I didn't learn much more from the reading the book than I did watching the documentary. It's still a very good read, however, and captures the length some people will go to in order to deceive others and get attention. ( )

This is a fascinating story. But the book has little depth to it. You never hear the why, or get any inkling of what is real. Even the chapter about her "real" life is completely vacuous and unsatisfying -- and again it's a single short chapter!

If you are interested in Tania Head's story, I suggest skipping this book and instead listening to the episode about her on the Swindled podcast, which condenses it and offers more takeaways. ( )

This is a pretty interesting account of Tania Head, a woman who pretended for several years to be a 9/11 survivor. In fact, she was nowhere near the attacks and virtually nothing she said about herself or her past history was true.

The first two-thirds to three-quarters of the book were excruciating to read, as I watched Tania dig herself deeper and deeper. As a child, I couldn't stand it when someone on TV was about to get in trouble and I often had to leave the room when the terrible denouement arrived. So knowing that this is all going to come crashing down around her made me feel stressed out and, in fact, slightly ill at some points. Essentially, I experienced this part of the book as a horror story. But a pretty well-crafted one; I thought the authors did a good job of building some suspense into what is a fairly straightforward narrative.

The end of the book, though, was a disappointment. It felt tacked on. I really wanted to know more about Tania -- why did she do this? What did she think about what she did? What happened to her? Did she believe her own lies? The authors don't even acknowledge most of these questions. There is a brief suggestion that she was scarred by childhood problems, and then the book ends. (That's an oversimplification, but not much of one.)

I can't really blame the authors for this, because Tania is apparently not speaking to anyone and doesn't seem to be a terribly self-reflective person anyway. But it's a big hole in the book. It's worth reading, but don't go in expecting an explanation, because you're not going to get one. ( )

This is a fascinating story, and in the hands of better writers it could have been a great book. Instead, it's a lumbering linear narrative which gets more tedious the longer it goes on. We know going into the book that Head was a fraud, but there's no insight into WHY Head needed to insert herself into the 9/11 tragedy, nor any investigation into the life she was actually leading while she hoodwinked everyone. If she wasn't working for Merrill Lynch as claimed, just what was she doing? Did she have a job? How did she afford a swank Manhattan apartment? She claimed to have gone to Sri Lanka to assist with rebuilding after the tsunami - did she? Unfortunately, none of these questions are answered or even addressed. At 304 pages, there's a lot of repetition and many over-dramatized dialogue sequences, as if the authors are stretching thin material into an acceptable length for a book.

( )

Well written fascinating account of a women who fooled a nation. What to me is really interesting is that from what I can see she got very little financial gain from her deception, so what made her do what she did. I really would have liked a little more of what happened to her since and maybe some insight into her motivations. It really fascinates me how she wasn't found out sooner and lets face it, she had to know she would be found out somehow. I give it only a 3 because although it is well written account of what transpired, it doesn't go into more. Feel the author should have done more research into what has happened to her since, some background information. This is just a personal observation, what is written is well done, but I wanted more. I felt very much for Linda, she stood by someone she believed in and was so utterly betrayed. I truly believe that "Tania" was a Psychopath and let me tell you I have had someone like that in my own life. She sucks you into her drama and makes you feel like you "need" to help her, but its just all a con. ( )