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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Controversial knowledge > Hoaxes & deceptions
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660 changed the lives of
English republicans for good. Despite the Declaration of Breda,
where Charles II promised to forgive those who had acted against
his father and the monarchy during the Civil War and Interregnum,
opponents of the Stuart regime felt unsafe, and many were actively
persecuted. Nevertheless, their ideas lived on in the political
underground of England and in the exile networks they created
abroad. While much of the historiography of English republicanism
has focused on the British Isles and the legacy of the English
Revolution in the American colonies, this study traces the lives,
ideas and networks of three seventeenth-century English republicans
who left England for the European continent after the Restoration.
Based on sources from a range of English and continental European
archives, Gaby Mahlberg explores the lived experiences of these
three exiles - Edmund Ludlow in Switzerland, Henry Neville in
Italy, and Algernon Sidney - for a truly transnational perspective
on early modern English republicanism.
As if history and nature had not provided wonders enough, through
the ages humans themselves have contrived more marvels to deceive
one another. Sometimes they have concocted evidence when none was
available to prove pet theories; sometimes their intention has been
to impress or defraud; sometimes they have acted merely for sport.
Robert Silverberg tells the stories of a baker's dozen of these
scientific hoaxers in a lively, good-humored book that ranges
through time and across continents. Here are perpetual-motion
machines and space rockets, men on the moon and serpents in the
sea. The rogues' gallery is a varied one: Dr. Mesmer, who cast his
hypnotic spell on eighteenth-century Paris; Charles Dawson, whose
Piltdown Man challenged evolution; Dr. Cook, with his tale of
discovering the North Pole; and many others. These are fascinating
stories and more than just entertainment. The author explains the
scientific background against which the hoaxes appeared and the
detective work that led to their exposure. The schemers teach us to
be alert, to challenge the evidence, and to appreciate the healthy
skepticism that characterizes the scientific method.Robert
Silverberg is the author of numerous books, including At Winter's
End and The Queen of Springtime, both available in Bison Books
editions, and Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds
of Science Fiction.
" Detecting Forgery reveals the complete arsenal of forensic
techniques used to detect forged handwriting and alterations in
documents and to identify the authorship of disputed writings. Joe
Nickell looks at famous cases such as Clifford Irving's
""autobiography"" of Howard Hughes and the Mormon papers of
document dealer Mark Hoffman, as well as cases involving works of
art. Detecting Forgery is a fascinating introduction to the growing
field of forensic document examination and forgery detection.
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