The Skeptic: Who’s the Next Frey?

In the wake of all the recent publishing fiascos involving fraudulent authors - from fake gang-banger Margaret B. Jones to phony Holocaust survivor Misha Defonseca - we’ve decided to revive our 2006 contest, “Memoir or Make-Believe.”

So, who’s the next published pretender?

Could it be “Gang Leader for a Day” by Sudhir Venkatesh? Did he really spend six years hanging out with one of Chicago’s most vicious gangs? And has anybody tried to verify Sudhir’s account with charismatic gang leader J.T.?

What about “Manic” by Terri Cheney? Did the former Hollywood entertainment lawyer really spend a night in jail? Did Cheney really fly 14 kites off a cliff during a thunderstorm?

Or “A Piece of Cake” by Cupcake Brown? Her name is Cupcake? She claims to have survived the death of a parent, childhood abuse, crack cocaine addiction, rape, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gangbanging, hustling, prostitution, and homelessness - you’ve got to be kidding me! 

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Media, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.