Overview

Drawing from the intriguing (and sometimes unbelievable) true stories of the lives of everyday Americans, historian Julie M. Fenster traces the history of the weakening of our national ethics through the practice of cheating. From marital infidelity to financial fraud; rigged sports competitions to corruption in politics and the American education system; nuclear weaponry to beauty pageants; hospitals, TV gameshows, and charities; nothing and no one is exempt. And far from being ostracised, cheaters in every sphere continue to survive and even thrive, casting their influence over the rest of our society. And nowhere is this more obvious than in the recent tectonic shift in politics, where a revolution in our collective attitude toward fraudsters has ushered in a new kind of leadership. Part history of an all-American tradition, part dissection of an ongoing national crisis, Cheaters Always Win is irresistible reading -- a smart, sardonic, and scintillating look into the practice that made America what it is today.

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9781538728703

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Reviews

If one of your occasional crank rages is that yesterday's round of golf, your job, that car deal, your marriage, that new reality show, some presidential election...is just way off because someone is cheating, then Fenster has written a book packed with unexpected, hilarious, and sardonic proof that you're not paranoid at all. --Jack Hitt, author of Bunch of Amateurs: Inside America's Hidden World of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Job Creators Reading Cheaters Always Win is like listening to a really smart and witty friend tell you things you never knew about a subject you never properly thought through. Educational and fun. --John Strausbaugh, award-winning author of City of Sedition and Victory City J. M. Fenster's new book is every bit as entertaining as it is important, for she tells a dazzling variety of often hilarious stories while brilliantly illuminating an increasingly crucial -- like it or not -- aspect of the character of almost all of us. --Frederick E. Allen, former managing editor, American Heritage Enthralling...A necessary read for American history buffs. --Library Journal PREVIOUS PRAISE FOR JULIE M. FENSTER AND JEFFERSON'S AMERICA Riveting...Fenster's forceful account, peppered with succinct formulations and wry wit, shows how Jefferson launched expeditions to stake his claim to this 'wilderness' and its people... [Jefferson's America] offers fresh insight into the minds of these 19th century men, carrying you deeply, irresistibly, into a distant landscape. --Wall Street Journal [A]wonderful and twisted story...Geographers and American history buffs will enjoy Fenster's detailed research on these fascinating men, her easy style of writing, and tales beyond the textbooks. She opens an entirely new vista on those who opened the West. --Kirkus Expertly detailed...[Fenster] spins a masterful, adventure-filled tale of intrigue, diplomatic maneuverings, and nimble political deal-making for Western lands. --True West Julie Fenster's Jefferson's America is a marvelous look at the Age of Jeffersonian Exploration. Larger-than-life figures like William Dunbar and Zebulon Pike are ably brought back to life in this riveting narrative. This is a first-rate book; fair, clear, and enormously welcome. Highly recommended! --Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of Wilderness Warrior

[A]wonderful and twisted story...Geographers and American history buffs will enjoy Fenster's detailed research on these fascinating men, her easy style of writing, and tales beyond the textbooks. She opens an entirely new vista on those who opened the West. --Kirkus Enthralling...A necessary read for American history buffs. --Library Journal Expertly detailed...[Fenster] spins a masterful, adventure-filled tale of intrigue, diplomatic maneuverings, and nimble political deal-making for Western lands. --True West Julie Fenster's Jefferson's America is a marvelous look at the Age of Jeffersonian Exploration. Larger-than-life figures like William Dunbar and Zebulon Pike are ably brought back to life in this riveting narrative. This is a first-rate book; fair, clear, and enormously welcome. Highly recommended! --Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of Wilderness Warrior PREVIOUS PRAISE FOR JULIE M. FENSTER AND JEFFERSON'S AMERICA Riveting...Fenster's forceful account, peppered with succinct formulations and wry wit, shows how Jefferson launched expeditions to stake his claim to this 'wilderness' and its people... [Jefferson's America] offers fresh insight into the minds of these 19th century men, carrying you deeply, irresistibly, into a distant landscape. --Wall Street Journal

J. M. Fenster's new book is every bit as entertaining as it is important, for she tells a dazzling variety of often hilarious stories while brilliantly illuminating an increasingly crucial -- like it or not -- aspect of the character of almost all of us. --Frederick E. Allen, former managing editor, American Heritage Reading Cheaters is like listening to a really smart and witty friend tell you things you never knew about a subject you never properly thought through. Educational and fun. --John Strausbaugh, award-winning author of City of Sedition and Victory City Enthralling...A necessary read for American history buffs. --Library Journal PREVIOUS PRAISE FOR JULIE M. FENSTER AND JEFFERSON'S AMERICA Riveting...Fenster's forceful account, peppered with succinct formulations and wry wit, shows how Jefferson launched expeditions to stake his claim to this 'wilderness' and its people... [Jefferson's America] offers fresh insight into the minds of these 19th century men, carrying you deeply, irresistibly, into a distant landscape. --Wall Street Journal [A]wonderful and twisted story...Geographers and American history buffs will enjoy Fenster's detailed research on these fascinating men, her easy style of writing, and tales beyond the textbooks. She opens an entirely new vista on those who opened the West. --Kirkus Expertly detailed...[Fenster] spins a masterful, adventure-filled tale of intrigue, diplomatic maneuverings, and nimble political deal-making for Western lands. --True West Julie Fenster's Jefferson's America is a marvelous look at the Age of Jeffersonian Exploration. Larger-than-life figures like William Dunbar and Zebulon Pike are ably brought back to life in this riveting narrative. This is a first-rate book; fair, clear, and enormously welcome. Highly recommended! --Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of Wilderness Warrior

Author Information

J.M. Fenster is the award-winning author of many works of American history and commentary, including Packard: The Pride, which won several national awards; Ether Day, which won the Anesthesia Foundation prize; the New York Times bestseller Parish Priest with Doug Brinkley; the PBS documentary First Freedom; and the book Mavericks, Miracles and Medicine, which was also a documentary on A&E. After writing The Spirit of Invention at the invitation of the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center, she published two works of presidential biography: The Case of Abraham Lincoln and FDR's Shadow. Fenster has been called ""witty"" by The New York Times and compared to Mark Twain by The Wall Street Journal. Her most recent book was Jefferson's America. A graduate of Colgate University, she lives in upstate New York.

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