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The Museum of Hoaxes

by Alex Boese

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
165	5	36,315	(3.46)	None

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Showing 5 of 5

This is a fun (and funny!) look through history. From the 1700s to present day, people have gotten a kick out of "pulling one over" on others -- and most of us have gotten just as many laughs over being on the receiving end.

This is a great read for some light, crazy entertainment. (

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GeniusJen | Oct 14, 2009 |

I liked the introduction to each chapter, trying to outline some kind of theme for each period, and an explanation of why the hoaxes of that era took the form that they did. I would have enjoyed a bit more depth in these sections, and in the descriptions of each hoax, but I suspect that's because I've been reading too much academic writing lately. Quite a fun book. (

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scroeser | Sep 1, 2007 |

A most enjoyable collection of hoaxes covering a good chunk of history.

Fledgist | Jan 21, 2006 |

Not great. Amusing at times, but not great. (

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jbd1 | Jan 12, 2006 |

A breezy tour through the 'museum' of pranks and conspiracies from the last few centuries. Some of these stories are explored more fully in other books, but here the quick survey makes for entertaining reading.

marmot | Nov 17, 2005 |

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0525946780, Hardcover)

Based on the author's popular website, Alex Boese's The Museum of Hoaxes takes readers on a tour of hundreds of documented hoaxes, many published here for the first time. You'll read about the curiosities and cons of the most notorious hornswogglers and flimflam men of the nineteenth century; you'll be astounded at the impostors, pretenders, carnies, and tricksters of the twentieth.

Learn how Edgar Allan Poe got away with an astonishing literary deception. Or how P. T. Barnum turned hoaxing the public into big business. It's all here, from the origin of April Fools' Day to the Taco Liberty Bell, from Bigfoot to the War of the Worlds to recent Internet hoaxes. There's also a Gullibility Test that challenges readers to answer the question: "Would these hoaxes have fooled YOU?"

Written with both humor and historical insight, and complete with photographs and illustrations, The Museum of Hoaxes will be the gift book of choice for anyone who has ever been duped, deceived, tricked, or trumped . . . or just likes watching the pros in action.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400)

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