Anansi's Gold
The Man Who Swindled the World
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Anansi's Gold
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Narrated by:
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Jude Owusu
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By:
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Yepoka Yeebo
About this listen
Winner of the Jhalak Prize & Plutarch Award | A New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, Newsweek, TIME Book of the Year 2023
‘Fabulously entertaining’ Daily Telegraph | ‘Perfect for fans of Frank Abignale Jr.’s Catch Me If You Can’ Publishers Weekly
The astounding, never-before-told story of how an ingenious Ghanaian con artist ran one of the 20th century’s longest and most audacious frauds.
When Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957, it immediately became a target for opportunists determined to lay hold of whatever assets colonialism hadn’t already stripped. The military ousted the new nation’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, then falsely accused him of stealing the country’s gold and hiding it overseas.
Into this story stepped one of history’s most charismatic scammers, John Ackah Blay-Miezah – a con man to rival the trickster god Anansi. Born into poverty, Blay-Miezah declared himself the custodian of an alleged Nkrumah trust fund worth billions. You, too, could claim a piece, if only you would help him rescue it – with a small investment. Over the 1970s and ’80s, he grew his scam to epic proportions, amassing hundreds of millions of pounds from thousands of marks all over the world. He baffled Henry Kissinger, scandalised Shirley Temple-Black, and had Nixon’s former attorney-general at his beck and call. Many tried to stop him, but Blay-Miezah continued to live in luxury, protected by ex-SAS soldiers while he deceived lawyers, businessmen and investigators around the globe.
In Anansi’s Gold, Yepoka Yeebo chases the ever-wilder trail of Blay-Miezah – and unfolds a riveting account of Cold War entanglements and African dreams – revealing the untold story of the grifter who beat the West at its own thieving game.©2023 Yepoka Yeebo (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- G F W H Dagger
- 07-03-24
comprehensive baut suspiciously so
It is very detailed but you question how sone of it can be - especially sources. It also has a hideous bias which is hard to overcome. The performance was very good and empathetic. Just wish I hadn't bothered I'm afraid
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alain Gavin
- 27-01-24
Excellent: how the British shamelessly set an example to follow
Well written and entertaining. Very well read. Although it may be about a con that lasted for decades, the British had been doing the same for longer
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- keith h tucker
- 12-09-23
Ok but went on same same
Ok but went on same same
Ok but went on same same
Ok but went on same same
Paper back
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Curtis Essel
- 23-10-23
Sublime!
Well written story, as a Ghanaian myself - I’ve always been interested in this story being told. I’m glad it finally has, and not only that, but masterfully done so!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kenneth Jeyaretnam
- 05-03-24
Incredible history of a little known but decades long con
The adage told to Saul Bellow that “I never conned an honest man” couldn’t be more true here as hun
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- chirojane
- 03-10-23
Badly written
The subject matter sounded interesting but so badly written I gave up. Difficult to follow.
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