A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers and Extraordinary True Stories of History's Greatest Hoaxes, Fakes and Frauds

A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers and Extraordinary True Stories of History's Greatest Hoaxes, Fakes and Frauds. Michael Farquhar. Penguin Books, New York, 2005. 284 pp. $14.95, softcover. Farquhar tells numerous tales of history's most mischievous human behavior, gathered into ten sections, with headings such as "The deadliest lies ever told," and "All the news that's lipped to print." There are stories off tricksters, escape artists, forgeries, frauds, and scientific hoaxes, as well as stolen identities and literary liars.

This cleverly written guide makes more for entertaining reference (each entry is between one and four pages), than in-depth study. Farquhar's engaging, witty tone "celebrates the infinite forms--whether noble or amusing, absurd or grim that deception can take."

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