Hoax: A History of Deception

Hoax: A History of Deception PDF Author: Ian Tattersall
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
ISBN: 0316503703
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
An entertaining collection of the most audacious and underhanded deceptions in the history of mankind, from sacred relics to financial schemes to fake art, music, and identities. World history is littered with tall tales and those who have fallen for them. Ian Tattersall, a curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, has teamed up with Peter Névraumont to tell this anti-history of the world, in which Michelangelo fakes a masterpiece; Arctic explorers seek an entrance into a hollow Earth; a Shakespeare tragedy is "rediscovered"; a financial scheme inspires Charles Ponzi; a spirit photographer snaps Abraham Lincoln's ghost; people can survive ingesting only air and sunshine; Edgar Allen Poe is the forefather of fake news; and the first human was not only British but played cricket. Told chronologically, HOAX begins with the first documented announcement of the end of the world in 2800 BC and winds its way through controversial tales such as the Loch Ness Monster and the Shroud of Turin, past proven fakes such as the Thomas Jefferson's ancient wine and the Davenport Tablets built by a lost race, and explores bald-faced lies in the worlds of art, science, literature, journalism, and finance.

Hoax: A History of Deception

Hoax: A History of Deception PDF Author: Ian Tattersall
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
ISBN: 0316503703
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
An entertaining collection of the most audacious and underhanded deceptions in the history of mankind, from sacred relics to financial schemes to fake art, music, and identities. World history is littered with tall tales and those who have fallen for them. Ian Tattersall, a curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, has teamed up with Peter Névraumont to tell this anti-history of the world, in which Michelangelo fakes a masterpiece; Arctic explorers seek an entrance into a hollow Earth; a Shakespeare tragedy is "rediscovered"; a financial scheme inspires Charles Ponzi; a spirit photographer snaps Abraham Lincoln's ghost; people can survive ingesting only air and sunshine; Edgar Allen Poe is the forefather of fake news; and the first human was not only British but played cricket. Told chronologically, HOAX begins with the first documented announcement of the end of the world in 2800 BC and winds its way through controversial tales such as the Loch Ness Monster and the Shroud of Turin, past proven fakes such as the Thomas Jefferson's ancient wine and the Davenport Tablets built by a lost race, and explores bald-faced lies in the worlds of art, science, literature, journalism, and finance.

A Treasury of Deception

A Treasury of Deception PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143035442
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
We may say that honesty is the best policy, but history—to say nothing of business, politics, and the media—suggests otherwise. In this infinitely citable book, the author of two bestselling treasuries of scandal recounts some of the greatest deceptions of all time. With what forged document did the Vatican lay claim to much of Europe? Who wrote Hitler’s diaries? Why do millions still believe the vague doggerel that Nostradamus passed off as prophecy? Organizing his material by theme (con artists, the press, military trickery, scientific fraud, imposters, great escapes, and more), Michael Farquhar takes in everything from the hoodwinking of Hitler to Vincent “the Chin” Gigante’s thirty-year crazy act. A Treasury of Deception is a zestful, gossipy exposé—and celebration—of mendacity. A Treasury of Deception also includes: Ten tricksters from scripture Ten great liars in literature Ten egregious examples of modern American doublespeak Ten classic deceptions from Greek mythology

The Federal Reserve Hoax

The Federal Reserve Hoax PDF Author: Wickliffe B. Vennard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258006006
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description


History's Greatest Deceptions

History's Greatest Deceptions PDF Author: Eric Chaline
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780752457710
Category : Deception
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
With no little skill and imaginative flair, History's Greatest Deceptions chronicles the 50 most remarkable tales of fraud and forgery.

Fakes!?

Fakes!? PDF Author: Marco Beretta
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780881354959
Category : Alchemy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


A History of Ambition in 50 Hoaxes (History in 50)

A History of Ambition in 50 Hoaxes (History in 50) PDF Author: Gale Eaton
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers and Cadent Publishing
ISBN: 0884484939
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
What do the Trojan Horse, Piltdown Man, Keely Motor Company, and Ponzi Scheme have in common? They were all famous hoaxes, carefully designed and bolstered with false evidence. The con artists in this book pursued a variety of ambitions—making money, winning wars, mocking authority, finding fame, trading an ordinary life for a glamorous one—but they all chose the lowest, fastest road to get there. Every hoax is a curtain, and behind it is a deceiver operating levers and smoke machines to make us see what is not there and miss what is. As P.T. Barnum knew, you can short-circuit critical thinking in any century by telling people what they want to hear. Most scams operate on a personal scale, but some have shaped the balance of world power, inspired explorers to sail uncharted seas, derailed scientific progress, or caused terrible massacres. A HISTORY OF AMBITION IN 50 HOAXES guides us through a rogue’s gallery of hustlers, liars, swindlers, imposters, scammers, pretenders, and cheats. In Gale Eaton’s wide-ranging synthesis, the history of deception is a colorful tour, with surprising insights behind every curtain. Fountas & Pinnell Level Z+

The Century of Deception

The Century of Deception PDF Author: Ian Keable
Publisher: Saqi Books
ISBN: 1908906456
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
'Utter joy! A delicious romp through the heyday of balderdash and grand-scale deception, penned by one of the country's finest magical minds.' Derren Brown In 1749, a newspaper advertisement appeared declaring that a man would climb inside a bottle on the stage of a London theatre. Although the crowds turned up in their hundreds to witness the trick, the performer didn't. Over the following decades, elaborate pranks would continue to bamboozle audiences across England. In The Century of Deception, magician and magic historian Ian Keable tells the engrossing stories of these eighteenth-century hoaxes and those who were duped by them. The English public were hoodwinked time and time again, swallowing whole tales of rapping ghosts, a woman who gave birth to rabbits, a levitating Frenchman in a Chinese Temple and outrageous astrological predictions. Not only were the hoaxes widely influential, drawing in celebrities such as Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Swift, they also inflamed concerns about 'English credulity'. 'Fake news' and 'going viral' may be modern terms, but as this entertaining, eye-opening book shows, these concepts have been with us for centuries. 'A fascinating, witty and beautifully-written book.' Matt Lucas 'Ian Keable's brilliant book has opened my eyes to an incredible world of hoaxers and deceivers that I didn't know even existed. A cracking read filled with extraordinary stories.' Andy Nyman 'A masterful and fascinating journey into a hitherto hidden world of history, mystery and hoaxes.' Richard Wiseman

Hoaxes and Hexes

Hoaxes and Hexes PDF Author: Barbara Smith
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing Co
ISBN: 1926613988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines hoax as a "humorous or malicious deception," and hex as "a magic spell." These stories of hoaxes and hexes illustrate our curious desire to believe in the impossible and explain the inexplicable. Portrayed here are accomplished hoaxers and swindlers, including the flamboyant 19th-century financier known as Lord Gordon-Gordon; David Walsh, author of the horrendous Bre-X gold-mine hoax of the 1990s; and the eccentric Josef Papp, who claimed to have crossed the Atlantic in a homemade submarine. The persistent power of hexes is recorded in stories of cursed places--including a strange haunting in the Cypress Hills and a deadly Lake Superior lighthouse--and weird coincidences, such as the legendary Hollywood hex on Oscar-winning actresses. Whether humorous or malicious, real or imagined, hoaxes or hexes have entertained and ensnared us throughout history.

Hoax Springs Eternal

Hoax Springs Eternal PDF Author: Peter Hancock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107071682
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
This book examines and extrapolates from famous historical case studies to illustrate principles of cognitive deception and how to avoid being deceived.

Hoaxes and Deceptions

Hoaxes and Deceptions PDF Author: Time-Life Books
Publisher: Time Life Education
ISBN: 9780809477159
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
Examines a variety of famous hoaxes and deceptions throughout history