Killer Stuff and Tons of Money

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money
Author: Maureen Stanton
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2011-06-09
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1101516054

One dealer's journey from the populist mayhem of flea markets to the rarefied realm of auctions reveals the rich, often outrageous subculture of antiques and collectibles. Millions of Americans are drawn to antiques and flea-market culture, whether as participants or as viewers of the perennially popular Antiques Roadshow or the recent hit American Pickers. This world has the air of a lottery: a $20 purchase might net you four, five, or six figures. Master dealer Curt Avery, the unlikely star of Killer Stuff and Tons of Money, plays that lottery every day, and he wins it more than most. Occasionally he gets lucky, but more often, he draws on a deep knowledge of America's past and the odd, fascinating, and beautiful objects that have survived it. Week in, week out, Avery trawls the flea and antiques circuit-buying, selling, and advising other dealers in his many areas of expertise, from furniture to glass to stoneware, and more. On the surface, he's an improbable candidate for an antiques dealer. He wrestled in high school and still retains the pugilistic build; he is gruff, funny, and profane; he favors shorts and sneakers, even in November; and he is remarkably generous toward both competitors and customers who want a break. But as he struggles for a spot in a high-end Boston show, he must step up his game and, perhaps more challenging, fit in with a white-shoe crowd. Through his ascent, we see the flea-osphere for what it truly is-less a lottery than a contact sport with few rules and many pitfalls. This rich and sometimes hilarious subculture rewards peculiar interests and outright obsessions-one dealer specializes in shrunken heads; another wants all the postal memorabilia he can get. So Avery must be a guerrilla historian and use his hard-earned knowledge of America's past to live by and off his wits. Only the smartest survive in one of America's most ruthless meritocracies. Killer Stuff and Tons of Money is many things: an insider's look at a subculture replete with arcane traditions and high drama, an inspiring account of a self-made man making his way in a cutthroat field, a treasure trove of tips for those who seek out old things themselves, and a thoroughly fresh, vibrant view of history as blood sport.

Collectible Investments for the High Net Worth Investor

Collectible Investments for the High Net Worth Investor
Author: Stephen Satchell
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2009-07-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0080923054

Many high net worth individuals are interested in diversifying their portfolios and investing in collectibles. A collectible is any physical asset that appreciates in value over time because it is rare or desired by many. Stamps, coins, fine art, antiques, books, and wine are examples of collectibles. Where does the financial advisor or investment manager for these high net worth individuals go to learn about these investments? There is no comprehensive resource from the financial standpoint--until now. Dr Stephen Satchell of Trinity College, Cambridge, has developed a book in which experts in various types of collectibles analyze the financial aspects of investing in these collectibles. Chapters address issues such as: liquidity challenges, tax ramifications, appreciation timelines, the challenge of forecasting and measuring appreciation, and the psychological component of collecting and the role of emotion in collectible investing. Key FeaturesFeature: Contributors are experts in collectible investing from around the worldBenefit: Gives financial advisors and wealth managers handy access to expert opinions to better advise clients interested in collectible investmentsFeature: Experts discuss the pros and cons of collectibles from an investment perspective in their area of expertise Benefit: One stop shopping, all expertise brought together in one volume, creating a handy reference guideFeature: Experts discuss art, stamps, coins, antiques, wine, from around the world in one global perspectiveBenefit: Wealth managers can gain information about a wide range of collectibles and learn about investing in these types with a global perspective

American Pickers Guide to Picking

American Pickers Guide to Picking
Author: Libby Callaway
Publisher: Hachette Books
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2011-09-13
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1401303978

A true adventure story and the go-to guide for "picking" American treasures from anyone's backyard, straight from the stars of History's American Pickers In these pages, professional treasure hunters Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz chronicle their road trips across the American countryside in search of "rusty gold" to buy and sell among the picking world's one-of-a-kind characters. Whether you are a fan of the show or just like finding hidden riches, you will love seeing what Wolfe and Fritz dig up and enjoy meeting the devoted collectors, extreme stockpilers, and elite dealers who they encounter along the way. Wolfe and Fritz do not deal in fine antiques. Their secondhand treasures are of the down-and-dirty and sometimes even bizarre variety, from old bicycles and vintage tools, to sun-bleached cars and handmade furniture, retired carnival games and unusual taxidermy. Assisted by Danielle Colby, who helps out at Antique Archaeology, Wolfe and Fritz buy on the cheap and then sell to dealers, art directors, interior designers, or anyone looking for a little bit of authentic Americana. The three now share their secrets to finding hidden gems, offering helpful hints that will show what average Americans can do to find the treasures that await them. From American Pickers Guide to Picking: Junk is Beautiful When we knock on a door, 90 percent of the time the things we find are junk. But we don't care about the odds; a picker never turns down an opportunity, no matter where it is. We've picked pickup trucks. We've picked flat beds. We've picked dumpsters. We even picked a Mercury Sable. We're looking for the unusual, the impossible, the funky, the different, the bizarre-things we have never seen before. And we'll go anywhere we have to go to find it. No location is off-limits to a hard-core picker. And there's plenty of things to be found at antique stores, thrift and consignment shops, flea markets, estate sales, and swap meets, and a lot of the tips in this book apply to finding treasures at these joints. But that's not really the kind of picking we do anymore. We look outside the box to find our junk-a word we use almost like a term of endearment: to us: junk is beautiful.

