Books like The Duke of deception by Geoffrey Wolff

In an elite New England college, a charismatic classics professor lures a group of eccentric students into obsessive study, leading them from intellectual curiosity to corruption, betrayal, and ultimately murder.

Richard Wright’s autobiographical memoir chronicles his growth from childhood to adulthood while confronting the harsh realities of segregation in the Jim Crow South.

Kevin Mitnick, once the world’s most notorious hacker, shares insider insights on social engineering and how human weaknesses can undermine even the strongest technical defenses.

A biography of Oleg Gordievsky, the Soviet double‑agent who, while working undercover in the KGB, supplied MI6 with critical intelligence that accelerated the collapse of the Cold War.

An engaging blend of river history, Twain’s early steamboat memories, and humorous sketches that inspired his classic "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," offering readers a lively portrait of the Mississippi and its people.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigates a murder in a remote Quebec village, uncovering hidden motives amid the local art scene.

Simon Winchester chronicles the life of Cambridge biochemist Joseph Needham, whose passion for China led him to uncover the empire's pioneering inventions—from printing to the compass—and to author the monumental *Science and Civilisation in China* series.

A funny, heartbreaking memoir of Joe Queenan’s escape from a harsh 1960s Philadelphia housing project, driven by a tumultuous Irish‑Catholic family and a relentless pursuit of books, music, and mentors.

After years of struggling on the dime museum circuit, Harry Houdini got a break that put him on the front page of a Chicago newspaper. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood. At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini developed a relationship with a man who would later run MI-5. For the next several years, the world's most famous magician traveled to Germany and Russia and routinely reported his findings. After World War I, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own, creating a group of operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, he triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Death threats became an everyday occurrence, but the group would pose an even greater danger to Houdini's legacy.--From publisher description.

Bernard Cooper’s memoir chronicles his complex relationship with his aging father, the former divorce attorney Edward Cooper, weaving family history, legal anecdotes, and reflections on love, debt, and memory in the United States.

A candid account of a young boy's life in 1950s America and his coming of age process in the face of adversity and growth through experiences like paper routes, whiskey, scouting, fistfights, and betrayal.

The story of the greatest art forger who painted over a thousand brilliant fake canvasses reputedly worth more than sixty million dollars.

Clifford Irving’s gripping account recounts the audacious literary hoax that claimed to be Howard Hughes’s autobiography—an international scandal that baffled publishers, stunned the public, and was finally chronicled after a $500,000 advance collapsed.

A moving memoir by Annie Dillard that recounts her childhood in Pittsburgh during the 1950s.

Louisa May Alcott's early writings, based on diary entries from the ages of eleven and thirteen, offer insights into her thoughts, feelings, and early poetic efforts.