In 1869, a man deceived the nation into believing an exhumed 10-foot- tall “petrified man” was from the Onondaga Indian tribe or possibly a biblical giant like Goliath. This is an intriguing case study in fraud and propaganda. Source Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index.

The Giant and How He Humbugged America by Jim Murphy tells the extraordinary story of one of the biggest hoaxes in American history. In 1869, a giant stone man was discovered on a farmer's land in Cardiff, New York. Doctors, scientists, and other experts weighed in on the rampant speculation that had taken over as to the giant man's origins. As word spread of the remarkable discovery, the nation was captivated by the giant's existence. However, the truth came out that the Cardiff Giant was a hoax, one that had lasting effects on all the people involved.

The first criticism of the book may be made in its length, finishing the story at 97, text-heavy pages with very few illustrations or photographs interjecting. The length may not have been an issue had the text been necessary, but several times, the story seemed to wander and become unfocused. Murphy seems to struggle with an issue that many researchers have found, which is deciding what of their prodigious research to keep and what to discard. Some extraneous details work well, like the doctors worrying that "the unclothed giant might provoke the village women to have sinful thoughts" (p. 21), providing some flavor for the time period and a quirk-of-the-lips humor into the scene. Others, like a brief discursion into the history of the Church of Latter-day Saints, seemed out of place and unnecessary. It is apparent from later chapters that Murphy attempted to tie this in, but the entire discussion could have been excised with no detriment to the surrounding prose. The effect is that the prose often drags, particularly in the beginning, as it is weighted down under digressions and detours. It takes, in fact, forty-six pages (nearly at the halfway mark) before it even reveals: "The ugly truth was that Stub Newell was a bold-faced liar!" (p. 46). While it was likely that this was intentional, intent does not necessarily mean that it was a good idea. Like hoaxes themselves, books about hoaxes need to be quick and engaging, otherwise the public becomes suspicious and starts thinking too deeply about them, often to unfavorable results.

The lack of focus sometimes does work to elevate the book beyond another retelling of a famous event. Murphy, rather than focusing solely on the event, weaves it into the greater narrative of American history at the time, tying it into the Civil War's effects on the nation, the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, and even other hoaxes at the time, like the Great Zeuglodon and the Fox sisters. The large cast of characters - helpfully listed on the first page - is an indication of where this technique becomes a drawback rather than an asset. The slew of characters and quotes being thrown rapidly into the text can become overwhelming and hard to keep straight, particularly as Murphy rarely takes the time to develop and introduce the characters at length before quoting them immensely. A slower build, with the time to develop the cast of characters, would have alleviated this onslaught immensely. Murphy's pacing with regards to characters is much too fast, while too slow in the story.

The story is peppered with enough sources from the time period to reflect its accuracy, such as an excerpt from a local paper that sets the scene for the story beautifully while also providing a touch of authenticity to the prose. Even Murphy is unflinchingly honest in his prose; at one point, he writes, "[Newell] must have said he would consider Boynton's request..." (p. 25) rather than "he said he would consider". The difference reminds the reader that, as thoroughly sourced and accurate as the story is, some of it will be speculation based on reasoned guesses. In another, Murphy's wording carefully differentiates between fact and speculation on a particular man's motivations (p. 9) or remarks that it's "possible" (p. 26) that certain events may have occurred. Murphy does not shy from admitting this, however, which is a welcome dose of straightforwardness in the nonfiction genre, though it also may explain his reticence to developing characters, as to characterize someone necessitates speculation. Several primary sources also decorate the text, such as excerpts or entire articles from the time period regarding the giant.

However, some of the illustrations are a stretch, and seem to have been placed only as a way to break up the text-heavy pages or to support the less relevant details of Murphy's prose. At one point where Murphy digresses into a brief history of a colorful, eccentric man from the village who examines the giant, John Boynton, the illustration depicts LDS leader Joseph Smith being attacked by an angry mob. Another has a picture of a campaign ad ran during the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. While certainly interesting on their own, they seem bizarrely out of place and shoehorned into the main text.

Murphy remains balanced when he steps out of the main story. When writing about why the nation was so captured by the discovery, he remarks that, "Between 1861 and 1865, newspapers had been filled with stories of terrible Civil War battles... The Cardiff Giant offered readers something positive and inspiring to think about, something to distract them from more troubling news" (p. 30). He strikes a good mix of factual, research-based evidence, and speculation on the feelings at the time, though remains mostly silent when speculating on individual people's emotions or thoughts.

The end includes thorough sourcing of Murphy's research, including source notes for each chapter, an author's note regarding his research, a selected bibliography, and photo credits for the historical photographs sprinkling the text. For all its faults, The Giant and How He Humbugged America appears to be an accurate, verifiable accounting.

On whole, however, The Giant and How He Humbugged America is a mixed bag that at times can feel interesting almost in spite of itself. The story is fascinating, but frequently unfocused and bogged down by irrelevancies, like a student stretching a narrative into torturous snarls to make a word count. Here lies the central problem with the book, however: Murphy apparently believes that the most interesting part about the Cardiff Giant hoax is anything but the hoax itself. Pages are dedicated to the historical times, the history of the LDS church, and even other - apparently more interesting - hoaxes, but only a brief, sketchy detail of how the Cardiff Giant hoax was pulled off is included, coming in at a paltry eight pages. It is likely that this, too, was deliberate, but leaves the readers - who picked up a book about hoaxes, humbuggery, and hoodwinking - feeling not a little bit flim-flammed themselves. ( )

In a discussion in GR's Children's Books group,?�
But if want them to develop their skills at reading something with a narrative structure, we could do worse than put some of?áJim Murphy?áinto their hands. I'm impressed with how perfect it is for teachers *and* for 7-12 yo boys, and girls, and families... I also have several others by him from the library and am actually looking forward to reading them, even though children's history isn't really my thing.

I learned one valuable thing right off the bat. ?áThis 'giant' was discovered in Cardiff *New York,* not Wales. ?áI must have conflated this hoax with Piltdown Man." ( )

This is a very quick read for elementary students. Jim Murphy does a great job telling the story of the Cardiff Giant, which fooled many people in 1869.

Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/the-giant-and-how-he-humbugge... ( )

Grades 5 - 8

A fascinating look at how George Hull spearheaded a huge hoax on Americans when a 10 foot 4 inch "petrified man" was dug up in 1869 at a New York farm. Jim Murphy includes abundant copies of newspaper articles, carnival flyers, and photographs as he takes readers on the journey from the "discovery" of this ancient man to the unraveling of the hoax. Give this to readers who are convinced that they don't like nonfiction-- the author's conversational tone and the subject matter will win them over. Murphy notes that his research into this famous hoax was inspired by the 2008 Bernie Madoff scandal, and includes a section on other famous hoaxes through the years.
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