Operation Bullpen


Book Description




Busted!


Book Description

Presents the life of the author from his childhood in New Jersey, through his career as a dealer in sports collectibles, to his connection with O.J. Simpson's 2007 arrest for stealing sports memorabilia in Las Vegas.




The Big Con


Book Description

This book examines a broad range of infamous scams, cons, swindles, and hoaxes throughout American history—and considers why human gullibility continues in an age of easy access to information. Covering American cons and hoaxes past and present, including the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, the controversy over "subliminal messaging" (do bands, filmmakers, and advertisers really put secret messages in their works?), the panic about "satanic" daycare operators in the 1980s, and recent Internet scams, this book provides a fascinating, fact-based look at infamous frauds across the centuries. Offering an engaging mix of history, sociology, and psychology, author Nate Hendley gives readers an appreciation of how prominent scams, cons, "confidence men," and hoaxes have impacted American society, past and present. Each entry details the scheme or hoax and the pertinent con artist/schemer involved, examining the sociological, cultural, political, and/or economic effect of the scams. Each topic is accompanied by a short bibliography of further reading selections. As the old saying goes, "There is a sucker born every minute"—and there has always been a keen-eyed swindler to take advantage of the situation. The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History explores this sordid underbelly of American civilization and invites readers to revel in the felonious experience.




The FBI and White-Collar Crime


Book Description

The federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a national agency dedicated to investigation federal crimes. Founded as a small team of special agents on July 26, 1908, the Bureau was first charged with enforcing the growing body of federal laws covering the United States as a whole. Almost from the beginning of its 100-year history, the Bureau has been the subject of legend and controversy. It has also evolved into a vast and sophisticated national law-enforcement agency. Whether as a federal crime-fighting force or a source of investigative support of local and state police forces, the modern FBI strives to embody its ideals of fidelity, bravery, and integrity. When is a basketball signed by retired superstar Michael Jordan not worth a cent? When the autograph is a forgery, that's when. White-collar crime includes any illegal action that deceives victims to gain money or property. From its early days, the FBI was involved in investigating crimes like embezzling funds from banks. In the 1970s, the Bureau put new emphasis on investigating a wide range of white-collar crimes. Today, agents across the country target criminals who victimize innocent investors, mortgage and insurance fraud rings, and insider trading in stocks.




Packaging Baseball


Book Description

Walk through any major or minor league park today and the sights, sounds, and smells of baseball overwhelm. Teams long ago figured out that this immersive quality is a powerful draw, and the "fan experience" has been a major force in their marketing plans. In recent years, advancing technology has altered not only that experience, which now includes LED video boards and blasts of digital music, but the marketing and revenue opportunities for the game. Fans all over the world can subscribe to video and audio streams, acquire credit cards emblazoned with team logos, and follow their favorite players through league-sanctioned blogs. Baseball's ambition and reach are now truly global. Focusing on the game's dual identities as pastime and economic engine, the authors examine the ways that baseball is packaged, promoted and consumed in the United States and, increasingly, abroad.




The Last Day


Book Description

A nuclear threat. A race against time. Can NYPD's finest save Manhattan from annihilation? Bobby Moylan wishes this shift wasn't his last. Years after a drunk driver killed his family, his life-saving distraction of work with the NYPD is coming to a close. But when he discovers an Islamic terrorist plot against his city, his final hours on the job could turn explosive. Joey Galeno misses the days when he could count on his partner. Years removed from working with Moylan, the counterterrorism expert hopes to get something solid from his new, unreliable undercover agent. As it becomes clear a nuclear threat is imminent, Galeno has no choice but to trust his fellow agent to preserve millions of lives. As the clock counts down to obliteration, can Moylan and Galeno take out the deadly cell before extremists trigger an urban nuclear Armageddon? If you like clever heroes, high-stakes action and character-driven tension, you’ll love Robert L. Bryan’s 'The Last Day'.




