From counterfeit medicines and banknotes to bogus perpetual wonder-working machines and sports memorabilia, Bolt reveals that almost everything has been forged or faked by someone at some point in history. He offers biographies and general observations on specific categories of deceit, and the book includes a number of well-known figures -- Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and President Francois Mitterand among them -- as well as the many individuals who would have remained anonymous had their duplicity not come to light.

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• An A to Z of 150 CASE STUDIES
• A
• ADOLF HITLER, SECRET AGENT
• ALBERT EINSTEIN COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT
• THE ALPHA PROJECT AT THE MCLAB
• ARSENIC QUEEN AUDREY HILLEY AND THE TWIN WHO NEVER WAS
• ARTHUR ORTON, TICHBORNE CLAIMANT
• ASHLEY TODD AND SOMETHING ODD
• ASTROTURF – PLANTED OPINIONS
• B
• BARONESS MURPHY'S CELLO SCROTUM
• BECCAH BEUSHAUSEN AND HER BABY DOLL
• BERINGER'S TABLETS, THE LYING STONES
• BMW BIG BOY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
• C
• C. F. GOLDIE, TOWN PAINTER
• THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK
• CHARLEY PARKHURST, STAGECOACH QUEEN
• A CHRISTIAN MARTYR IN THE COLUMBINE MASSACRE
• CHRISTINE JOY MAGGIORE, AIDS DENIALIST
• CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY, NOT QUITE THE RHODES SCHOLAR
• CLIFTON JAMES, THESPIAN, AND HIS NAZI FOLLOWERS
• CLUELESS KRUGEL COPS OUT
• COLLECTING REINHOLD VASTERS
• COMMON NAMES TO CONJURE WITH IN THE NEW CHINA
• COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES
• CRIMINAL MILKMEN
• D
• D-DAY DECEPTION DIDN'T END BACK THEN
• DANIEL GOLDREYER, ART RESTORER ON A ROLL
• DEREK ATKINS, THE VERY FISHY MARINER
• DISMEMBERING MICHELLE REMEMBERS
• DOLLAR DUPLICITY, NORTH KOREAN STYLE
• DROWN! BATHTUB TIPS FOR STAYING MAGNETIC
• E
• EBAY'S ALTERNATIVE REALITY
• ELMYR DE HORY AND THE ART OF LIVING WELL
• EMIL ABDERHALDEN AND HIS UNREPEATABLE EXPERIMENTS
• ERICH VON DÄNIKEN'S ALIEN BELIEFS
• ERN MALLEY, AUSTRALIA'S BELOVED BOGUS POET
• F
• FAKE PILGRIMAGE
• FATSO FARNAM, THE FARE-DODGING FOODIE FRAUDSTER
• THE FILM FESTIVAL THAT NEVER WAS
• FINDING THE PAST WITH HERR PROFESSOR PROTSCH
• THE FIRST HUMAN CLONE
• A FISHY PRISON HOAX
• FORGERS DONATE WORKS TO STOCKHOLM'S MOMA
• A FORGER OF FORGED ART
• ST FRANCESCO FORGIONE AND HIS BOTTLED STIGMATA
• FRENCH: THE LINGUA FRANCA OF EVERYONE ELSE
• FRIEDERICH LICHTENBERGER AND THE MEDUSA WATER
• FUDGE-FACTORING THE UNIVERSE
• FURNITURE FAKERS GO VIRAL
• G
• GAZA CITY ZOO'S AMAZING ZEBRAS
• A GENUINE LETTER FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
• GET BETTER PRAYERS
• GHOST ARMY: 23RD HEADQUARTERS SPECIAL TROOPS
• GHOSTING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, CLIFFORD IRVING STYLE
• GRABBING BONBONS BY THE TRUCKLOAD
• GREAT QUOTES FROM A PLUMBER
• THE GULF IN THE WAR EVIDENCE
• GWEN HARWOOD, HOUSEWIFE AND POETESS
• H
• HAMBURG'S TERRACOTTA WARRIORS
• HAN VAN MEEGEREN, THE VERMEER FORGER WHO FOOLED THE NAZIS
• THE HAND-CRANK BANK
• HARVARD'S ‘PRINCE OF CHARLATANS’
• HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN AND THE TREASURE TROVE OF TROY
• HELENE HEGEMANN, A REAL LITERARY MIXER-UPPER
• THE HOLY LANCE – THE ONE AND THE MANY
• HONEST ABE'S FORGED SPEECHES
• HOW THE NUMBERS ADD UP IN HOMEOPATHY
• HUBERT-JOSEPH HENRY AND THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
• J
• JESUS DROPS A LINE
