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Hoax: Hitler's Diaries, Lincoln's Assassins, and Other Famous Frauds
Did a collector with a knack for making sensational discoveries find the first document ever printed in America? Did Adolf Hitler pen a revealing multivolume set of diaries? Has Jesus of Nazareth's burial cloth survived the ages? Can the shocking true account of Abraham Lincoln's assassination be found in lost pages from his murderer's diary?
Edward Steers Jr. investigates six of the most amazing frauds ever to gain wide acceptance in this engrossing book. Hoax examines the legitimacy of the Shroud of Turin, perhaps the most hotly debated relic in all of Christianity, and the discovery of fossils confirming humanity's "missing link," the Piltdown Man. Steers also discusses two remarkable forgeries, the Hitler diaries and the "Oath of a Freeman," and famous conspiracy theories, including allegations that Franklin D. Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor and that the details of Lincoln's assassination are recorded in missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's journal.
The controversies that Steers presents show that there are two major factors involved in the success of hoaxes and forgeries―greed and the desire to believe. Although all of the counterfeits and conspiracies featured in this book have been scientifically debunked, some are still widely perceived as truth. As Steers demonstrates, the endurance of these frauds highlights a disturbing If true history fails to entertain the public, it is more likely to be ignored or forgotten.
Edward Steers Jr. investigates six of the most amazing frauds ever to gain wide acceptance in this engrossing book. Hoax examines the legitimacy of the Shroud of Turin, perhaps the most hotly debated relic in all of Christianity, and the discovery of fossils confirming humanity's "missing link," the Piltdown Man. Steers also discusses two remarkable forgeries, the Hitler diaries and the "Oath of a Freeman," and famous conspiracy theories, including allegations that Franklin D. Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor and that the details of Lincoln's assassination are recorded in missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's journal.
The controversies that Steers presents show that there are two major factors involved in the success of hoaxes and forgeries―greed and the desire to believe. Although all of the counterfeits and conspiracies featured in this book have been scientifically debunked, some are still widely perceived as truth. As Steers demonstrates, the endurance of these frauds highlights a disturbing If true history fails to entertain the public, it is more likely to be ignored or forgotten.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
248 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2013
19 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 23, 2018
I was interested in this book, as I remember the Hitler Diaries hoax when it occurred. I was curious how and why such frauds could have been pulled, and if there are other ones that might have happened that we didn't know.
The part of this book I liked was showing how frauds were performed, and how rationally, intelligent people, ignored their good senses and were fooled by what should have obviously been identified problems.
The part I didn't like was the narrative structure with some of the stories; it was often very confusing and jumped in a way, that made me think I had skipped a page - or that a page was missing. I found myself having to go back and re-read sections, as it was no clear at all what had happened or why a new character was mentioned. For me, this distracted from the overall enjoyment of the book.
The part of this book I liked was showing how frauds were performed, and how rationally, intelligent people, ignored their good senses and were fooled by what should have obviously been identified problems.
The part I didn't like was the narrative structure with some of the stories; it was often very confusing and jumped in a way, that made me think I had skipped a page - or that a page was missing. I found myself having to go back and re-read sections, as it was no clear at all what had happened or why a new character was mentioned. For me, this distracted from the overall enjoyment of the book.
Read
February 19, 2013Reviewed for Library Journal.
March 2, 2017
An exciting read, I eagerly reached for Hoax in every spare minute available over the past weeks. Each chapter begins with a plausible situation then draws out the hoax with a well written, well researched argument. I thoroughly enjoyed absorbing the histories of Hoax and give it the highest of recommendations.
January 23, 2023
I did enjoy some parts of this book. The Roosevelt chapter was by far a favorite & the most clearly written/ easy to follow. Some of the other chapters were incredibly hard to follow. While I didn’t retain a lot of the convoluted chapters, I still recommend this book. The author includes a lot of information and maps out the “why’s” of how things have made history fairly well.
June 6, 2023
Interesting collection of hoaxes, some of which I had heard of before, some I hadn't. It was good to find out about the unfamiliar hoaxes but also to get more detail on the hoaxes I'd already heard about.
I think it was a good idea to restrict the number of hoaxes covered to only six. That way they can be each covered in detail. My favourite hoax was the Hitler diaries.
I think it was a good idea to restrict the number of hoaxes covered to only six. That way they can be each covered in detail. My favourite hoax was the Hitler diaries.
May 15, 2020
With curious cases brought up as hoaxes, I think we need to be more intelligent regarding claims that turn out to be hoaxes and forgeries after careful investigation. A simple, yet necessary reading for those obsessed wtih relaics and memorabilia, mind you.
March 7, 2023
A quick read that summarizes some historical hoaxes. Some great examples of critical thinking. The author includes footnotes and sources if the reader wants to dive deeper into any of the topics. Informative and well written.
Want to read
August 15, 2021Picked up this book to read about the lost pages in John Wilkes Booth diaries.
It was interesting to read details about busting the myth.
It was interesting to read details about busting the myth.
May 9, 2025
Very concise, straight to the point. Very entertaining and informative without being overly one-sided.
