Who wrote the novel "A Confederacy of Dunces"?

Which word means a con game or swindle, as well as the police squad that breaks it up? What is a concluding section added to a literary work, often revealing what later became of the characters? A Concord, New Hampshire, firm built which vehicles, whose fast drivers were nicknamed "jehus"? A condensed version of which author's "Roots" appeared in Reader's Digest in 1974? Which 1850s song, sung by Confederate troops, became a No. 1 hit for Mitch Miller in 1955? Which Missouri congressman, who served from 1977 to 2005, was known for his firm opposition to NAFTA? What is the console of keys on a piano or typewriter called? Which physicist, who in 1900 postulated that energy is radiated in quanta, has a fundamental constant named for him?