The Hoax - Softcover

Irving, Clifford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0759238685 ISBN 13: 9780759238688

Publisher: E-Rights/E-Reads Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

The ultimate caper story, novelist Clifford Irving's no-holds-barred account of the literary hoax of our time--his "autobiography" of Howard Hughes--was published in Great Britain in 1997, where it became a bestseller. But no American hardcover house would touch THE HOAX until now. One major publisher offered a $500,000 advance when the book was nearing completion, drew up the contract?then abruptly bowed out. Why? The answer is implicit in this classic tale of daring, treachery, and corruption. As fast-paced and exciting as any spy novel, it involves the reader at every devilish twist and turn. In this first U.S. hardcover edition, Clifford Irving tells how the hoax developed, like a Chinese puzzle, from its madcap beginning to the final startling confession--a witty and nail-biting story of international intrigue and beautiful women, of powerful corporate executives and jet-set rogues, of cover-ups and headlines.

About this title

About the Author

Clifford Irving (1930–2017) was the author of twenty books and the perpetrator of “one of the biggest literary hoaxes of the 20th century” (The New York Times). Born in Manhattan, Irving graduated from Cornell University and traveled widely before taking up residence on the Spanish island of Ibiza. He published three novels and a biography of Hungarian art forger Elmyr de Hory before launching, in 1970, a scheme to write a fake autobiography of the billionaire recluse Howard Hughes. Irving forged letters, made phone calls from exotic locations where he claimed to be meeting with Hughes, and duped CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace in an interview on 60 Minutes. After Hughes emerged from seclusion to say that he had never met Irving, the scheme fell apart. In 1972, Irving pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud and served sixteen months in federal prison. He documented the escapade and its aftermath in The Hoax (1981). His other books include Tom Mix and Pancho Villa (1982), The Angel of Zin (1984), Daddy’s Girl: The Campbell Murder Case (1988), Trial (1990), and Final Argument (1993).
 

From AudioFile

This blockbuster "confessional" by the author of the greatest literary hoax of our time--the "autobiography" of Howard Hughes--was published in Great Britain in 1997 but remained untouched by American publishers until now. When Clifford Irving and his researcher Dick Susskind hatched a plot to write a fake autobiography of the reclusive billionaire, they embarked on a cataclysmic year of double-dealing, corruption, sex, lies, and forgeries. Narrator Joe Barrett is remarkably convincing as the determined author, who finds himself in over his head. Barrett even manages to "sound" fat as Irving's rotund partner-in-crime, Susskind. The surprise scene-stealer is Irving's foreign-born, conniving, money-laundering wife, an impeccable portrayal. No matter what the world thinks of Irving, con man extraordinaire, Barrett makes this book about a bogus book as hair-raising, breathlessly paced, and suspenseful as any spy novel. M.T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: E-Rights/E-Reads Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0759238685
• ISBN 13: 9780759238688
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328