Man Overboard: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Northwest Publishing; 1 Ed edition (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569018154
• ISBN-13: 978-1569018156
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,527,075 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Crime Masterpiece!, July 25, 2000

By A Customer

Man Overboard: The Counterfeit Ressurection of Phil Champagne is one of the best written true crime books out there. I would recommend it to anyone who is craving a good story with lots of twists and turns. From the first page Burl Barer has you hooked. A must read for any true crime fan. RECOMMENDED!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth IS Better Than Fiction, January 13, 2004

By	Karen Dinino (Woodland Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This true-crime story is told with humor, pacing and drama to rival the best fictional works. The writing is great, the "characters" are SUCH characters you cannot believe they are real, and the plot twists keep you turning pages all night long. This book is a blast!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man Overboard, June 14, 2006

By	cortezhill (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

1982: Oregon businessman Phil Champagne, age 52, dies in a tragic boating accident off Lopez Island. He is survived by one ex-wife, four adult children, an octogenarian mother, and two despondent brothers. Phil didn't know he was dead until he read it in the paper. All things considered, he took it rather well. So did Phil's brother, Mitch, the beneficiary of a 1.5 million dollar policy on Phil's life.

1992: Wastington restauranteur Harold Stegeman, famous for his thick, juicy steaks, is arrested by the Secret Service for printing counterfeit United States currency in an Idaho shed. In addition to the bogus bills, Stegeman also has a fraudulently obtained passport, a fabricated Cayman Island drivers license, and Phil Champagne's fingerprints.

When the uproarious reality of Harold Stegeman's secret identity hit the headlines, the counterfeit resurrection of Phil Champagne became one of the most celebrated and hysterically funny true-crime stories of the twentieth century. And while every supermarket tabloid and television talk show hounded after the untold story, only Edgar Award winner Burl Barer captured Champagne's confidence and received permission to detail Phil's post-mortem career of fraud, deception, trickery, lies, and fine prime rib, bringing to life the exploits of a man his family thought dead over a decade ago.
--- excerpt from book's dustjacket