Two-time Newbery Honor Book author has written an amazing account of one of America's most famous hoaxes. When a 10-foot tall purported "petrified man" is unearthed from a backyard in upstate New York in 1869, the discovery immediately turns into a spectacle of epic proportions. News of the giant spreads like wildfire, and well over a thousand people come to view him in the first five days alone! Everyone has their own idea of his true origin: Is he an ancient member of the local Onandaga Indian tribe? Is he a biblical giant like Goliath? Soon the interests of world-renowned scientists and people from around the globe are piqued as arguments flare over who he is, where he came from, and if he is real--or just a hoax. In a riveting account of how the Cardiff Giant mystery snowballed into one of America’s biggest money-making spectacles--and scams--Jim Murphy masterfully explores the power of 19th-century media and the unexpected ripple effect that a single corrupt mastermind can produce when given a stage.
United States,Law & Crime,Curiosities & Wonders,19th Century,History

motw/The Giant and How He Humbugged America - Jim Murphy.epub

Jim Murphy

Scholastic Press

United States, United States of America

Illustrated, 2013

Memory of the World Librarian: Quintus

A description of the Cardiff Giant mystery in which a man in upstate New York buried a ten-foot-tall, petrified model of a man, which was discovered by well diggers a year later, and set into motion a money-making spectacle

2025-10-27