Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
fjtorres -- as far as this being on the NY Times bestseller list -- I'm afraid you have been at least partly hoaxed yourself.
The August 1, 1956 Wall Street Journal article says nothing about being on the bestseller list before publication:
http://web.archive.org/web/200204270...-56/8-1-56.jpg
Neither does the New York Times article on the original hoax (Book Review page 5, August 5, 1956).
Nor does the New York Times review of the published book (Book Review page page 21, September 16, 1956).
Via my public library's web site, I checked the ProQuest indexing of the New York Times for 1956 through 1958. I, Libertine did not make the bestseller list, neither the hoax book nor the real one.
But I did love Jean Shepherd on the radio. |
Nice catch. A primer of how Urban Legends are created by starting with a kernel of truth.
NYTimes bestseller lists for 1956
No sign of
I, Libertine anywhere.
Still, the article was an enjoyable read even if some of the facts were "massaged". Like all good fish stories.
