Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower

Tricky VicBy Greg Pizzoli


Robert Miller was born in 1890 in what is now the Czech Republic. Tricky Vic is the true story of how this brilliant young man became one of the most crooked con men in history. He instigated many cons but became most famous for the scheme that Secret Service, police, and admirers around the world named him “the man who sold the Eiffel Tower.” I found this book fascinating and really fun to read. It was amazing to me how “Count Victor” could pull off so many of the scams he either created or copied from other con artists. It was incredible what he got away with. Greg Pizzoli did a fantastic writing job of telling this true story for young readers with just the right amount of detail. And his illustrations are works of art in storytelling. I loved the colors, the layout, and the fingerprint face of Robert. One of the men Victor cons has the last name of “Poisson.” I laughed as he was portrayed with a fish head as poisson means “fish” in French. Plus he also got hooked! The inside cover says ages 7 up, but I am not sure how many children that age will get some of the material on their own. But I have to say that when I read this to some 8 year olds, they really liked the story and we talked a lot about what was going on to help them out. I think older readers would have no trouble. I really enjoyed reading this book!

Review by Renee Larsen, Hillside Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-6 and Up

Author Website: http://gregpizzoli.virb.com/

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower
By Greg Pizzoli
Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group
39 pages
Release Date: March 10, 2015

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