Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S. (Paperback)

by Alex Boese (Author)
Key Phrases: bonsai kittens, hoax websites, fake testimonials, New York, Reality Check, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Hoaxes are but one tile in the vast mosaic of mis- and disinformation detailed in this delicious compendium of fakery. The ones that Boese offers are a far cry from the classic deceptions spotlighted in his previous The Museum of Hoaxes; they're mainly smirky Internet pranks, like a fake CNN.com news report that fellatio protects against breast cancer. But Boese finds inexhaustible fodder for his theme of the ubiquitous fakery of modern life, including Enron-style business scams, lip-synching scandals, artificial flavors, mislabeled meats, doctored photos, covert marketing campaigns, celebrity plastic surgery and denials of surgery, breast implants, and that oldest of ruses, the fake orgasm. He also covers a smattering of conspiracy theories—from perennials like subliminal advertising and the "Paul is dead" rumor, to a recent Sudanese panic he dubs the "penis-melting Zionist robot comb"—proving that we are at our most gullible when we are most suspicious. Boese wittily tracks down the leads to establish the truth or—usually—falsehood behind the facade, and sprinkles in handy "Reality Rules" to bolster readers' defenses against nonsense, the most pertinent of which is, "[j]ust because you read it on the Internet doesn't mean it's true." Photos. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
From the author of the entertaining Museum of Hoaxes (2002) comes an even more entertaining follow-up. The book is a reasonably thorough, not to mention playful, guide to fakery. Advertising posing as legitimate news stories, nonexistent movie reviewers, fraudulent sales pitches, reality television, imaginary Internet bloggers, phony celebrities--they're all here, and plenty more, too. The book also features a series of "reality rules" (#5.2: should a suitably dramatic picture of a major event not exist, one will be created) and several "case files" that use real stories to illustrate various kinds of fakery (like the professor who fell for the Nigerian bank scam). Boese, a self--described "hoaxpert," keeps us on our toes by slipping in real-but-improbable events among the fakes and challenging us to see if we can tell the difference. All too often it's impossible to know whether something he describes is bona fide or bogus, and that's Boese's point: we need to stay on our toes, if we want to avoid getting fooled. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156030837
• ISBN-13: 978-0156030830
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,136 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Return to Form, March 8, 2006

By	A Reader in San Diego - See all my reviews

The popular series that began with HIPPO EATS TOULOUSE LAUTREC, stumbled with HIPPO EATS COWBELL (how many obscure Christopher Walken references can one really stomach?), then completely fell on its face with HIPPO WILL EAT ITSELF (the endless flatulence gags were moronic). But the series has now returned to original form with HIPPO EATS DWARF. Our protagonist engages in a series of new adventures. Will she drink the Kool-Aid? Will she succumb to Munchausen Syndrome by Internet? I won't give away any secrets, but pay attention to the twist that occurs on page 112.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hippo Eats Dwarf, March 8, 2006

A Kid's Review

Hippo Eats Dwarf is a story that a lot of American's can relate to. It is the story of obesity.

The story is told of a female trapeze artist called Ursula Shipton who due to an accident is unable to continue her high flying work. Due to these she quickly gains wait and notoriety for eating just about anything. It finally gets to a stage where she has to choose between continuing her glutinous ways or doing the right thing.

Overall the book is light hearted written well. 3 out of 5

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, March 8, 2006

By	Rita "Rita" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Reading this book was a life-changing experience for me. It made me reflect on my own life and say to myself "Wow...something has to change." And Alex Boese showed me how. I needed to pull more pranks and create more hoaxes.

As soon as I realized why I felt there was a hole in my life, I set immediately to fix it. That's where this book shined once again...it served as almost a guide, inspiring me on what pranks to pull. Creating fake mermaids, chain letters, stories about placing kittens in boxes...you should have seen me, I was on a roll!

Alex Boese is my hero. I know that this book will help bring about a change in anyone who reads it.