CONTENTS

1. COVER
2. TITLE PAGE
3. COPYRIGHT
4. DEDICATION
5. PREFACE
6. 1. OTHER ANIMALS:
   EVOLUTION OF THE CON
7. 2. APOCALYPTICISM:
   THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
8. 3. PSEUDOARKEOLOGY:
   THE ARK AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW
9. 4. PREDETERMINED COMBAT:
   GLADIATORS AND PRO WRESTLERS
10. 5. SELLING EMPIRES:
    THE JULIAN PURCHASE
11. 6. CRYPTOZOOLOGY:
    THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
12. 7. SACRED RELICS:
    THE PRECIOUS PREPUCE
13. 8. GENDER BENDING:
    POPE JOAN
14. 9. SINDONOLOGY:
    THE SHROUD OF TURIN
15. 10. RENAISSANCE REPROBATES:
    MICHELANGELO’S CUPID
16. 11. FRAUDULENT ETHNICITY:
    PSALMANAZAR
17. 12. ROMANTIC SUICIDE:
    THOMAS CHATTERTON
18. 13. COUNTERFEIT WINE:
    THOMAS JEFFERSON’S LAFITE
19. 14. PSEUDOSHAKESPEARE:
    THE BOY WHO WOULD BE BARD
20. 15. CRYPTOANTHROPOLOGY:
    THE SAGA OF BIGFOOT
21. 16. IMAGINARY LANDS:
    POYAIS
22. 17. ALTERNATE REALITIES:
    FAKED PHOTOGRAPHS
23. 18. AERIAL FEATS:
    EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE GREAT BALLOON HOAX
24. 19. COMMUNING WITH THE DEPARTED:
    SPIRITUALISM AND EVOLUTION
25. 20. DIDDLING:
    THE ORIGINAL CON MAN
26. 21. PSEUDOARCHAEOLOGY:
    THE DAVENPORT TABLETS
27. 22. ULTIMATE DIETS:
    BREATHARIANISM
28. 23. DEATHBED CONVERSIONS:
    THE LADY HOPE
29. 24. FORGED DOCUMENTS:
    THE PRIORY OF SION
30. 25. PUBLIC CREDULITY:
    POLITICAL LIES
31. 26. POLITICAL PERSECUTIONS:
    THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
32. 27. FINANCIAL FRAUD:
    THE SCAMMER SCAMMED
33. 28. FAKE PALEOANTHROPOLOGY:
    PILTDOWN
34. 29. ARCTIC EXPLORATION:
    ROBERT PEARY
35. 30. QUACK MEDICINE:
    RADIONICS
36. 31. MYTHOGENESIS:
    THE SIX MONA LISAS
37. 32. FAKE MUSIC:
    FRITZ KREISLER
38. 33. PSEUDOPLANETOLOGY:
    FLAT AND HOLLOW EARTHS
39. 34. FAKE ART:
    TRIBUTE OR EXPLOITATION?
40. 35. DIALECTICAL BIOLOGY:
    LYSENKOISM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
41. 36. COUNTERFEIT CADAVERS:
    “THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS”
42. 37. INVENTED IDENTITIES:
    KORLA PANDIT
43. 38. MISGUIDED ARCHAEOLOGY:
    A LION IN WINTER
44. 39. CIRCUMNAVIGATIONS THAT WEREN’T:
    THE SAD SAGA OF DONALD CROWHURST
45. 40. LUNACY:
    CONSPIRACY THEORIES
46. 41. HUMAN VARIATION:
    THE FALLACY OF RACE
47. 42. ETERNAL LIFE:
    THE FROZEN SELF
48. 43. HOMEOPATHY:
    THE MEMORY OF WATER
49. 44. PSEUDOPALEONTOLOGY:
    “ARCHAEORAPTOR”
50. 45. UNRELIABLE MEMORIES:
    FAKE MEMOIRS
51. 46. IRRATIONAL HYSTERIA:
    VACCINES AND AUTISM
52. 47. PEER REVIEW:
    JAN HENDRIK SCHÖN
53. 48. BOGUS SECURITY:
    FAKE BOMB DETECTORS
54. 49. FAKED DEATHS:
    PSEUDOCIDE
55. 50. FAKE JOURNALISM:
    STEPHEN GLASS, JAYSON BLAIR, AND THEIR LEGACY
56. EPILOGUE
57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
58. FURTHER READING
59. PHOTO CREDITS
60. NEWSLETTERS