Whoppers: History's Most Outrageous Lies and Liars

by Christine Seifert

Overview

History of full of liars. Not just little-white-telling liars, but big-honkin', whopper-telling liars—people who can convince us that even the most improbable, outrageous, nonsensical stories are true. And the worst part is that we'll believe it. Whoppers tells the story of history's greatest liars and the lies they told, providing a mix of narrative profiles of super-famous liars, lies, and/or hoaxes, as well as more obscure episodes. Famous liars include people you might have learned about in school, like P. T. Barnum, who basically made a living lying to people for money; liars you might never have heard of before, like Victor Lustig, who managed to "sell" the Eiffel Tower twice in the 1920s; and hoaxes like the Loch Ness Monster Photo Hoax. The book will also include illustrations, sidebars, and infographics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541582163
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	324
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Christine Seifert is a native North Dakotan, a professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a young adult writer. She is the author of the YA novel The Predicteds, as well as the nonfiction books Whoppers: History's Most Outrageous Lies and Liars and The Endless Wait: Virginity in Young Adult Literature. She writes for Bitch Magazine and other publications, and has presented at academic conferences on such diverse topics as as writing, rhetoric, Twilight, and Jersey Shore.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Section 1 Tall-Tale Tellers

CH. 1 Hard-to-Believe-Anyone-Believed Stories 10

CH. 2 Exotic Fabrications 22

CH. 3 Horseplay 35

CH. 4 Stinkin' Stories 42

Section 2 Great Pretenders

CH. 5 Fakers 56

CH. 6 Inheritance Seekers 82

CH. 7 Lady Pirates & Soldiers 92

CH. 8 Pen-Named Writers 101

Section 3 Cheaters & Thieves

CH. 9 Slick Salesmen 114

CH. 10 Religious Scammers 129

CH. 11 Cheaters Never Win (Except When They Do) 145

Section 4 Aliens, Ghosts, & Creature Hoaxes

CH. 12 Little Space People 162

CH. 13 Scary Creatures 175

CH. 14 Boo! Ghosts & Spirits 190

Conclusion 207

Further Reading 209

References 213

Editorial Reviews

[A] lively, fun read designed to appeal to leisure audiences and history buffs alike.”—California Bookwatch
 

From the Publisher