History's greatest deceptions : and the people who planned them

Human history is positively shrouded in the dark arts of deceit and subterfuge. According to the Bible, the story of mankind began with the Serpent's lie to Eve, and we have happily profited from deceiving our brothers and sisters ever since. No matter the period or place, the religion or ideology, individuals and institutions have schemed and scammed their way into positions of power and wealth, taking full advantage of man's unique capacity for believing almost anything. With skill and imaginative flair, History's Greatest Deceptions chronicles the 50 most remarkable tales of fraud and forgery. Chapters include: Jesus' Kid Brother: Hong Xiuquan Get-Poor-Quick Scammer: Charles Ponzi Fooling Hitler: Operation Fortitude The Real-Life Da Vinci Code: The Dossiers Secret Come and See What's on the Slab: Alien Autopsy This beautifully illustrated volume includes over 80 photographs, paintings, and illustrations, shedding light on the compelling personalities behind the stories, and exploring the motivations behind some of the most ambitiously dishonest acts ever known. Cover Title Contents Introduction 1. Voices of the Gods: Ancient Oracles 2. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts: Odysseus 3. The Quantitative Emperor: Nero 4. Render unto God: The Donation of Constantine 5. The Woman Who Sat on the Throne of Saint Peter: Pope Joan 6. China’s All-Action Female Hero: Hua Mulan 7. The Missing Princes: Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck 8. Stairway to Heaven: Fake Relics and Indulgences 9. Three’s a Crowd: The False Dimitrys 10. The Bogus Magus: “Count” Cagliostro 11. To Fake or not to Fake: William Ireland 12. Transgender Spy: The Chevalier and Chevaliere d’Eon 13. The Almondsbury Princess: Caraboo of Javasu 14. Jesus’ Kid Brother: Hong Xiuquan 15. Barnum’s Wonder: The Feejee Mermaid 16. Fishy Tales: Ompax spatuloides and the Furry Trout 17. Going Ape: Piltdown Man 18. Elemental, my Dear Conan Doyle:The Cottingley Fairies 19. Get-Poor-Quick Scammer: Charles Ponzi 20. My Fair Lady: Anna Anderson 21. True Fakes: Artur Alves Reis 22. Reds Under the Beds: The Zinoviev Letter 23. Tower for Sale, One Careful Owner: Victor Lustig 24. Sexing Sport: Stanisfawa Walasiewicz 25. Pseudo-Genetics: Lysenkoism 26. A Little Fake Music: Marius Casadesus 27. Plumbing the Depths of Credulity: Loch Ness Monster Hoaxes 28. Fooling Hitler: Operation Fortitude 29. Close Encounters of the Unreal Kind: George Adamski 30. Deceiving the Eye: Elmyr de Hory 31. Stacked: The Brassiere Brigade 32. A Study in Black and White: The “Black Admiral” Portrait 33. Shangri-Lala: Cyril Hoskin 34. At Greenland,Turn Left: Vinland Map 35. Spring Fever: Spaghetti Harvest 36. Making Crime Pay: Frank W. Abagnale, Jr 37. The Real-Life Da Vinci Code: The Dossiers Secrets 38. I’m Ready for my Close-Up: The Patterson-Gimlin Film 39. The Sexual Evolutionist: Dr. Charlotte Bach 40. Ghosting Hughes: Clifford Irving 41. Cereal Killers: Crop Circles 42. Luck of the Devil: Nick Perry 43. When Maggie Phoned Ronnie: Thatchergate 44. “To do Today: Invade Poland”: The Hitler Diaries 45. Cold Comfort: Pons and Fleischmann 46. Come and See What’s on the Slab: Alien Autopsy 47. The Lost Boy: Frederic Bourdin 48. Send in the Clones: Hwang Woo-suk 49. Pennies from Heaven: Kazutsugi Nami 50. The $65bn Ponzi Scheme: Bernard Madoff Further Reading Back Cover