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History's Greatest Deceptions
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 AutopsyThis 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.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2010
7 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Eric Chaline
40 books20 followersAuthor, journalist and editor, winner of the Lord Aberdare Prize, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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December 17, 2023My second reading - 11 years later.
Simply told stories of deception, fraud and fakery throughout time, from the ancient Gods to the 20th century.
Edit: a third reading - felt like something a little lighter in between tomes.
Simply told stories of deception, fraud and fakery throughout time, from the ancient Gods to the 20th century.
Edit: a third reading - felt like something a little lighter in between tomes.
April 28, 2013
I enjoyed reading this book quite a bit, but there are some weird things about it. It was a good starting place to learn about some of the curiouser points in history, and it gave me subjects to do some deeper research on.
I'm not going to hide this review, but there are spoilers in it, so be forewarned!
The problem is that the author seems to have injected his own personal opinion into the reporting of the stories, rather than just the facts at certain points throughout the book. For example, some of the chapters, in my opinion, should not have been included, because they have not conclusively been proven to be hoaxes/deceptions beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is a whole chapter on the legendary heroine Hua Mulan and how she dressed deceptively as a man, while there has not been conclusive evidence to prove that she actually existed, a fact that is only casually mentioned at the end of the chapter. There is also one on Pope Joan, another person who is not yet proven to have existed. There is a chapter on the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, where the author states at the beginning that "the inclusion of the Patterson-Gimlin film in these pages will please some and annoy others, because there is as yet no incontrovertible proof that the film is a hoax." He also states later in the chapter that "In many cases of Bigfoot sightings, a misidentified bear is probably the most likely explanation." He's right, I am annoyed, mostly because both of these statements just prove to me that he was relying on his own opinion and trying to fill space in the book. At one point he makes a statement about Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick having been "thought to have suffered from what we would call 'serious learning disabilities'". That Edward was possibly mentally challenged is controversial, and is based on one line the chronicler Edward Hall wrote, where it says that he was imprisoned so long that "he could not discern a Goose from a Capon." These are just some examples of places where he would state things as being a fact when they have not been entirely proven, or examples of what seemed to be amateur research, where a quick Google search would have uncovered the same information.
My final word is that the book definitely had good points, and that it is a great starting place, but you're going to want to research further if you read it.
I'm not going to hide this review, but there are spoilers in it, so be forewarned!
The problem is that the author seems to have injected his own personal opinion into the reporting of the stories, rather than just the facts at certain points throughout the book. For example, some of the chapters, in my opinion, should not have been included, because they have not conclusively been proven to be hoaxes/deceptions beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is a whole chapter on the legendary heroine Hua Mulan and how she dressed deceptively as a man, while there has not been conclusive evidence to prove that she actually existed, a fact that is only casually mentioned at the end of the chapter. There is also one on Pope Joan, another person who is not yet proven to have existed. There is a chapter on the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, where the author states at the beginning that "the inclusion of the Patterson-Gimlin film in these pages will please some and annoy others, because there is as yet no incontrovertible proof that the film is a hoax." He also states later in the chapter that "In many cases of Bigfoot sightings, a misidentified bear is probably the most likely explanation." He's right, I am annoyed, mostly because both of these statements just prove to me that he was relying on his own opinion and trying to fill space in the book. At one point he makes a statement about Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick having been "thought to have suffered from what we would call 'serious learning disabilities'". That Edward was possibly mentally challenged is controversial, and is based on one line the chronicler Edward Hall wrote, where it says that he was imprisoned so long that "he could not discern a Goose from a Capon." These are just some examples of places where he would state things as being a fact when they have not been entirely proven, or examples of what seemed to be amateur research, where a quick Google search would have uncovered the same information.
My final word is that the book definitely had good points, and that it is a great starting place, but you're going to want to research further if you read it.
Read
March 16, 2018The book History’s Greatest Deceptions by Eric Chaline was published in 2010. This book consisted of around thirty stories which depicted times in history, dating back to the ancient Greeks, when one civilization or group of people was fooled by another. The most famous of these may arguably be the story of the Trojan Horse. An attacking army hid inside a giant horse to get inside the heavily walled city. The people in the city believed it to be a gift from the gods so they brought it to the city center, where the army piled out of the horse and captured the village. This book was very interesting and I especially liked it how the stories were short enough to keep me interested all the way through but gave a very detailed account of the story of deception. This is a very good book because the author found numerous accounts of deception, in which some of them are famous and others are less heard of, so that the audience can learn something from the book. I would recommend this book to anybody. It includes a sense of comedy in some of the stories but yet the historical accounts are accurate and original. Any reader could learn something they didn’t know about history and the book keeps readers entertained throughout its entirety.
