Author Description

This volume collects more than two dozen audacious hoaxes spanning from the eighth to the twentieth centuries. In these pages, you will find imagined accounts of the discovery of Atlantis and other lost cities, the supposed recovery of missing works of great writers, alleged messages from extraterrestrials, pretended episodes in the life of Christ, and even the fabricated history of a haunted automobile. Each hoax is presented from a primary source, either the original hoax itself or a contemporary account of its fallout, and each is introduced with a note about its historical context. Together, these hoaxes present a record of human folly and a warning about the fragility of the story we tell ourselves about the past. Inside you will find: · Original letters about the Shroud of Turin · The complete text of the famous Rennaisance Berosus hoax · The confession of the Cardiff Giant hoaxer · Accounts of fake works by Livy and Shakespeare · Imaginary discoveries of lost cities, ancient artifacts, and more!