This book contains, as the author describes in the very last line, "over five hundred anecdotes" about various hoaxes, frauds, and lies throughout history. The first half of the book is organized as something of a skeptic's handbook, with sections divided by various reasons "why people believe" and "why people don't disbelieve", richly illustrated with examples of each case. The second half divides yet more hoaxes up by theme ("religious hoaxes", "newspaper hoaxes", "political hoaxes"), and the last section, called "hoaxes on the wing", discusses the distances that a false story once it's left its creator's control.

The book's full of fascinating tidbits of history and trivia, from the Cardiff Giant to the strange career of Isaac Bickerstaffe to the four-hundred-year history of the Spanish Prisoner swindle (perhaps better known now as the Nigerian Bank e-mail scam), and it's excellent, fascinating reading, particularly for dipping into a bit at a time. This book was written between the World Wars, and the Dover edition has been updated tp 1950, and iit's nteresting to read the stories that now seem sadly innocent (the sections on PR hoaxes and political hoaxes are full of what to a modern reader is just business as usual) and the hoaxes and cons that are still going strong after all this time. ( )