eBay For Dummies


Book Description

It’s a bargain! The definitive guide to buying and selling success on eBay Want to know the best way to get rid of some of that clutter laying around the house and make some cash? Or sell that beautiful jewelry you made recently? It might be time to take a quick trip to a market with more than 175 million buyers and start a global bidding war. eBay remains the easiest way to sell to hungry consumers worldwide and to uncover incredible bargains and unique items for yourself in the process. Marsha Collier, longtime eBay business owner and one of their first elite PowerSellers, shares 20+ years of expertise to fast-track you to becoming a trusted buyer and seller on the site. You’ll find out how to set up your account, market effectively, and master shipping and payment, as well as how to find the best bargains for yourself and close those sweet, sweet deals. Establish your eBay store Find techniques to make your listings stand out Make money and friends with social media Bid or buy outright Whether you’re a bargain hunter or bargain seller, declutterer or aspiring eBay tycoon, eBay for Dummies has what you need. Put your bid on it right now!




The Perfect Store


Book Description

When Pierre Omidyar launched a clunky website from a spare bedroom over Labor Day weekend of 1995, he wanted to see if he could use the Internet to create a perfect market. He never guessed his old-computer parts and Beanie Baby exchange would revolutionize the world of commerce. Now, Adam Cohen, the only journalist ever to get full access to the company, tells the remarkable story of eBay's rise. He describes how eBay built the most passionate community ever to form in cyberspace and forged a business that triumphed over larger, better-funded rivals. And he explores the ever-widening array of enlistees in the eBay revolution, from a stay-at-home mom who had to rent a warehouse for her thriving business selling bubble-wrap on eBay to the young MBA who started eBay Motors (which within months of its launch was on track to sell $1 billion in cars a year), to collectors nervously bidding thousands of dollars on antique clothing-irons. Adam Cohen's fascinating look inside eBay is essential reading for anyone trying to figure out what's next. If you want to truly understand the Internet economy, The Perfect Store is indispensable.




The History Detectives Explore Lincoln's Letter, Parker's Sax, and Mark Twain's Watch


Book Description

Explore the secrets of America's past with the official companion to PBS's History Detectives Could a Civil War POW have fashioned a working camera from a tin can, a spyglass lens, and a pine plank? What can an ancient and battered banjo reveal about America's musical and segregated past? How could a man save his own life by proving that he had forged a painting? These are just a few of the intriguing and puzzling questions posed to super sleuths Wes Cowan, Elyse Luray, Gwendolyn Wright, and Tukufu Zuberi in this fascinating book. The perfect companion to the hit public television series, including an episode guide, this book is filled with intriguing case files, pictures, how-to's, and checklists that bring mysteries to life and give you the practical advice and tips you need to solve your own historical puzzles. From genealogical research to patent and property searches to DNA analysis and more, it gives you the lowdown on all of the high-tech tools that can help get to the bottom of a case. Packed with fun and useful information for the whole family, it will deepen your appreciation for the way in which seemingly ordinary objects can connect you to important people and events from the past and give you the know-how to do some history detecting of your own.




When the Crowd Didn't Roar


Book Description

The date is April 29, 2015. Baltimore is reeling from the devastating riots sparked by the death in police custody of twenty-five-year-old African American Freddie Gray. Set against this grim backdrop, less than thirty-six hours after the worst rioting Baltimore has seen since the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox take the field at Camden Yards. It is a surreal event they will never forget: the only Major League game until COVID ever played without fans. The eerily quiet stadium is on lockdown for public safety and because police are needed elsewhere to keep the tense city from exploding anew. When the Crowd Didn't Roar chronicles this unsettling contest--as well as the tragic events that led up to it and the therapeutic effect the game had on a troubled city. The story comes vividly to life through the eyes of city leaders, activists, police officials, and the media that covered the tumultuous unrest on the streets of Baltimore, as well as the ballplayers, umpires, managers, and front-office personnel of the teams that played in this singular game, and the fans who watched it from behind locked gates. In its own way, amid the uprising and great turmoil, baseball stopped to reflect on the fact that something different was happening in Baltimore and responded to it in an unprecedented way, making this the unlikeliest and strangest game ever played.