December 22, 2013
Hoax: Hitler’s Diaries, Lincoln’s Assassins, and Other Famous Frauds by Edward Steers Jr.
209 pages
★★ ½
This book is pretty self explanatory. It delves into some famous hoaxes – how they came to be, the people behind it, the discovery, the consequences.
I wish I could give this book a better rating. It had interesting stories (it goes into 6 instances of hoaxes in recent times) but somewhere along the line I just got bored. It just became the same thing, a different artifact but the same story mostly – someone forged something, people believed it, people paid lots of money, item turns out to be fake, people are sad. I pretty much perused my way through those last 20 pages, just not really caring anymore. The research was well done but I felt at times that the book came across in a textbook style, so very boring – I did that enough in college, thank you very much. There also black and white photos throughout. The pictures had promise but many were blurry and out of focus. What was the point of putting those pictures in? Seems like if you can’t find a good one, just don’t bother. Started out strong but just became too much for me. I should be thankful this book was just a little over 200 pages. That took me long enough for me to read. Not bad but ready to move on to something else, and quickly.
209 pages
★★ ½
This book is pretty self explanatory. It delves into some famous hoaxes – how they came to be, the people behind it, the discovery, the consequences.
I wish I could give this book a better rating. It had interesting stories (it goes into 6 instances of hoaxes in recent times) but somewhere along the line I just got bored. It just became the same thing, a different artifact but the same story mostly – someone forged something, people believed it, people paid lots of money, item turns out to be fake, people are sad. I pretty much perused my way through those last 20 pages, just not really caring anymore. The research was well done but I felt at times that the book came across in a textbook style, so very boring – I did that enough in college, thank you very much. There also black and white photos throughout. The pictures had promise but many were blurry and out of focus. What was the point of putting those pictures in? Seems like if you can’t find a good one, just don’t bother. Started out strong but just became too much for me. I should be thankful this book was just a little over 200 pages. That took me long enough for me to read. Not bad but ready to move on to something else, and quickly.
June 12, 2013
This short book covers several notable hoaxes, including the two of the subtitle, the Shroud of Turin (a known hoax since the 14th century), Piltdown Man, and whether FDR knew about Japanese plans to bomb Pearl Harbor ahead of time.
Nothing new here, really, though I enjoyed the run-down on the Lincoln assasination conspiracies, and was surprised by some bits regarding the Shroud of Turin. I was "into" that one (and conspiracies and yetis and UFOs and all that, in general) back in the late '70s, and never before read that the Catholic Church has "always" considered the Shroud to be a medieval hoax and not the actual burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. (Instead, it was to be used as a reminder of Jesus' suffering, just another icon, not an object to be worshipped).
That same chapter, however, was this book's downfall for me. I didn't really need to know all the intricate details of how flax was the very first material woven into cloth (and how cotton was second!). There was way more here than the casual reader wants to know.
But as an introduction to historical hoaxes, it was fairly well done.
Nothing new here, really, though I enjoyed the run-down on the Lincoln assasination conspiracies, and was surprised by some bits regarding the Shroud of Turin. I was "into" that one (and conspiracies and yetis and UFOs and all that, in general) back in the late '70s, and never before read that the Catholic Church has "always" considered the Shroud to be a medieval hoax and not the actual burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. (Instead, it was to be used as a reminder of Jesus' suffering, just another icon, not an object to be worshipped).
That same chapter, however, was this book's downfall for me. I didn't really need to know all the intricate details of how flax was the very first material woven into cloth (and how cotton was second!). There was way more here than the casual reader wants to know.
But as an introduction to historical hoaxes, it was fairly well done.
December 2, 2023
What a fascinating book. I wish it were longer and presented more hoaxes. The authors present the facts in a clear and reasonable way. There is no doubt that all the incidents discussed really were hoaxes. I just want to add one thing. I could have told the scholars that Hitler's diaries were bogus without even opening the books. The initials on the cover are FH, not AH. I may not be an expert on Hitler but I do know type faces.
May 2, 2013
Overall a nice starter book for anyone who wants to read up on some of the more famous hoaxes of our time. I really liked the chapter on Mark Hoffman and the Oath of a Freeman. Piltdown Man was neat also. I just got bored with some of the subject matter (to no fault of the author). I almost felt like I could have read a summed up paragraph or two and got the same thing.
June 4, 2014
Very readable, fun summary of several famous forgeries. I especially appreciated reading a simple account of the Hofmann forgeries that didn't add a snarky aside about those silly Mormons (most accounts can't resist), even if they did refer to the Church President at the time as Spencer W. "Campell," which raised some eyebrows about the accuracy of everything else in the book.
September 15, 2014
I would like this better if it didn't repeat itself. One detailed explanation of carbon-14 dating was enough, but there are several here. If you haven't read much about these hoaxes, this is a good intro to them.
September 21, 2013
Highly scientific but readable analysis of hoaxes: Hitler's diaries, the Shroud of Turin, the Piltdown Man, etc.
May 19, 2015
Just okay. The author often got lost on tangents that weren't connected to the hoax. The first chapter is the best one.
March 14, 2015
Well written and entertaining. Anyone can be fooled, especially if they need to believe something.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews