The Man in the Rockerfeller Suit by Mark Seal

The author interviewed a lot of people to get this true story straight, but it still seems unbelievable: a poor teenager from Germany moves to America and, over the course of several decades, cons so many people so many times that they actually believe he is related to the richer-than-anybody-else Rockefeller family. (what? these people couldn't google him and discover he was a fake???) "Clark" creates several personas and cons many people, but the most unbelievable con is when he tricks an otherwise super-intelligent woman into believing his story. She marries, then eventually divorces him, but by then it seems he has actually convinced himself that he is a Rockefeller. He tries to snatch their daughter in an unbelievable series of events, but is caught and arrested for kidnapping. During the trial, his ex-wife explains she was intelligent, but emotionally stupid when she tries to explain why she never realized his duplicity, despite being married to him for 12 years. (Emotionally stupid? That seems a bit understated---the guy never had any money, never visited or was visited by relatives, never socialized with anyone in the Rockefeller circle, never. . .well, I guess "emotionally stupid" might have to suffice to explain this one since it can't be explained any other way). The book was interesting, if for no other reason that to realize that con artists work in all economic ranges, that con artists can be violent criminals (did he kill that couple from California?), and that intelligent people can be conned as easily as little old ladies and socially inept youth. This book isn't for everyone, but if you're into weird psychological profiles, this book will give you a lot to think about.