• JOBSEEKING, GERT POSTEL STYLE
• J. R. BRINKLEY, THE TESTICULAR QUACK
• JOHN ADAM, THE MODEL HOSTAGE
• JOHN OLSEN, FORGETFUL FORGER
• JOYCE HATTO, ARGUABLY THE WORLD'S GREATEST PIANIST
• K
• KOUADIO KOUASSI AND HIS HOTEL BARS
• L
• THE LAND-GRAB DONATION OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE
• LAURA ALBERT AND HER MANY IDENTITIES
• LAUREL ROSE WILLSON, VICTIM OF EVERYTHING
• LAWSONOMY: A ZIG-ZAG THEORY OF LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING
• LEE ISRAEL AND HER BUSY OLD TYPEWRITERS
• LIFE AT THE FINAL CHECK-OUT DESK
• THE LOST STONE AGE TRIBE IN THE PHILIPPINES
• LOTT'S FALSE RESEARCH AND HIS SHADY STUDENT
• LOURDES’ APPARITIONS AND MIRACLE CURES
• M
• MARTIN LUTHER, EARTHLING
• MARY TOFT, A REAL BUNNY GIRL
• MELVIN EARL DUMMAR'S ROADSIDE BUM
• MEMORANDUM 46
• MENDEL'S PERFECT PEAS
• MESMER'S ANIMAL MAGNETISM
• MICROPROCESSING MONEY
• MISSING, PRESUMED TOTALLED: WILF KENDALL, AUTO PARTS DEALER
• MITTERRAND'S AFFAIRE OBSERVATOIRE
• MORMON SMITH FINDS PLATES – GOES WEST – GETS ALL SHOT UP
• MOTHER'S BOY
• N
• NEW SIGNINGS – A SPORTS ROUNDUP
• NOT-SO-CLEVER HANS: KARL KRALL'S UNDER-PERFORMING HORSES
• NOTHING'S SO NICE AS BASMATI RICE
• O
• OMAR KHAN, THE STRAIGHT-A STUDENT WHO WORKED NIGHTS
• OMID AMIDI-MAZAHERI, THE DEMON DENTIST
• 007 IMPERSONATOR MICHAEL NEWITT
• OPERATION ANDREAS: THE BIG MONEY GAMBLE
• P
• PERCIVAL LOWELL'S LIFE ON MARS
• THE PERILS OF COOKING UP STORIES
• PERU'S FAT GANGSTERS
• PETER CHAPPELL, THE HARMONIC HOMEOPATH
• PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS REVISITED
• THE PILTDOWN TURKEY
• PINKHAM'S PANACEA
• POLES APART: HOW TO REACH AN INCREASINGLY ICY RELATIONSHIP
• PROFESSOR BEHE ON INTELLIGENT DESIGN
• PROJECT JENNIFER'S MURKY DEPTHS
• PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION
• THE PUB CURE FOR CANCER
• PYRAMID SMYTH INCHES HIS WAY OUT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY
• Q
• QUESTIONABLE QUIZZING IN THE 1950S
• R
• REJECTION, A TALE
• RELICS
• RENÉ-PROSPER BLONDLOT'S RADIATION WAVES
• RENIER CHALON AND THE FORTSAS RARE BOOKS AUCTION
• RICHARD MEINERTZHAGEN: SHAM ORNITHOLOGIST AND MAYBE MURDERER
• ROMANOVS
• ROSEMARY BROWN, THE COMPOSERS’ COMPOSER
• ROYAL PRETENDER, KARL WILHELM NAUNDORFF
• S
• THE SAD TALE OF KATE HUME'S DECEIT
• THE SCIENTIFIC SHAMBLES OF COLD NUCLEAR FUSION
• SEEING DOUBLE IN THE AUCTION HOUSES
• SEX IN SPACE: THE EMISSION LOG
• SEX TIP NO. 1: BE YOURSELF
• SHINICHI FUJIMURA BURIES THE PAST
• SHOOTING A SELFIE, GUATEMALA STYLE
• SINGING ALONG WITH MILLI VANILLI
• SIR ISAAC NEWTON'S FRAUDULENT REPORT
• SOUTH AFRICAN SALAD COMBATS THE AIDS CRISIS
• STIRRING UP THE SCIENCE WARS
• T
• TIP-TOP GUNS
• THE TOXIC SAUSAGES OF FRÉDÉRIC PAGÈS
• U
• ‘UNDER THY SHADOW BY THE PIERS I WAITED …’: SELLING BROOKLYN BRIDGE
• THE UNIQUE KÜFFNER–DÜRER DOUBLE PORTRAIT
• THE U.S. JUDGES WHO LOCKED UP KIDS FOR CASH
• THE UNMISTAKEABLE ADOLF HILTER DIARIES, IN 60 OR 61 VOLUMES
• V
• A VERY UNSAFE PRODUCTS TESTER: IBT LABS
• VICTOR LUSTIG AND HIS STOOPID SHERIFF
• W
• WERNER PURGATHOFER'S PROMISING LECTURES
• WHAT HARRY POTTER DID NEXT
• WHEN HEMINGWAY SHOT HIMSELF – IN THE FOOT
• WHY A LETTER SANK THE LABOUR PARTY
• WILLIAM LAUDER'S DIATRIBE AGAINST PARADISE LOST
• THE WINNING SLIPS OF A WOULD-BE JUDGE
• WRITING A WINNER FOR PUBLISHAMERICA
• Y
• YAHYA JAMMEH'S MEDICAL AIDS
• Z
• ZIMBABWE'S MAGIC FUEL
• REFERENCES AND SOURCES
• A-Z SOURCES
• PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS