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.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Clifford Irving is the author of twenty published books, half a dozen of them New York Times best-sellers, including "Fake!", "Trial", "Final Argument", and "Tom Mix and Pancho Villa", and several screenplays. His most famous book was the hoax "Autobiography of Howard Hughes" which brought the billionaire out of seclusion and landed the author in three U.S. prisons. He traveled three times around the world before most people living in it today were born, and was recently the subject of The Clifford Irving Show at the Cine 13 theater in Paris. Yet he may be one of the last professional people on this planet who has no cell phone.
The New York Times Book Review said: "Clifford Irving is a born storyteller." The L.A. Times called him "a master." In 1986 William Safire named "Trial" "the novel of the year." "Fake!" is the super-sophisticated tale of the most successful art forger of the 20th century, a gay Hungarian whose Picassos and Matisses hang in art collections worldwide. Many people believe the Hughes autobiography caused the Watergate break-in and the downfall of Richard Nixon.
In mid-December 2011, Clifford's oldest son, Josh, a computer geek, will create a unique publishing event. Twelve of Clifford's books, published and unpublished, will be made available simultaneously on Kindle. And soon you'll find the author on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Josh twisted his arm.)
He was born in Manhattan, went to the High School of Music & Art and Cornell University, lived for nearly two decades on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Ibiza, has been married more times than he cares to think about, has three grown sons, has lectured worldwide on subjects as diverse as the art market and the justice system, counts among his finest achievements earning a draw against the chess champion of Spain and 25 years ago driving in the winning run in the annual Artists v Writers Softball Game in East Hampton, NY.
He now lives with his Aussie wife in the Colorado Rockies, on the edge of a forest where he cuts firewood, paints, tends his flower garden, is regularly stumped by hard sudoku puzzles, and is writing a memoir called "Around the World in 80 Years."
