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Practice to Decieve



Dear Society of American Archivists members,

A new book about some of the most famous scoundrels in the history of
Western Literature entitled - "Practice to Decieve: The Amazing Stories of
Literary Forgery's Most Notorious Practitioners by Joseph Rosenblum is being
published by Oak Knoll Press, a scholarly publisher.

Each story in this work not only enlightens the reader about the cunning,
skill and techniques of the chosen forgers, but explores their personalities
and varied motives.

Here is the Press Release:

                                PRACTICE TO DECIEVE
                      The Amazing Stories of Literary Forgery's
                                Most Notorious Practitioners

                                      by Joseph Rosenblum

"Practice to Deceive" offers a unique window into the forger's shadowy
world.    The reader will find many motives in these stories. For most
forgers, it was simply a quick way to easy money, with the added benefits of
momentary fame, admiration or status among peers. However, with some of
these fallen gentlemen, more subtle motives lurk just below the surface. The
more discerning reader will find some of the sinister forgeries of Mark
Hofmann were designed to attack the very foundations of the Mormon Church.
Did religious demagoguery have some part in Hofmann's deadly crimes? And
what was really behind the motive of the eighteen-year old William Henry
Ireland who found a "lost" Shakespearean play and pulled off one of the
greatest hoaxes in British theatrical history.
   It's probably the sheer audacity of these literary rouges and the
gullibility of so-called "experts" and collectors that is most interesting.
As in the medieval passion plays and American Western dramas, truth and
reason ultimately win out. Most of our colorful villains are discovered and
exposed when they meet their match among literature's great defenders.
Usually through their technical carelessness, disdain for credibility, or
their vanity, they seemed to plant the seeds of their own exposure.

   In this intriguing work,  Professor Rosenblum gives his readers a
profound look into the ingenious, if not a bit melodramatic world of the
literary forger, and captures all the frailties of the human condition with
humor, suspense and well-written prose.

2000, 6" x 9", illustrated, 370 pages
Hardcover: ISBN 1-58456-010-X / Order# 57365-EM / Price $39.95
Publication Date: March 2000

Michael Guessford
Publicity & Marketing Director
__________________________________________________________________
Oak Knoll Books (ABAA and ILAB) / Oak Knoll Press / St. Paul's Bibliographies
310 Delaware Street / New Castle DE 19720
Phone (302) 328-7232 / Toll-free 1-800-996-2556 / Fax (302) 328-7274
Email: oakknoll@oakknoll.com / Web: http://www.oakknoll.com

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