When a leader is only dependent on a small number of easily bribable and interchangeable cronies, conditions are perfect for corruption and payoffs. Sepp Blatter played this nearly perfectly and was able to maintain plausible deniability for decades by relying on secret deals and oral agreements.

Manaugh plays with the subversive idea that "burglars are... drunk Jedis of architectural space." He walks us through some of the most famous heists in history and how creative uses of the built environment played a role in their success.

Details the Galleon Group insider trading scandal of 2009 and the central role that the Indian American immigrants played on both sides of the case. The "twice-blessed" wave of Indian immigrants hustled their way to positions of wealth and power, sometimes cutting corners along the way.

Mueller's argument is essentially that 1) the olive oil we eat now is crap and 2) this is because major players in the food business are systematically adulterating "extra virgin" olive oil in ways undetected and unpunished by the authorities.

"The Ice Man" has the distinction of being the second most disturbing book I have ever read (I doubt anyone will be displacing Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho" any time soon).

Never confess, don't talk more than you are legally obligated to. Besides its brevity, this book's only redeeming feature is a profane sense of humor (including frequent references to the "Graybar Hotel" a.k.a jail). Several of the tactics, including the "shark card" gambit, were also noteworthy.

Explores the early days of large-scale credit card theft, detailing the mechanics of how hackers stole credit card numbers, manufactured fake cards, and employed a team of buyers to make fraudulent purchases with the cards.

As the unsolved murders piled up, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover stepped in. The Osage murders were among Hoover's earliest major cases as director and his reputation was riding on their successful resolution. As we follow the undercover agents infiltrating the Osage reservation...

As the largest unsolved art heist in history, the ISGM heist should have made for a fascinating book. Yet "Master Thieves" often repeats itself, meanders wildly, and drags on to an inconclusive conclusion.