Hoax!: A Short History of Fakes, Frauds and Imposters

This work presents a witty history of the hoax, of frauds, scams, fakes, impostors - it's the real thing...honestly! It covers both historical and contemporary hoaxes and seeks to understand what drives the perpetrators. Why create a hoax? Who does it? What do they hope to get from it? Simon Caterson explores these motives and much more in this succinct history of the hoax. For the first time, this volume delves into the history of this perverse phenomenon and goes on to try and understand its nature and meaning. "Hoax!" gathers together a whole collection of infamous hoaxes and places them within a historical and cultural context, comparing them with others around the world.