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money
Author: Maureen Stanton
Publisher: Penguin Press HC
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2011
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 9781594202933

A Pushcart Prize-winning writer traces the efforts of master antiques dealer Curt Avery to discover valuable and historically relevant items at flea markets, in a report on flea-market culture that also traces Avery's unlikely successes. 20,000 first printing.

Sex and the Serial Killer

Sex and the Serial Killer
Author: William Steel
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-10-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9781727241099

In the early 1980s, William Steel's life took a turn towards the macabre when he quite literally ran into Robert Durst in midtown Manhattan. Steel was attending a school for locksmithing and security systems at the time, and Durst -- the black sheep of a family that controls billions of dollars in New York real estate -- decided he could use a man of those specific talents. Little did Steel realize that his new acquaintance was not only the prime suspect in his first wife's mysterious disappearance but quite possibly the wealthiest serial killer in American history. For the better part of a decade, Steel and Durst maintained what has been called a friendship of mutual usury, as Durst paid Steel for use of his Brooklyn home to engage in drug- and fetish-fueled sex with a variety of prostitutes. As they got to know each other better, Durst boasted to Steel of darker deeds. Were they confessions of rape, torture and cold-blooded murder, or just the twisted fantasies of a maniacal multimillionaire? Steel didn't know for sure until years later. He's now convinced that Durst is, indeed, a murderous monster, and he remains haunted by thoughts that he should have done something to stop the fiend before he claimed more innocent lives. In his gripping memoir, Sex and the Serial Killer, My Bizarre Times with Robert Durst, Steel reveals the depths of the scion's depravity, and he demands justice for Durst's victims and their shattered families.NOTE: Parts of this book have been redacted for various legal and safety reasons.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Author: John Perkins
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2004-11-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1576755126

Perkins, a former chief economist at a Boston strategic-consulting firm, confesses he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business.

Carpet Monsters and Killer Spores

Carpet Monsters and Killer Spores
Author: Nicholas P. Money
Publisher:
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2004
Genre: House & Home
ISBN: 0195172272

Molds are everywhere: we inhale their microscopic spores from birth to death. But when an investigation in Ohio revealed that babies suffering from a serious lung illness had been exposed to a toxic black mold in their homes, millions of Americans became nervous about patches of mold in their own basements and bathrooms. Before long, lawsuits were filed by the residents of mold-contaminated homes in every state. By failing to address water damage, building contractors, plumbers, and insurance agents were held liable for exposing families to an unprecedented microbiological hazard. The mold crisis soon developed into a fully-fledged media circus. In Carpet Monsters and Killer Spores, Nicholas Money explores the science behind the headlines and courtroom dramas, and profiles the toxin-producing mold that is a common inhabitant of water-damaged buildings. Nicholas Money tells the most important mycological story since potato blight, with his inimitable style of scientific clarity and dark humor.

Attention! This Book Will Make You Money

Attention! This Book Will Make You Money
Author: Jim F. Kukral
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2010-07-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470880686

Drive Web traffic and take your business into the future In todays social Web marketplace, attention equals revenue. When you direct more attention online to your brand or business, you drive more long-term revenue. Regardless of who you are or how small your business is, you can have a huge impact using free Internet tools...provided you understand and correctly apply the latest techniques. Attention! gives you an educational and motivational guide to using social media to market your brand or business online. In three parts, you'll discover everything you need to know to get off the ground and thrive in the social mediasphere, including The tools, techniques and tricks to get attention online and turn that attention into profit The theory behind the importance of making your mark on the Internet How other businesses and individuals made money from online marketing Whether you're just starting your business, just moving it online, or already established and looking to take your business to the next level, Attention! is the key to success.

The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2011-10-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307957330

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

Unshapely Things

Unshapely Things
Author: Mark Del Franco
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2007-01-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440623538

In the alleys of the decrepit Boston neighborhood known as the Weird, fairy prostitutes are turning up dead. The crime scenes show signs of residual magic, but the Guild, which polices the fey, has more "important" crimes to investigate and dumps the case on human law enforcement. Boston police call in Connor Grey, a druid and former hotshot Guild investigator-whose magical abilities were crippled after a run-in with a radical environmentalist elf. As Connor battles red tape and his own shortcomings, he realizes that the murders are not random, but part of an ancient magical ritual. And if Connor can't figure out the killer's M.O., the culmination of the spell might just bring about a worldwide cataclysm.