenable account of one of the country's boldest con men and the boisterous era that allowed him to thrive.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Miles Harvey (P)2020 Hachette AudioWhat the critics say
"The story of James Strang - a messianic con man who wreaks havoc on an island community of his own devising - is amazing in itself. But it is the telling of the tale - think Herman Melville meets Mark Twain - that makes The King of Confidence a masterpiece. This book has talons that sink into you and won't let go." (Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times best-selling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower)
"The King of Confidence is a ludicrously enjoyable, unputdownable read - a book with unsettling (but also weirdly comforting) parallels to our time. By illuminating this forgotten moment in American history, where a group of rational adults fell under the spell of a charismatic madman, Harvey reminds us of the endlessly repeating nature of history and humanity." (Dave Eggers, National Book Award finalist and New York Times best-selling author of Zeitoun and What Is the What)
"A spirited, entertaining read with a twist of insight and a tang of scandal.... Harvey has penned a tour de force of popular history." (Library Journal)