'The Hoax'

'The Hoax' is a smart tale about a man who told tall tales.Compared to harsher words like "fraud," "cheat" and "swindle," "hoax" is a rather gentle term, a word that even has artistic implications. It's the word Clifford Irving used to title his book about one of the great deceptions of modern times: his nearly successful 1971 attempt to pass off his own manuscript as the much-coveted autobiography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

By Kenneth Turan

April 6, 2007