November 11, 2023
This is a decent compilation of deceptions perpetrated throughout the centuries. They are sorted chronologically and by type of deception. Each entry has an brief summary of the deception.
I took away a star because at least one of the entries aren't really deceptions at all. One was entry 24, and I feel like there was one or two others but due to the loss of my notes I can't remember.
Overall not a bad collection for someone interested in a beginner's level collection of stories about deception.
I took away a star because at least one of the entries aren't really deceptions at all. One was entry 24, and I feel like there was one or two others but due to the loss of my notes I can't remember.
Overall not a bad collection for someone interested in a beginner's level collection of stories about deception.
January 16, 2014
This book was interesting and fun to read, but there were some problematic issues with the book. For starters, Chaline has issues when it comes to covering gender/sex. For starters, his definition of transsexual is wrong: being trans is not acting in a way that's not consistent with the conventional gender role ascribed to the biological sex (if that was the case, every tomboy out there would be considered trans). It's considering oneself the opposite sex from their biological one. He also employs the term 'shell shock', which hasn't been used in years. Now it's called PTSD.
Then there were 'hoaxes' that make the book that shouldn't have. Hoaxes are deliberate things, so if there's no planned deception involved, it can't be included as a hoax. Another one having to with gender is the article on Stanislawa Walasiewicz: If she considered and thought of herself as a woman, then she wasn't deceiving anyone, intersex or not. The same goes with the cold fusion article: Chaline attributes the whole thing to sloppy research methodology and rushed results, not a deliberate deception on the part of the scientists. Thus, not a hoax. Lastly, the big foot example: it's not 100% proven that it was hoaxed, and no one has admitted it was a hoax. Just because he thinks it's a fake, doesn't mean he can include it in the book as a hoax when it's not proven to be.
On that note, the tone of the book is really condescending. Chaline clearly doesn't believe in any of the paranormal entries, and that's fine, but his tone insults those who do. That was poor form on his part, since it takes away any effort at being impartial and unbiased.
Then there were 'hoaxes' that make the book that shouldn't have. Hoaxes are deliberate things, so if there's no planned deception involved, it can't be included as a hoax. Another one having to with gender is the article on Stanislawa Walasiewicz: If she considered and thought of herself as a woman, then she wasn't deceiving anyone, intersex or not. The same goes with the cold fusion article: Chaline attributes the whole thing to sloppy research methodology and rushed results, not a deliberate deception on the part of the scientists. Thus, not a hoax. Lastly, the big foot example: it's not 100% proven that it was hoaxed, and no one has admitted it was a hoax. Just because he thinks it's a fake, doesn't mean he can include it in the book as a hoax when it's not proven to be.
On that note, the tone of the book is really condescending. Chaline clearly doesn't believe in any of the paranormal entries, and that's fine, but his tone insults those who do. That was poor form on his part, since it takes away any effort at being impartial and unbiased.
May 12, 2016
Not very good. The author has a clear anti-religion agenda and pretty much just writes what he discovered from reading a few websites. Not well thought out, not well planned. It does have a well organized sequential system to it but the writing is poor and uninteresting. I think you can find many more bathroom readers that are better than this one. Skip it.
May 1, 2018
Though far from perfect, this book presented some interesting stories and made them digestible for general readers. Enjoyable though this book may be, take care not to take its word as gospel. If you're looking for a source for a paper on, say, the Trojan War or Frank William Abignale Jr., I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
February 25, 2018
I find it hard to believe that all of these were history's GREATEST deceptions. I also did not care for the retelling of every other story in the beginning of the next story. Repetitive. But okay as a bathroom read.
April 25, 2019
Not bad at all, I've skipped a few like the aliens, corn circles and big foot... Enjoyed the financial deceptions (especially Abagnale and Madoff - watched the movies as well) and the religious deceptions the most. Nice for general knowledge
October 19, 2021
I have next to no memory of this, but it was probably entertaining.
January 4, 2016
I liked the concept of the book, but found the articles too detailed. I found myself glazing over in several sections.
i-skimmed-this
June 19, 2017I looked at the table on contents and choose a few to look through. I found this book while looking for "Catch Me If You Can" and decided to skim through it. The few I read were pretty good, though.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews