Scientists and Scoundrels
Robert Silverberg
- 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.
Fantasy
- &
- Science
- Fiction
- Grandmaster
- Robert
- Silverberg
- brings
- the
- personalities,
- science,
- and
- events
- of
- these
- amazing
- frauds
- to
- vivid
- and
- relevant life.
