Reviews
"Riveting. . . . Young covers, and uncovers, America's long and varied history of deceptive practices." -- Elle "As exhaustive as its subtitle: part survey of modern imposture, part detective story about the origins of American fakery. . . . It's an important book for 2017, not only because 'fake news' is a part of the zeitgeist, but because public discourse about white supremacy and political hucksterism suffers from citizens' short memory. . . . Bunk is a consistently incisive look at the nature of American imposture and epistemology itself: How do we know what we know, how do we learn? How do we undo what we learn, and how do we avoid making the same mistakes?" -- Harvard Magazine "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "As we adjust to life with a president who plays fast and loose with the truth and whose backstory arouses growing skepticism, this examination of the long and colorful history of hoaxes and cons is most welcome. . . . Compelling and eye-opening." -- Booklist , starred review "Fake news and alternative facts have a long and complex history in American culture. Young, an award-winning poet and director of the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the deep roots of hoaxing in entertainment, literature, journalism, sports, and public life. . . . The final chapter touches on the current 'post-fact' world and its rejection of expertise, raising important questions about how we can know the truth. This dense and wide-ranging critique offers a fascinating view of the impact of fraud on truth." -- Library Journal , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews, Praise for The Grey Album A New York Times Notable BookWinner of the PEN Open Book AwardFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism "Equal parts blues shout, church sermon, interpretive dance, TED talk, lit-crit manifesto, and mixtape, the poet Kevin Young's first nonfiction book, The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness, is an ambitious blast of fact and feeling, a nervy piece of performance art."-Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review, "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "Fake news and alternative facts have a long and complex history in American culture. Young, an award-winning poet and director of the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the deep roots of hoaxing in entertainment, literature, journalism, sports, and public life. . . . The final chapter touches on the current 'post-fact' world and its rejection of expertise, raising important questions about how we can know the truth. This dense and wide-ranging critique offers a fascinating view of the impact of fraud on truth." -- Library Journal , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews, "As exhaustive as its subtitle: part survey of modern imposture, part detective story about the origins of American fakery. . . . It's an important book for 2017, not only because 'fake news' is a part of the zeitgeist, but because public discourse about white supremacy and political hucksterism suffers from citizens' short memory. . . . Bunk is a consistently incisive look at the nature of American imposture and epistemology itself: How do we know what we know, how do we learn? How do we undo what we learn, and how do we avoid making the same mistakes?" -- Harvard Magazine "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "As we adjust to life with a president who plays fast and loose with the truth and whose backstory arouses growing skepticism, this examination of the long and colorful history of hoaxes and cons is most welcome. . . . Compelling and eye-opening." -- Booklist , starred review "Fake news and alternative facts have a long and complex history in American culture. Young, an award-winning poet and director of the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the deep roots of hoaxing in entertainment, literature, journalism, sports, and public life. . . . The final chapter touches on the current 'post-fact' world and its rejection of expertise, raising important questions about how we can know the truth. This dense and wide-ranging critique offers a fascinating view of the impact of fraud on truth." -- Library Journal , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews, "A wild, incisive, exhilarating tour through Western culture's sideshows and dark corners. Like a sideshow barker, Young writes with unbridled enthusiasm, a showman's conviction, and a carny's canny, telling a story that at times defies belief. And every word of it is true." -- Los Angeles Times "Kevin Young . . . reflects on hoaxers and events as diverse as P.T. Barnum, Rachel Dolezal, the forged Hitler Diaries, Binjamin Wilkomirski's fabricated Holocaust memoir, James Frey, Stephen Glass and Lance Armstrong. What could be timelier in the age of post-truth politics, science denial and fake news?" -- Newsweek "Riveting. . . . Young covers, and uncovers, America's long and varied history of deceptive practices." -- Elle "[A] thorough examination of two centuries of hoaxing. . . . Original and illuminating." -- BBC Culture " Bunk is a fiercely intelligent account of the lies public figures tell us and the lies we tell ourselves, and it's one of the mostimportant books you'll read all year." -- Nylon "[A] profoundly erudite new study of the ways truthiness, as Stephen Colbert used to call it, travels through America's fabric." -- Literary Hub "In chronicling the history of hoaxes in the United States, Young illuminates the sobering role of fake news today." -- Paste "[Kevin Young is] second to none in his ability to make unlikely pop cultural connections and bring in a vast and complex sense of history." -- Vol. 1 Brooklyn "As exhaustive as its subtitle: part survey of modern imposture, part detective story about the origins of American fakery. . . . It's an important book for 2017, not only because 'fake news' is a part of the zeitgeist, but because public discourse about white supremacy and political hucksterism suffers from citizens' short memory. . . . Bunk is a consistently incisive look at the nature of American imposture and epistemology itself: How do we know what we know, how do we learn? How do we undo what we learn, and how do we avoid making the same mistakes?" -- Harvard Magazine "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "As we adjust to life with a president who plays fast and loose with the truth and whose backstory arouses growing skepticism, this examination of the long and colorful history of hoaxes and cons is most welcome. . . . Compelling and eye-opening." -- Booklist , starred review "Fake news and alternative facts have a long and complex history in American culture. Young, an award-winning poet and director of the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the deep roots of hoaxing in entertainment, literature, journalism, sports, and public life. . . . The final chapter touches on the current 'post-fact' world and its rejection of expertise, raising important questions about how we can know the truth. This dense and wide-ranging critique offers a fascinating view of the impact of fraud on truth." -- Library Journal , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews, "Riveting. . . . Young covers, and uncovers, America's long and varied history of deceptive practices." -- Elle "[A] thorough examination of two centuries of hoaxing. . . . Original and illuminating." -- BBC Culture "[A] profoundly erudite new study of the ways truthiness, as Stephen Colbert used to call it, travels through America's fabric." -- Literary Hub "[Kevin Young is] second to none in his ability to make unlikely pop cultural connections and bring in a vast and complex sense of history." -- Vol. 1 Brooklyn "As exhaustive as its subtitle: part survey of modern imposture, part detective story about the origins of American fakery. . . . It's an important book for 2017, not only because 'fake news' is a part of the zeitgeist, but because public discourse about white supremacy and political hucksterism suffers from citizens' short memory. . . . Bunk is a consistently incisive look at the nature of American imposture and epistemology itself: How do we know what we know, how do we learn? How do we undo what we learn, and how do we avoid making the same mistakes?" -- Harvard Magazine "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "As we adjust to life with a president who plays fast and loose with the truth and whose backstory arouses growing skepticism, this examination of the long and colorful history of hoaxes and cons is most welcome. . . . Compelling and eye-opening." -- Booklist , starred review "Fake news and alternative facts have a long and complex history in American culture. Young, an award-winning poet and director of the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the deep roots of hoaxing in entertainment, literature, journalism, sports, and public life. . . . The final chapter touches on the current 'post-fact' world and its rejection of expertise, raising important questions about how we can know the truth. This dense and wide-ranging critique offers a fascinating view of the impact of fraud on truth." -- Library Journal , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews, "Young chronicles a distinctly American brand of deception in this history of hoaxers, fabricators, liars, and imposters. . . . [He] astutely declares the hoax a frequent metaphor for a 'deep-seated cultural wish' that confirms prejudicial ideas and stereotypes. . . . Young's remarks on race and his comparison of Trump and Barnum, both of whom gained power from spectacle, in the book's coda are well worth sifting through." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "A fascinating, well-researched look at the many ways Americans hoodwink each other, often about race." -- Kirkus Reviews
