A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans by Michael Farquhar

This was a fine introduction to many of the more famous and infamous hoaxes that have ever been perpetuated. The last section is about American doublespeak and far more informing as well as interesting than other essays about the subject. Woolf stunt) and biblical liars (strangely, he left out Solomon's seduction of the Queen of Sheba). Farquhar includes list of literary liars (in addition to a V. Some of the stories are well known Doyle's falling for the fairy pictures, for instance others are not. People actually prepared to do this! And today, I can still convince people we are at war with Lichtenstein over Blue Cheese! There is an amusing story about a man called Lonizer convinced people that Manhattan needed to be sawed in half and the bottom half of the island moved to become the top half. It is amazing how gullible people were and still are. The more things change, the more things stay the same. There is also a rather sobering chapter of quotes stating that God has ordained whatever. Strangely, the ways mirrored those tactics used to kill off some of the saints. That tale is particularly tragic for the reader is told how everyone was 'executed' (Murdered).

While some of the stories are very funny (see below), some are tragic.įarquhar takes about Hitler’s use of deception, about the use of lying in witch hunts.

This book is at times more serious than the A Treasury of Royal Scandals The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors. Looking back over the following sentences, I think I influenced by the chapter on subliminal advertising. For some reason I feel compelled to type the following.

A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans by Michael Farquhar