The "Canadian Oxford Dictionary" defines hoax as a "humorous or malicious deception," and hex as "a magic spell." In "Hoaxes and Hexes," Barbara Smith explores these intriguing reflections of human nature, showing our curious desire to believe in the impossible and explain the inexplicable. Here are tales of swindlers, charlatans and imposters, among them the flamboyant 19th-century financier known as Lord Gordon-Gordon; David Walsh, author of the horrendous Bre-X gold-mine hoax of the 1990s; and the eccentric Josef Papp, who claimed to have crossed the Atlantic in a homemade submarine. The persistent power of hexes is recorded in stories of cursed places-including a strange haunting in the Cypress Hills and a deadly Lake Superior lighthouse-and weird coincidences, such as the legendary Hollywood hex on Oscar-winning actresses. Whether you believe in the power of hoaxes or hexes, these bizarre stories show them to be a fascinating part of our history.

Amid the intense colors of a foreign land, JIM LIVES is the story of a man searching for his son-a correspondent for a popular american newspaper-who vanished into thin air after sending one last, enigmatic message: "Jim Morrison isn't dead. He's hiding out in Italy. I saw him with my own eyes. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you everything..." Come along with the Creators of PAUL IS DEAD as they reveal the second chapter in their "conspiracy trilogy:" a new, fascinating vision of the most mysterious legend in the history of rock that envisions what happened "When the Music's Over."