"Reading Anansi''s Gold is like watching a heist movie . all about improvisation, unforced error, unlikely escape." -- Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An enthralling rags-to-stolen-riches story, a thrilling true-crime caper, and a sharp indictment of a world that allows scammers like Blay-Miezah to thrive." -- TIME "Riveting." -- New York Times Book Review "Skillfully interweaves archival material, F.B.I. records, and interviews to recount the saga of [a] con man''s career, and to reflect on how lies can be leveraged in the creation of national histories.
" -- The New Yorker "[T]his little-known story unfolds like Catch Me if You Can ." -- The Washington Post "The sprawling story of Blay-Miezah''s outsize life and wayward career is told with mordant aplomb by first-time author Yepoka Yeebo . While [the book] reflects a daunting amount of research, it reads like a picaresque novel . Compelling." -- The Wall Street Journal "A wild tale . Yeebo''s substantial research - based on interviews, archives, government reports, and the like - is nothing less than awe inspiring, and her prose is careful and self-assured, often outraged, sometimes dryly amused . Anansi''s Gold is a fascinating story brilliantly told." -- The Boston Globe " Catch Me if You Can meets Coming to America in this epic tale of one of the greatest scammers of all time.
" -- NPR "In her thrilling new book, Yepoka Yeebo tells the jaw-dropping story of a man behind a scam called ''one of the most fascinating - and lucrative - in modern history'' . the ever-proliferating grifter-lit bookshelf is on the verge of collapsing under its own weight, but Yeebo''s contribution to the category stands out . meticulously researched." -- The Guardian "A wild, juicy ride." -- Los Angeles Times "Stylish and substantive, Yepoka Yeebo''s Anansi''s Gold is a non-fiction masterpiece, artfully weaving Blay-Miezah''s remarkable exploits into the fabric of history. Highly recommended." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rigorously researched and beautifully written." -- CrimeReads "In this absorbing true crime narrative, Yeebo details the fascinating story of this audacious con artist.
" -- Town & Country "Absorbing . A colorful, eye-opening account." -- Newsweek, Favorite Books of 2023 "Yeebo pulls off something near-magical here. She excavates an overlooked historical narrative as juicy as any true-crime blockbuster, where every detail is both fastidiously researched and completely over-the-top-one of Blay-Miezah''s major adversaries in his quest to scam? Former child star Shirley Temple Black, of course!-while also conveying how the colonial system nurtured and turbo-charged this dysfunction." -- Wired, Best Books of the Year "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeeboles Times "Stylish and substantive, Yepoka Yeebo''s Anansi''s Gold is a non-fiction masterpiece, artfully weaving Blay-Miezah''s remarkable exploits into the fabric of history.
Highly recommended." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rigorously researched and beautifully written." -- CrimeReads "In this absorbing true crime narrative, Yeebo details the fascinating story of this audacious con artist." -- Town & Country "Absorbing . A colorful, eye-opening account." -- Newsweek, Favorite Books of 2023 "Yeebo pulls off something near-magical here. She excavates an overlooked historical narrative as juicy as any true-crime blockbuster, where every detail is both fastidiously researched and completely over-the-top-one of Blay-Miezah''s major adversaries in his quest to scam? Former child star Shirley Temple Black, of course!-while also conveying how the colonial system nurtured and turbo-charged this dysfunction." -- Wired, Best Books of the Year "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn .
to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeebor "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeeboles Times "Stylish and substantive, Yepoka Yeebo''s Anansi''s Gold is a non-fiction masterpiece, artfully weaving Blay-Miezah''s remarkable exploits into the fabric of history. Highly recommended." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rigorously researched and beautifully written.
" -- CrimeReads "In this absorbing true crime narrative, Yeebo details the fascinating story of this audacious con artist." -- Town & Country "Absorbing . A colorful, eye-opening account." -- Newsweek, Favorite Books of 2023 "Yeebo pulls off something near-magical here. She excavates an overlooked historical narrative as juicy as any true-crime blockbuster, where every detail is both fastidiously researched and completely over-the-top-one of Blay-Miezah''s major adversaries in his quest to scam? Former child star Shirley Temple Black, of course!-while also conveying how the colonial system nurtured and turbo-charged this dysfunction." -- Wired, Best Books of the Year "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking.
" -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeeboles Times "Stylish and substantive, Yepoka Yeebo''s Anansi''s Gold is a non-fiction masterpiece, artfully weaving Blay-Miezah''s remarkable exploits into the fabric of history. Highly recommended." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rigorously researched and beautifully written." -- CrimeReads "In this absorbing true crime narrative, Yeebo details the fascinating story of this audacious con artist." -- Town & Country "Absorbing . A colorful, eye-opening account." -- Newsweek, Favorite Books of 2023 "Yeebo pulls off something near-magical here. She excavates an overlooked historical narrative as juicy as any true-crime blockbuster, where every detail is both fastidiously researched and completely over-the-top-one of Blay-Miezah''s major adversaries in his quest to scam? Former child star Shirley Temple Black, of course!-while also conveying how the colonial system nurtured and turbo-charged this dysfunction.
" -- Wired, Best Books of the Year "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeebor "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence. Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeebor "Yeebo seamlessly moves from the fun of a classic con-man yarn . to an equally engrossing history of the West African state and its rocky path to postcolonial independence.
Her sharpest point: that Blay-Miezah succeeded so handsomely by exploiting the stereotype of Africa as a source of ill-gotten wealth, ripe for the picking." -- Slate, 25 Best True Crime Books, Podcasts, and Documentaries of All Time "Even as [Yeeboles Times "Stylish and substantive, Yepoka Yeebo''s Anansi''s Gold is a non-fiction masterpiece, artfully weaving Blay-Miezah''s remarkable exploits into the fabric of history. Highly recommended." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rigorously researched and beautifully written." -- CrimeReads "In this absorbing true crime narrative, Yeebo details the fascinating story of this audacious con artist." -- Town & Country "Absorbing . A colorful, eye-opening account." -- Newsweek, Favorite Books of 2023